CHILD TRAFFICKING: INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS TO PROTECT THE MOST VULNERABLE VICTIMS

Trafficking in persons is the fastest growing form of organized crime, because it is less risky than drug or arms trafficking 1 and guarantees astonishing profits ranging between 8.5 and 12 billion Euros per year. 2 The new slave trade is related to extreme poverty, lack of access to resources, unemployment, and poor education, and because of the marginalization of women in society and the feminization of poverty, it obviously affects especially women and children. This article aims at investigating the phenomenon of child trafficking and the most common forms of exploitation and at reviewing the most significant international conventions and special mechanisms that guarantee the protection of child victims' basic human rights.