Invisible Victims of Child Trafficking? : A study on the accountability of children in criminal groups

Sammanfattning

Child trafficking and children’s involvement in organised crime are two severe increasing issues today. The increasing use of children for criminal activities within criminal groups raises the question of whether the recruitment of children to criminal groups may constitute human trafficking. The aim of this thesis was to explore the relationship between child trafficking and the recruitment of children to criminal groups. It further aimed to deepen the understanding of the accountability of child trafficking victims and of children in criminal groups. The study was conducted using a legal-dogmatic and legal analytical method with a focus on international law. A theoretical framework constructed by vulnerability theory, children’s agency and restorative justice was used as a complement to the legal analysis to reach a more comprehensive understanding of the research question. The results show that the recruitment of children to criminal groups does constitute human trafficking. Even though they are victims of human trafficking, the results show that children in criminal groups generally can be held accountable for crimes they commit, with regard to some mitigating circumstances. The study further comes to the conclusion that the state’s responsibility to uphold accountability for these children is difficult, given that they are both offenders of crime and victims of human trafficking. Thus, the state’s responsibilities are contradictory, and the responsibilities to uphold accountability and justice, and to protect victims of human trafficking must be balanced.