7.7 Protections against human trafficking and modern slavery Under domestic law, human trafficking is criminalised by section 98D of the Crimes Act 1961. It is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $500,000, or both. The United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons defines trafficking as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.”81 MBIE refers to modern slavery as “severe exploitation that a person cannot leave due to threats, violence or deception. It includes forced labour, debt bondage, forced marriage, slavery, and human trafficking.”82 18 The Walk Free 2023 Global Slavery Index estimated that in 2022 the number of people in modern slavery in Aotearoa was 8000.83,84 Aotearoa does not yet have any modern slavery legislation. In 2023, the then Minister for Workplace Relations announced a commitment to address modern slavery by introducing new legislation that would require organisations and businesses to be transparent about their operations and supply chains through a public register.85 Modern slavery was an important theme at New Zealand’s 2024 Universal Periodic Review. The United Kingdom (UK), United States and Mexico recommended New Zealand do more to address modern slavery. The UK recommended introducing “modern slavery legislation that is inclusive of entities of all sizes with international supply chains in both the private and public sectors”.86 The government has stated that modern slavery legislation is “not a current priority but remains under consideration”.87 81 Article 3(a) of UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, at https://www.unodc.org/res/humantrafficking/2021the-protocol-tip_html/TIP.pdf 82 See https://www.mbie.govt.nz/business-and-employment/employment-and-skills/plan-of-action-against-forced-labour-peopletrafficking-and-slavery/modern-slavery 83 https://cdn.walkfree.org/content/uploads/2023/05/17114737/Global-Slavery-Index-2023.pdf, p118. 84 Note the use of a slightly different definition of modern slavery from MBIE “situations of exploitation that a person cannot refuse or leave because of threats, violence, coercion, deception, or abuses of power”, Ibid, p8. 85 See https://www.mbie.govt.nz/business-and-employment/employment-and-skills/plan-of-action-against-forced-labour-peopletrafficking-and-slavery/modern-slavery 86 See https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2024/04/countries-call-for-govt-to-get-businesses-to-address-modern-slaverypm-says-legislation-not-priority.html 87 See https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/07/17/govt-shuts-down-modern-slavery-group/ The Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) scheme in Aotearoa New Zealand: A Human Rights Review