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.
Findings from this research expand current knowledge about the various reasons why trafficking and exploitation persist in the Thai fishing industry, despite various state and corporate actions to prevent and address it. The main recommendation...Read More
The discovery of the camps and graves at Wang Kelian, Perlis, garnered the attention of many and stunned the nation. These camps and graves on the border of Malaysia and Thailand gave rise to an outcry that resulted in the competency of the enforcem...Read More
In Ireland, between 2015 and 2020, 356 people were identified as suspected victims of human trafficking by An Garda Síochána. Of them, approximately 59 per cent were third-country nationals. This study examines the policy and practice in Irelan...Read More
The first full version of the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark is out. The results are revealing; there is a race to the top in business and human rights performance, but this is only amongst a welcome cluster of leaders while the great majorit...Read More
2025 © Copyright, RESPECT International. All Rights Reserved. Website Disclaimer | Privacy Policy
