A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE PROVISIONS ON VICTIM PROTECTION UNDER THE PALERMO PROTOCOL AND TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS (PROHIBITION) ENFORCEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION ACT, 2015 OF NIGERIA

Abstract

Trafficking in persons (commonly referred to as human trafficking) is a global criminal activity afflicting millions of victims worldwide. It is species of transnational organized crime. It is both an international crime and a transnational crime. The end of the Cold War saw to the relaxation of travel restrictions in the former Communist Bloc and liberalization of international travel. This, in turn, resulted to the rise of transnational crimes including trafficking in persons. The international community responded by adopting the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (General Assembly Resolution 55/25) in November 2000. The Convention was accompanied by three supplementary protocols one of which is the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. This protocol is commonly called the Palermo Protocol. Although the Convention and its Protocols are essentially criminal law-focused instruments, they have made some provisions for victim protection. Nigeria domesticated the Convention and enacted the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act (TIPPEA) to give effect to its international obligations under Resolution 55/25 and the Palermo Protocol. The TIPPEA is also a criminal statute but makes some provisions for victim protection too. Against this background, the paper compared the Palermo Protocol’s approach to victim protection vis-à-vis the TIPPEA. The author argued that the Palermo Protocol and the TIPPEA share some similarities in relation to victim protection. The areas of similarity include the provisions in both instruments on non-discrimination of victims, provision of health services, shelter, legal aid and consular services to victims of human trafficking, non-detention or prosecution of victims among many other victim relief provisions. Furthermore, the author shed light on the differences between the Palermo Protocol and the TIPPEA including the creation by the TIPPEA of specific crimes and punishment for various forms of human trafficking and the Victim of Trafficking Trust Fund (VTTF) both of which are absent in the Palermo Protocol. The paper maintained that promotion and protection of the interests of victims of human trafficking as well as the call for the establishment of a non-conviction-based victim compensation and reparation system in Nigeria.