Human trafficking is a crime that knows no borders or boundaries. Despite a global perception that human trafficking and slavery is an issue that exists primarily in the global south, the UNODC reports that human trafficking happens in every region of the world (UNODC, 2016). This globalized phenomenon may have existed for centuries, but the solutions and responses have come few and far between. It wasn’t until the 20th century, with the creation of organizations such as the United Nations and treaties such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that universality became a key part of political discussion. However, just like the crime of human trafficking, the legislation and response have continued to evolve and expand. Now more than ever, global and collective action is required to find long-lasting and sustainable solutions to end human trafficking and cycles of exploitation.
Despite being a violation of individual rights, which states have a responsibility to protect, the globalized nature of these violations has called to action a cosmopolitan solution, one that focuses on the idea that everyone has equal worth in society. This political theory, shown through David Held’s eight principles of a cosmopolitan regime, emphasizes global solutions that center on the universal right to dignity and is exemplified through the global anti-trafficking regime.
Cosmopolitanism and Globalization:
Cosmopolitanism has largely been characterized as not a political concept but rather an ethical one, based on the idea that everyone has equal value and moral worth (Miller, 2002). However, with conversations and discussions around migration, identity politics, and globalization becoming more popular and sensational, the Kantian theory has become inherently political when considering a global society. Cosmopolitanism is considered the ethical, cultural, and legal basis of the political order in a world where political communities and states matter, but not exclusively, and not over the greater human need (Held, 2009). The politicized nature of cosmopolitism aims to extend the political philosophy that sprouted from the Enlightenment period into a wider and legal framework beyond the limitation of a nation-state (Delanty, 2006).
A key theme in cosmopolitanism expressed universally by theorists is brought forward by David Held and amplified. Contending at first that we are all part of a global society that renders citizenship absolute when it comes to human rights, he breaks the theory into eight key principles: 1. equal worth and dignity; 2. active agency; 3. personal responsibility and accountability; 4. consent; 5. collective decision-making 6. inclusiveness and subsidiarity; 7. avoidance of serious harm; and 8. sustainability (Held, 2009). Held groups these principles into three clusters; the first (principles 1-3) organizes the cosmopolitan universe and indicates that everyone is of equal and universal moral concern. The second (principles 4-6) sets regulatory frameworks and explains the legal do’s and don’ts. The final cluster (principles 7-8) lays down urgent needs and responsive frameworks to provide the most trauma-informed care (Held, 2009). Held argues that each of these principles outlines a society where each citizen has equal value, worth, and identity.
The first four can be seen to understand the morality surrounding the human rights that individuals hold in a cosmopolitan world, while the latter can be understood to refer to the relationship governance has to this universality and their responsibility to protect those rights.
Cosmopolitanism began with Kant but only became even more prevalent following the Second World War, with the creation of international regimes and organizations such as the United Nations and its many branches. This showed a desire within the Western Front to establish universal protection and establishment of human rights. Through the creation of the UN came the establishment of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, affirming that all individuals have the right to basic human dignity, economic equity, political freedoms, protections, and rights (United Nations General Assembly, 1948).
This inherently cosmopolitan concept can be tied to the phenomena of globalization in an increasingly migratory and interconnected world. Loosely defined as the ever-growing interconnectedness of nation-states, regions, and continents, the concept of globalization can be considered economically, politically, socially, and culturally (National Geographic Society, 2024). As different cultures and politics began to transcend borders, the universality of human rights has stayed at the forefront of conversations. The Declaration of Human Rights was a global indicator and step forward towards establishing equity and international protection for “rights holders” and called upon all signatory states to uphold these rights as universal. Article four specifically states that “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms” (United Nations General Assembly, 1948). This concept became a foundational element in anti-trafficking treaties and conventions established fifty years later.
The Declaration of Human Rights manifests the eight cosmopolitan principles. The first four are exemplified through the creation of such a resolution itself under such a regime, explicitly identifying and guaranteeing universal protections and rights to each person. The last four were demonstrated through frameworks, and the implementation of the rights-based approach aligned with the declaration’s universal aims. The protection of these rights falls on the international regime, or collection of actors committed to the enforcement of human dignity and equality regardless of citizenship (Held, 2009). This cosmopolitan regime is shown through the global response to human trafficking in the form of an international global organization, collaboration with multi-level stakeholders, and a variety of actors.
