Narratives of commercial gestational surrogacy (CGS) as ‘baby-selling’ often conflate or interchange the transfer of children born via surrogacy with trafficking in children or the sale of children, two sometimes overlapping but nonetheless distinct offenses. Moreover, anti-trafficking laws have been used to police cross border CGS. But when do CGS arrangements fall within the category of legitimate ‘reproductive tourism’ and when do they amount to child trafficking? In this paper I critically explore intersections between human trafficking laws and CGS, vis-à-vis the child, charting the relevant trafficking laws in the context of international surrogacy, and analysing whether trafficking laws are an appropriate mechanism through which to regulate CGS. I conclude that while child trafficking might occur via surrogacy, CGS in itself is not child trafficking under international law.
The present report is submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 42/10. By providing examples from all geographical regions, it assesses the role of organized criminal groups in contemporary forms of slavery. To that end, the profi...Read More
This report was originally conceived to be an exploratory analysis of case data on trafficking and exploitation in Southeast Asia that begins online, trying to understand if recruitment is occurring via social media, messaging apps and websites and,...Read More
The checklist identifies 14 criteria for companies and governments to assess the extent to which their security frameworks are attentive to and protective of children’s rights. The check- list indicates whether each criterion is applicable to compa...Read More
This report assesses children’s vulnerability to CSEC across the WB6 and focuses specifically on online sexual exploitation of children and sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism (SECTT). It also provides an overview of what law enf...Read More
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