Human security is a dynamic and practical policy framework that addresses widespread and cross-cutting threats facing governments and people. The framework is one in which states are fully expected to maintain the security of their national borders, as well as the security of the individuals living inside those borders. Within this framework, it is the responsibility of states to protect their citizens from external conflict, injustice and harm; states are also expected to ensure that their citizens enjoy a wide range of rights and are able to live their lives with a sense of dignity, free from fear and despair. In other words, the objective of human security is to keep grave and pervasive threats from attacking the fundamentals of human lives (Gandhi 2010).

There are many events outwith the control of citizens that fatally threaten communities and interfere with development. These include terrorist attacks, water shortages, hazardous pollutants, AIDS, chronic destitution, nuclear proliferation, drug-resistant diseases and ecological threats. Other threats that have intensified the sense of insecurity are violent conflicts (including conflicts across gender, class, ethnicity or religion), and the spread of international criminal activity, which includes modern slavery.

Although slavery has been in existence since time immemorial, modern slavery is a distinct manifestation of globalisation, and has reached such proportions as to present a significant human rights crisis in countries of origin, transit and destination. Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery that is never far from the leading concerns of organised criminal networks operating globally. Trafficking victims are frequently sourced in developing countries with weak rule of law, where transnational organised criminal penetration is rife, and where perpetrators can readily identify the most vulnerable in society and exploit them for personal gain.

Until recently, it was assumed that human trafficking can exist and be explained only in relation to crime, but this chapter will highlight that human trafficking can be viewed as a problem of intrastate and interstate armed conflict as well as a problem of organised crime.