Anti-Trafficking and the 2000 Palermo Protocol:
While slavery and human trafficking existed in their largest form during the trans-Atlantic slave trade (Hein de Hass, 2023), there are still more than 49 million individuals in situations of modern slavery today (Stop the Traffik, 2025). In direct violation of many elements of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, specifically and especially article 4, the United Nations came together in 2000 to address and establish further protocol on responding to trafficking in persons, specifically for women and children who experience heightened vulnerability. The Palermo Protocol, officially titled the “Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children,” is a UN convention that defined trafficking in persons and created a plan of action to safeguard and protect vulnerable communities, prosecute those who seek to exploit susceptible individuals, and prevent situations of exploitation before they happen.
This convention calls on actors and stakeholders to come together collectively to protect the basic human rights of individuals being exploited (Bajrektarevic, Anis. JHA Diplomacy 2025). The preamble states that fighting trafficking in persons “requires a comprehensive international approach in the countries of origin, transit, and destination that includes measures to prevent such trafficking” (Palermo Protocol, 2000). Article two, section b, specifically states the purpose of the protocol: “To protect and assist the victims of such trafficking, with full respect for their human rights” (Palermo Protocol, 2000). Trafficking in this context can be defined by this convention in Article 3 as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, using the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for exploitation” (Palermo Protocol, 2000). Not only is human trafficking in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but it also is in direct violation of the cosmopolitan society expressed by this declaration and also in Held’s cosmopolitanism. Key themes such as dignity, active agency, and consent are inherently denied to an individual when being trafficked and directly contradict the universality of both human rights and cosmopolitanism.
The Palermo Protocol is broken up into three separate themes focusing on prevention, protection, and prosecution, and all parts advise signatories on how to create policies that seek to eliminate and reduce rates of trafficking. It follows a cosmopolitan agenda by advocating the protection of universal rights but also delegates responsibility between state and non-state actors. The resolution aligns with the belief that all human rights are created equal and that there must be global contributions to the promotion and protection of these rights. Held’s ideas of cosmopolitanism are exemplified through the Palermo protocol. Preventative measures for human trafficking, a clear violation of universal human rights, are outlined in this protocol and uphold values set both in the Declaration of Human Rights and Held’s theory of cosmopolitanism.
Held’s theory is illustrated further. Like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, this treaty does not carry any enforcement power against those who violate the resolution, even ratifying members. Instead, it calls to action stakeholders across a wide range of fields who play a role in creating informed policies and executing informed care to decrease human trafficking and protect individual rights. This manifests in the form of principle 4, responsibility and accountability. The Palermo Protocol supports the establishment of treaty bodies, special rapporteurs and appointments to address the issue, audits, additional periodic review, and finally supply chain management and transparency, all with the common goal to reduce human trafficking (OHCHR, 2016).
Due to the intersectional nature of trafficking, multiple agencies and governing bodies are called upon to use their legitimacy and power to encourage states to abide by and encourage rights outlined in the 1948 declaration.
On an international level, organizations such as the IOM (International Organization for Migration), the ILO (International Labour Organization), UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees), and the UNODC (United Nations Office against Drugs and Crime) play a large role in developing and coordinating action against human trafficking. The resolution explicitly calls out the role of domestic action, policy, and implementation in the majority of its articles (Palermo Protocol, 2000). Held’s principles are exemplified here; specifically, principles two, four, and five are shown here, as this demonstrates a desire for active agency, accountability, and collaboration between all levels of response from a variety of actors. However, the significant part of this resolution is the level of participation and international commitment. Initially, there were 117 signatories, but as of 2023, that number has boosted up to 180, including observing parties (Bajrektarevic, Anis. JHA Diplomacy 20025). This demonstrates the international desire to uphold and support Held’s first four principles and universal rights to dignity, autonomy, and liberty, regardless of citizenship, and uphold commitments to protecting these rights.
