Abstract: 'This rise in incidents of human trafficking in the past decade has been paralleled by an increase in activity by the international community to introduce anti-trafficking measures. Chief among these has been the creation of a number of new legal

instruments designed to combat human trafficking at both the international and regional

level. These instruments complement and expand the existing anti-trafficking legal

regime, in place since the late nineteenth century. As a result, human trafficking is now

governed by a nexus of international law which includes international criminal law,

international human rights law, international labour law, regional international law, and,

of course, international refugee law. Each branch of law addresses a specific aspect of

the phenomenon and has distinct objectives. While these various objectives may

overlap, they are not always commensurate with one another. Thus, international

criminal law is primarily focused on deterring the crime and apprehending its perpetrators whereas international human rights law tends to focus on the dignity and protection of victims. This compilation is intended to assist UNHCR colleagues and other interested professionals to better understand the inter-relationship between these different areas of law and how they collectively govern this complex problem.'