Palermo Protocol
What is the Palermo Protocol?
The Palermo Protocol (2000) — formally the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children — is an international legal instrument supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime.
Key features:
Defines child trafficking as recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for exploitation.
Consent of the child is irrelevant.
Mandates States to focus on prevention, protection of victims and prosecution of offenders.
Influences domestic anti-trafficking laws, including Indian legislation.
India ratified the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and its three protocols in May 2011, making it a legally bound party to the global framework for combating organized crime, including trafficking and smuggling. India's ratification made it the fourth South Asian country to do so, demonstrating its commitment to international cooperation in this area. Key Details:
| ||
How does the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 define trafficking?
Section 143, BNS 2023 criminalises trafficking for exploitation.
Trafficking includes recruitment, transport, harbouring, transfer or receipt of persons using:
Force, coercion, abduction
Fraud, deception, abuse of power
Inducement, including monetary benefits
Exploitation includes:
Sexual exploitation
Physical exploitation
Slavery and servitude
Forced labour
Forced removal of organs
The definition is broad, consent-neutral and victim-centric.
How does the Constitution of India protect children from exploitation?
The Constitution provides direct and indirect safeguards:
Fundamental Rights
Article 23: Prohibits trafficking in human beings, forced labour and begar.
Article 24: Prohibits employment of children in hazardous industries.
Article 21: Right to life with dignity (expanded by judicial interpretation).
Directive Principles of State Policy
Article 39(e): Protects children from abuse.
Article 39(f): Ensures healthy development in conditions of freedom and dignity and protection from moral and material abandonment.
Together, these create a constitutional obligation on the State to protect children.
Key statutory safeguards
BNS Sections 98 & 99: Criminalise selling and buying of minors.
Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956: Prevents trafficking for sexual exploitation.
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015: Care, protection, rehabilitation and reintegration of trafficked children.
Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013: Expanded trafficking definition, irrespective of consent.
Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012:
Gender-neutral
Covers sexual assault, harassment and child pornography
Provides for stringent punishment, including life imprisonment and death penalty in extreme cases
Implemented through Fast Track Special Courts
Key SC Cases
The Supreme Court of India has consistently adopted a rights-based and proactive approach:
Vishal Jeet v. Union of India (1990)
Recognised trafficking and child prostitution as serious socio-economic problems requiring preventive and humanistic solutions.M. C. Mehta v. State of Tamil Nadu (1996)
Issued guidelines to prohibit child labour in hazardous industries.Bachpan Bachao Andolan v. Union of India (2011)
Directed systemic reforms to curb trafficking and exploitation.K. P. Kiran Kumar v. State (2024)
Held that trafficking violates children’s fundamental right to life and issued strict preventive guidelines.
Why is a strong Centre–State relationship essential?
Law and order and police are State subjects, while:
International obligations
Inter-State trafficking
Digital platforms
National databases
require Union coordination.
Effective cooperation enables:
Real-time data sharing on missing and trafficked children
Inter-State rescue and repatriation
Uniform SOPs and training of police
Better utilisation of central schemes and funds
Weak coordination leads to poor investigation and low conviction rates (only 4.8% between 2018–2022).
The way forward
Address socio-economic vulnerabilities of marginalised communities.
Strengthen child-centric institutions and rehabilitation frameworks.
Regulate online platforms used for recruitment.
Improve conviction rates to create deterrence.
Deepen Union–State synergy for enforcement and rescue operations.
Child trafficking is not merely a crime — it is a constitutional failure. Combating it requires sustained political will, institutional capacity and social responsibility.
Prelims Practice MCQs
Q. With reference to the Palermo Protocol, consider the following statements:
It is a supplementary protocol to the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime.
Consent of a child is relevant while determining the offence of trafficking.
It defines trafficking only when physical movement across borders takes place.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A. 1 only
B. 1 and 2 only
C. 2 and 3 only
D. 1, 2 and 3
Correct Answer: A
Explanation:
Statement 1 is correct: The Palermo Protocol supplements the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime.
Statement 2 is incorrect: Consent of a child is irrelevant under the Protocol.
Statement 3 is incorrect: Trafficking does not require cross-border movement; internal trafficking is included.
Q. Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, the offence of trafficking is defined under:
A. Section 98
B. Section 99
C. Section 143
D. Section 375
Correct Answer: C
Explanation:
Section 143 of BNS, 2023 defines trafficking for the purpose of exploitation.
Sections 98 and 99 deal with selling and buying of minors.
Q. Which of the following forms are included within the meaning of “exploitation” under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023?
Sexual exploitation
Forced labour
Slavery or servitude
Forced removal of organs
Select the correct answer using the code below:
A. 1 and 2 only
B. 1, 2 and 3 only
C. 2, 3 and 4 only
D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Correct Answer: D
Explanation:
The BNS adopts a wide definition of exploitation, covering all listed forms including organ removal.
Q. Which Articles of the Constitution of India explicitly prohibit trafficking and employment of children in hazardous industries?
A. Articles 21 and 22
B. Articles 23 and 24
C. Articles 25 and 26
D. Articles 39(e) and 39(f)
Correct Answer: B
Explanation:
Article 23 prohibits trafficking and forced labour.
Article 24 prohibits employment of children in hazardous industries.