Anti-Trafficking Regime:
Involvement from organizations such as the IOM and the UNHCR is due to the migratory and transitory nature of trafficking. Reporting from 2016 indicated 60% of trafficking victims are foreign nationals (UNODC, 2016). This is due to the vulnerabilities that most migrants face when on the move, specifically from conflict, environmental disaster, or economic disparity. These can be considered push factors that can compound specifically for those moving irregularly or without proper documentation (UNHRC, n.d.). Organizations such as the UNHCR and IOM recognize this vulnerability and have worked collaboratively with the IOM on several occasions to address this facet of human trafficking.
In 2020, both organizations developed a joint Framework for Developing Standard Operating Procedures for the Identification and Protection of Victims of Trafficking. The Framework has enhanced referrals and outlines cooperative practices between the two agencies to find resolutions on trafficking in person. Both organizations encourage a rights-based and non-discriminatory approach, both ideas of which are key factors in cosmopolitan theory (Held, 2009). In their frameworks, they focus on the asylum, trafficking, and migration nexus and contend each of their advisory responsibilities, as neither body maintains any enforcement mechanisms.
The IOM, the governing body that works with migration of all natures, contends that its role is “to provide, at the request of and in agreement with the States concerned, migration services such as recruitment, selection, processing, language training, orientation activities, medical examination, placement, activities facilitating reception and integration, advisory services on migration questions, and other assistance as is in accord with the aims of the Organization” (UNHCR, IOM, 2020). Even as a leading body in the international migration space, the organization is critically dependent on collaboration from other stakeholders, as their actions must happen in agreement with the states concerned.
Considering that since the mid-nineties, the IOM, along with its partners, has protected more than 100,000 victims of trafficking (UNHCR, IOM 2020), their recommendations have encouraged and helped align states around a common goal and work inside certain global frameworks to protect universal human rights. The migratory nature of their work aligns with the first cluster of Held’s cosmopolitan theory in assuring the right to documented and ethical movement when aligned with state principles. This can be a juxtaposition due to the inherent tension between the universality and sovereignty of the state; however, the IOM continuously seeks to maintain universal human rights regardless. Their work also supports the latter clusters as an advisory and supportive framework to encourage states to align with initiatives and treaties that exist to counter human trafficking.
The UNHCR focuses more specifically on refugees, asylum seekers, and irregular migration. According to their website, the organization maintains and works to ensure that “refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons, stateless persons, and other persons of concern do not fall victim to trafficking” (UNHCR, 2020). They aim to ensure migrants most susceptible to being trafficked are not exploited and that all action taken against them is not in violation of the 1951 UN convention relating to the status of asylum seekers. Aside from ensuring the protection of human rights, the UNHCR’s mission also includes capacity building of local authorities and implementing partners to respond to trafficking by providing direct assistance and solutions to identified victims. The Joint Framework commits both organizations to a commitment to transparent communication and coordination with partnerships at a local, state, and regional level relevant to responding to the needs of trafficking victims and survivors.
These are examples of cluster two in action, as they demonstrate a need and intent for multilateral collaboration between international organizations and nation-states to have far-reaching effects to minimize the exploitation of vulnerable individuals during migration. Principle five is embodied through this collaboration as well because multiple stakeholders are included in larger decision-making and policy advising to inform collective action taken to support survivors and improve responsive networks.
Another large governing body on anti-trafficking response is the UNODC. The UNODC has a more hands-on role in prosecution and protection but also works to help ratifying countries implement the Palermo Protocol. The organization’s role is to shape and inform policy on a state level, support capacity building, build toolkits, draft and review policy, and build global networks to combat the crime of human trafficking. The organization lists this concern as being transnational, multifaceted, and interrelated (Bajrektarevic, Anis. JHA Diplomacy 20025). The UNODC focuses its concern not only on human trafficking but also on trafficking in general and also works to counter the smuggling of migrants, which can lead to situations of debt bondage. Stressing the importance of collaboration, a prosecutor working with the UNODC refers to the multilateral nature of the work to protect migrants, stating that they are like an octopus stretching its tentacles across different countries (United Nations: Office on Drugs and Crime, 2021).
