Trafficking of children : the case of South Africa

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The trafficking of children, with the purpose of sexual exploitation, has attained significant attention in the international realm. At present, children‟s human rights are protected by a number of international treaties adopted by the United Nations, which are also ratified by many states. These treaties have a norm setting function which influences domestic laws in the countries that have ratified them. The „1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child‟, the „Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime‟ together with the „2002 Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography‟ are important treaties with norm setting functions. These treaties influence international attitudes and policy measures concerning child trafficking. South Africa, the focus of this study, is in the process of creating a comprehensive legislative framework with the aim to protect children and combat child trafficking. Thus, this thesis examines how international treaties have impacted on South Africa‟s domestic legislation with regards to child trafficking.The influence of international treaties and norms on domestic policy and norms regarding child trafficking is illuminated in this study. This analysis builds on a model put forward by Sikkink and Finnemore (1998) of how norms are created by norm entrepreneurs. The assumption is that norms develop in phases through different platforms of organizations and states and these norms eventually become the status quo. This study provides an overview of international and domestic law pertaining to child trafficking as well as a theoretical discussion on the evolution of these norms. A theoretical framework of constructivism and to a lesser extent institutionalism is applied as an analytical tool in order to critically analyse the influence of international treaties on domestic policies in South Africa.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University