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 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has long been concerned that many States parties are failing to properly implement the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child p...Read More
Workers are recruited via unlicensed third-party agencies. Use of unlicensed third-party agencies increases the risk of labor exploitation. Workers pay for recruitment, employment or repatriation fees. Costs associated with employment can place ...Read More
Documenting the impact of new legislative acts is an indispensable tool for improving the effectiveness of this legislation and advancing business practice.
The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL or the Department) has produced this tenth edition of the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor in accordance with the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), as amended. Th...Read More
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