The UNODC works with regional law enforcement, such as Europol, or national law enforcement, like the FBI, for example, to follow updated trends and publish annual or biennial reports on demographics and the human trafficking phenomena. Local, regional, and international collaboration through data sharing is imperative here for the UNODC to track these trends and access up-to-date data. Without data that is relevant to current times, especially in an ever-evolving digital landscape, it is impossible to understand how to prevent and protect individuals from being exploited.
The UNODC also works to establish and extend the concept of the non-punishment principle, or criminal exploitation, in law enforcement policy. Their aims highlight a desire and willingness to collaborate and protect human rights by supporting the implementation of the Palermo Protocol in all signatory states. Not only does the organization work with law enforcement at all levels but also collaborates with other international organizations such as the UNHCR, IOM, and ILO to follow trends and stay informed (UNHCR, 2020). Multi-level collaboration in support of universal freedom once again exemplifies the cosmopolitan nature of the anti-trafficking response, exemplifying all eight of Held’s cosmopolitan principles.
The ILO acts as an advisory body on universal labor laws and plays a large role in combatting labor trafficking globally. Conventions no. 29 and 105 were both established before 1960 and formally criminalized forced labor for all signatories. The ILO took it a step further in 2014 by creating the Protocol to the Forced Labor Convention. This required states not only to establish equitable labor practices but also to ensure that they were working to prevent exploitative labor situations. Labor trafficking has been on the rise and was reported at a 46% increase in the UNODC Global Overview on human trafficking in 2024 (Global Overview, 2024).
Much of this has been attributed to online false or deceptive job recruitments that lure vulnerable individuals into situations of exploitation (Global Overview, 2024). Their work specifically emphasizes the fourth principle of Held’s theory and the fourth article of the Declaration of Human Rights, which is consent. The consent to labor and the development of policy to support workers’ autonomy are crucial to the mission of the ILO. The organization works regionally in hot spots to provide capacity-building support to evolve outdated frameworks, reintegrate illicit economies (International Labor Organisation, 2024), and delegate responsibility in resolution strategy.
This practice and process supports the second and third clusters of Held’s cosmopolitan theory and emphasizes the multi-level desire to ensure equitable and sustainable working conditions and practices regardless of citizenship.
Constructivism:
It can be argued that despite a universal desire for human rights and dignity, the constructed nature of trafficking is a consistent barrier to finding maintainable solutions. Constructivism in global governance builds on the relationship between social norms and politics and questions who society gives power to. Constructivist-political philosophers argue that power is given by society based on social norms and ideas that can be constructed and reconstructed as time progresses (Park, 2023). Legislation can be seen as an exemplification of this, and the Palermo Protocol is no different.
Despite being groundbreaking in terms of defining and understanding the phenomenon of human trafficking, the digression left up to the state allows for a wide array of interpretations. For example, article five states that “each State Party shall adopt such legislative and other measures as may be necessary to establish as criminal offenses the conduct outlined in article 3 of this Protocol when committed intentionally, (Palermo Protocol, 2000), meaning that each ratifying nation must attempt to prosecute those involved in the trafficking of individuals.
However, despite the Palermo Protocol, due to the discrepancy in legal terminology in backing nations. An example of this can be seen through anti-trafficking legislation in India. There is little to no legislation criminalizing labor trafficking, despite numerous laws explicitly banning and criminalizing sexual slavery and sexual exploitation. Notwithstanding their signature on the Palermo Protocol, lacking a comprehensive definition of trafficking in domestic law not only limits survivor identification capacities but also allows exploitation to flourish.
The United States Trafficking in Persons 2023 report stated that India is a tier two country, meaning that they do not meet the minimum standards to address the phenomena but are making significant efforts to do so. The report indicated that “states, with primary responsibility for anti-trafficking efforts, did not consistently use all relevant legal provisions in human trafficking cases; law enforcement and legal service providers possessed a limited understanding of the human trafficking legal framework; and police and judicial officials had inadequate training, all of which hindered trafficking prosecutions and convictions” (US State Department, 2023).
