Demand

Trafficking in human beings (THB) is, at its core, a financially motivated crime. In 2014, the International Labor Organization estimated that THB generates annual profits of $150 billion a year; $99 billion are generated by trafficking for sexual exploitation alone.

Given this stark reality, numerous international legal instruments recognize the importance of discouraging demand as a key strategy to ending THB, including:

• Article 9(5) of the Palermo Protocol (“States Parties shall adopt or strengthen legislative or other measures, such as educational, social or cultural measures, including through bilateral and multilateral cooperation, to discourage the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation of persons, especially women and children, that leads to trafficking”);
• The OSCE Action Plan (urging countries of destination to take measures to effectively address demand as a key element in their strategy for effectively preventing and combating trafficking in human beings) and MC Decisions 7/17 and 6/18 (calling on participating States to help eliminate the demand that fuels child trafficking);
• Article 6 of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (“To discourage the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation of persons, especially women and children, that leads to trafficking, each Party shall adopt or strengthen legislative, administrative, education, social, cultural or other measures…”);
• Article 18 of Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Union (“Member States shall take appropriate measures such as education and training, to discourage and reduce the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation related to trafficking in human beings”).

Based on this robust international legal framework, the Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (OSR/CTHB) has undertaken efforts to encourage and support participating States to meet their obligations and commitments related to addressing demand.

Addressing the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation that lead to THB is a means of combating the problem’s root cause and not simply its effects. By reducing and preventing the economic engine that fuels THB, States can eliminate the profit motive for traffickers to exploit vulnerable persons. 

In 2016, the Office began a comprehensive programme to promote efforts to prevent THB in supply chains, and thereby reduce the demand that fosters trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation. The Office has developed model guidelines and other tools for States, with a particular emphasis on government measures to promote ethical public procurement.

The Office is expanding its portfolio to develop resources for States to address the demand that fosters sexual exploitation that leads to trafficking. This work will help States with additional tools to assist them in fulfilling their obligations under, inter alia, Article 9(5) of the Palermo Protocol and the OSCE Action Plan and its addenda.

In May 2021, OSR/CTHB’s project on countering the demand that fosters sexual exploitation was launched, with a research outlining States’ responsibilities to discourage the demand. An analysis of how States are currently meeting relevant obligations, as well as recommendations for how OSCE participating States can further strengthen their efforts to discourage the demand that fosters trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.