CHECKING IN: HOW SOFT LAW AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ARE FILLING GOVERNANCE GAPS TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN THE GLOBAL TRAVEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRY

摘要

Although data is often underreported, the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates approximately 25 million adults and children are bought and sold worldwide into human trafficking. Labor and sexual exploitation are among the most common forms of human trafficking, comprising 83% of cases worldwide. Women and girls are especially vulnerable to trafficking, accounting for 71% of victims worldwide. Meanwhile, even though 187 countries ratified the U.N. Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, human trafficking data indicates that the business is thriving. Recent estimates suggest that human traffickers earn as much as $32 billion per year, which lands trafficking in the ranks of the sale of drugs and arms as one of the world's most profitable illicit crimes. Moreover, traffickers are becoming increasingly savvy, adapting the latest social media and Internet technologies to cross national borders and evade law enforcement around the world. The global travel and tourism industry, composed of tour operators, lodging and accommodation businesses, travel agencies, and travel distribution corporations, as well as airlines and other transportation operators, is a prime target and what Travel Weekly describes as an "unwitting accomplice" in human trafficking. Hotels are used by traffickers as temporary lodging for sexual encounters; airlines carry victims to their next location; and tour. operators supply travelers eager to partake in illicit activity. While some headway has been made to make these businesses more aware and accountable for this illicit activity, an array of barriers, including a lack of training on how to handle issues as well as gaps in international policy and national and subnational implementation, hampers efforts. The global travel and tourism industry is a $7.6 trillion per year industry, and harnessing the power of the sprawling global tourism business is a key battleground for the fight against human trafficking. First, this Paper identifies gaps in human trafficking hard law at the international, national, and subnational levels to create corporate accountability for human trafficking. Second, this Paper analyzes how soft law, such as international policy guidelines, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives may help fill these gaps. Finally, this Paper suggests a path forward, outlining a multidisciplinary approach to combating trafficking in the global travel and tourism industry.