The necessity of combating human trafficking is often justified by the violation of human rights of the victims of human trafficking. Criticism has, however, repeatedly been voiced that the victim-centred, human rights-based approach has not been consistently applied - because, in reality, state interests in effectively combating (organized) crime and securing borders against illegal migration take precedence. An opposite tendency criticizes the criminalization of human traffic on the grounds that human rights are not violated in every case within the definition of human trafficking, and criminalization is inappropriate in such cases. Furthermore, various parties point out that there is little empirical data on trafficking in human beings, and the available data is unreliable. This contribution aims to provide an overview of these issues and argue in favour of a nuanced examination of phenomena covered by the legal definition of human trafficking.
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