PART 1 A treaty is an agreement, between two or more States, that creates binding rights and obligations in international law. Treaties can be universal (open to as many States as want to join) or restricted to a smaller group of two or more States (for example, those in a particular geographical region). A treaty may be called by different names, such as “convention”, “covenant” or “protocol”. The obligations contained in a treaty are based on consent. States are bound because they agree to be bound. States that have agreed to be bound by a treaty are known as “States parties” to the treaty. A State becomes a party to a treaty through a process of ratification or accession. States may often “sign” a treaty before this happens – signalling their intention to be bound in the future. By becoming party to a treaty, States undertake binding obligations in international law. In the case of most treaties relevant to trafficking, this means that States parties undertake to ensure that their own national legislation, policies or practices meet the requirements of the treaty and are consistent with its standards. These obligations are enforceable in international courts and tribunals with appropriate jurisdiction, such as the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, or the European Court of Human Rights. Whether the obligations are enforceable in courts at a national level is a separate question, to be determined by domestic law. In some States legislation is required to incorporate treaties into domestic law, while in other States the Constitution provides that treaties automatically have the status of domestic law. In order to determine what obligations a particular State has undertaken by ratifying a treaty, it is necessary to consider the following: • The text of the treaty: what are the obligations? Are there any limits or exceptions? How are States required to implement these obligations? 18 • Interpretations of the treaty: in the case of human rights treaties, usually by a treatymonitoring body but also by national, regional or international decision makers, including courts or tribunals. • Reservations to the treaty: has the State entered in any reservations to the treaty? If so, to what articles and with what effect? Most multilateral treaties (involving a large number of countries) are concluded under the auspices of an international organization such as the United Nations or a regional organization such as the Organization of American States (OAS) or the African Union (AU). Bilateral treaties or those developed between a smaller group of States are generally negotiated through the relevant foreign ministries with no outside help. Bilateral treaties are common in technical areas relevant to trafficking, such as extradition and mutual legal assistance. The following paragraphs identify (and categorize according to their primary focus or orientation) the international legal agreements that are relevant to trafficking. It is very important to acknowledge that not all treaties noted below are equal in terms of their relevance or their contribution to the international legal framework around trafficking. Some of the early labour rights agreements, for example, apply only to one form of trafficking and their major obligations are, in any event, included in later treaties that often have more detailed provisions and a greater number of States parties. The early human rights agreements on trafficking and related subjects, such as forced marriage, have largely been supplanted by subsequent, more precise and more widely ratified instruments. However, some of these old treaties remain very important, often because they contain the legal definitions of practices subject to later regulation by treaty. For example, the legal definition of debt bondage – identified as part of the definition of trafficking in persons adopted in 2000 – can only be found in a treaty concluded in 1956. RECOMMENDED PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINES ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING