The internationally valid definition of human trafficking comes from the United Nations.

In 2000, the “Additional Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Human Beings, Particularly Women and Children” was adopted. This is not an independent agreement but rather an “additional protocol” that was adopted as part of the “UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime”.

In the Palermo Protocol, human trafficking is defined in Article 3 as follows.

For the purposes of this Protocol

a) the term “trafficking in human beings” means the recruitment, transport, transfer, Harboring or receiving people through the threat or use of violence or other forms of coercion, through kidnapping, fraud, deception, abuse of power or exploitation of particular helplessness or through granting or Acceptance of payments or benefits to obtain the consent of a person who has control over another person for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation includes at least the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or servitude, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs;

b) the consent of a victim of human trafficking to the intended exploitation referred to in point a is irrelevant if one of the conditions referred to in point a means was applied;

c) the recruitment, transport, transfer, harboring or reception of a child for the purpose of exploitation shall be considered as trafficking in human beings, even if none of the means referred to in point (a) was used;

d) the term “child” means persons under the age of eighteen

Human trafficking occurs when certain acts are carried out with certain means and for certain goals.

Sources:

The English version of the protocol can be found at:

http://www.un.org/depts/german/uebereinkommen/ar55025anlage2-oebgbl.pdf