RECOGNISING that the search for improved socio-economic circumstances and the demand for the services of victims of trafficking contribute to making persons vulnerable to becoming victims of trafficking;

CONCERNED by the increase of trafficking in persons, especially women and children, and the role played by organised criminal networks in the trafficking of persons globally;

SINCE the South African common law and statutory law do not deal with the problem of trafficking in persons adequately;

AND SINCE the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, enshrines the right to human dignity, equality, the right to freedom and security of the person, which includes the right not to be deprived of freedom arbitrarily or without just cause, and not to be treated in a cruel, inhuman or degrading way, the right not to be subjected to slavery, servitude or forced labour, and the right of children to be protected from maltreatment, neglect, abuse or degradation; and

MINDFUL of the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, 2000, and other international agreements which place obligations on the Republic of South Africa towards the combating and ultimately, the eradication of trafficking in persons,

Parliament of the Republic of South Africa therefore enacts as follows:—