State responsibility for trafficking in persons and human rights violations

Abstract

Although the International Law Commission’s Draft Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Draft Articles’) have been proclaimed as a significant advance in international law, ‘it is not clear to what extent the Draft Articles accurately reflect human rights law’. Therefore, the relationship between human rights law and the basic concepts and rules of State responsibility must be examined, in view of its actors and stakeholders. What are the duties and obligations of States in terms of human rights law? As Crawford rightly asks, how does the ‘continuing international discussion and application of human rights law relate to the fundamental structure of the law of State responsibility?’ Certainly, the international arena has witnessed great progress in the development and promotion of human rights and the implementation thereof, as States are ‘no longer ‘free’ to do as they will in the domestic sphere’ but are compelled by international law to protect individuals from the violation and abuse of such. Nonetheless, millions of people still fall victim to human rights abuses and thus, generate an urgent call for the better enforcement of human rights law and the prevention of such repulsive circumstances.