This could be connected to an overstretch of limited resources or attributed to a varied and different idea of what trafficking looks like based on labor culture within the country. While collaboration can be witnessed, there appears to be a lack of cohesion on when, how, or why to provide this support. With nationalism and identity politics becoming more central to the political conversation, it can be difficult to imagine global convergence on ideas such as human trafficking. This causes Held’s regime theory to disband quickly and begins to look at the state as an individual actor with the capacity to allow or prohibit international interference, even if it involves human rights.
The Power of the Regime:
This, however, does not detract from Held’s cosmopolitan theory but provides insight into why resolutions and responses to human trafficking can be seen as limited or stalled. Each ratifying country’s determination to the evolution of the concept and address of human trafficking is contributing to the cosmopolitan nature of the anti-trafficking response. While sovereignty and ideas held by states seem built up by constructivism and undermine universality, Held argues that political and legal development on a global scale act to support state independence.
Many democratic ideals that ratifying countries constitutionalized are not only upheld by international organizations but are also enforced by their frameworks (Held, 2009). This creates not only a political incentive to support resolutions such as the Palermo Protocol or the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights but also plays into the moral desire to do so that existed within all ratifying nations. Organizations such as the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) have taken a large role in combatting human trafficking and have become a global power in combatting this specific phenomenon.
With a focus on communication and collaboration, the organization hosts annual conferences that are open to all practitioners in the space and invite guests from many different states and sectors. They aim to enhance collaborative partnerships and improve practices, understand political goals and positions related to serving survivors of trafficking globally, and fill in gaps that exist in the current systems (OSCE, 2013). Not only do they work programmatically, but also politically to help develop the global understanding of what trafficking is. They also aim to support capacity-building programming that was outlined in the Palermo Protocol and that supports the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Bajrektarevic, Anis. JHA Diplomacy 20025). This organization is led by a special rapporteur who collaborates both with states and leading international organizations.
While organizations such as the UNHCR, IOM, UNODC, and ILO provide support to specific sections of global anti-trafficking governance, the OSCE provides crucial and focused work to advise and deter when needed (Bajrektarevic, Anis. JHA Diplomacy 20025). Emphasizing all eight of Held’s principles within the organization and missions of their work, the OSCE unifies the global anti-trafficking regime and exemplifies the cosmopolitan nature of the anti-trafficking sphere.
The cosmopolitan nature of the anti-trafficking response has constructed a regime of institutions that all share a collective desire to free individuals and communities from the cycles of exploitation. Held’s theory of cosmopolitanism and the eight accompanying principles are exemplified through this global regime made up of a mix of international, state, and local actors with shared commitments to universal rights, guided by resolutions such as the Palermo Protocol. This not only formally defined human trafficking but also supported the idea of universal human rights that was initially outlined by the 1948 Declaration and stressed equal worth and dignity, active agency, consent, personal responsibility, and accountability, the first four principles in Held’s theory.
The resolution was also a crucial advisory resolution that allowed organizations such as the UNHCR, IOM, UNODC, and the ILO to develop safeguarding guidelines to protect those most vulnerable to exploitation within their respective fields, addressing the final four principles: collective decision-making, inclusiveness, avoiding of serious harm, and sustainability (Held, 2009). The evolution of this regime saw the creation and growth of the OSCE anti-trafficking response and the establishment of a Special Rapporteur to head the global regime against human trafficking grounded in collective and shared rights. Regardless of the constructed nature of trafficking, it is evident that there is still universal collaboration surrounding a commitment to freedom from exploitation and slavery and the right to dignity, happiness, and life (United Nations General Assembly, 1948). While there may not be a concrete response yet to address human trafficking in its entirety, contributions from multiple sectors, both private and public, show a positive trend of individual actors taking an active role in finding a solution.
Although cosmopolitanism was traditionally viewed as an ethical concept, it has evolved into a political framework that centers on a rights-based approach, as seen in the global response to human trafficking and the application of David Held’s eight cosmopolitan principles.
