Introduction to the Human Trafficking Assessment Tool

The Human Trafficking Assessment Tool (HTAT) was developed by the Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (CEELI) and the American Bar Association (ABA) to help measure countries' compliance with the United Nations' Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children that supplements the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. The HTAT analyses national anti-trafficking laws and government efforts to combat trafficking against the obligations set forth in the Protocol and its host Convention. In addition to international standards, the HTAT references existing regional instruments to combat trafficking, highlights non-governmental organisation (NGO) best practices, and includes compliance and non-compliance examples from around the world.

This Introduction to the Human Trafficking Assessment Tool contains some of the components which are designed to equip a team of assessors to conduct a thorough assessment of a country's compliance with the Trafficking Protocol and with certain provisions of the Transnational Organized Crime Convention. The first section of the Introduction introduces the tool, and explains it's purpose and components. The main section, entitled 'Trafficking Protocol Commentary and Guidelines,' explains the meaning of each of the thirteen substantive articles of the instrument and contains, where appropriate, references to the Transnational Organized Crime Convention. This explanatory portion of the tool also incorporates references to other international treaties, domestic laws, and relevant secondary materials. The final section aims to highlight the importance of co-operation between governments and NGOs in the fight against trafficking. The organisations discussed in this section are operating in countries where trafficking in persons is a large-scale problem and where government authorities might not be fully addressing the issue for various reasons (lack of funds, etc.). According to the document, the strategies that are outlined in this section can be replicated by other organisations as well as by governments themselves.

The Introduction to ABA/CEELI's Human Trafficking Assessment Tool is intended for public distribution. It provides a description of the tool and contains detailed information regarding the substantive provisions of the Trafficking Protocol as well as applicable provisions of the Transnational Organized Crime Convention. It does not contain the methodology for conducting an assessment. The internal version of the assessment tool, The Assessors' Guide to the Human Trafficking Assessment Tool, includes the methodology as well as detailed sets of interview questions that carefully track each substantive section of the Protocol and pertinent sections of the Transnational Organized Crime Convention. Those interested in conducting an assessment based upon this diagnostic tool, should contact ABA/CEELI for more information.