State Accountability for Gross Human Rights Violations Arising from Human Trafficking Syndicates Based on the Principle of Justice

Abstract

The crime of human trafficking (TPPO) has now transformed into a form of modern slavery that is systemic and organized, reducing the most fundamental human rights into mere market commodities. When a state fails to fulfill its due diligence obligations to prevent, protect, and prosecute perpetrators, such inaction may be qualified as a form of gross human rights violation committed through omission. This study examines the urgency of recognizing human trafficking on a syndicate scale as a gross human rights violation that triggers state responsibility erga omnes. This research employs a normative-juridical method with conceptual and statutory approaches to deconstruct the concept of state responsibility in international and national law. The primary focus of the analysis lies in how to integrate the principle of Dignified Justice into the framework of state accountability, in order to shift the paradigm from merely imposing conventional criminal punishment toward the comprehensive restoration of victims' rights. The findings conclude that state accountability should no longer be limited to reactive and sporadic criminal law enforcement efforts. A reconstruction of legal norms is required to position the state as the primary party responsible for losses suffered by victims due to systemic negligence. This reconstruction is based on the state's obligation to provide restitution, rehabilitation, and compensation, as well as to guarantee non-recurrence through policy reforms that uphold the human dignity of victims as sovereign legal subjects. Keyword: Justice; Principle; Trafficking; Violations. 1. Introduction Human Trafficking (TPPO) has now evolved into one of the most destructive transnational crimes against the global humanitarian order, where criminal syndicates operate beyond state jurisdictional boundaries by exploiting gaps in border control, systemic poverty, and social vulnerability. This crime can no longer be viewed merely as an ordinary criminal offense but has State Accountability for Gross Human Rights ... (Yayan Supiani) The copyright of this document is owned by Faculty of Law UNISSULA and is protected by the law ║ 783 FACULTY OF LAW PROCEEDING OF INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE LAW DEVELOPMENT FOR PUBLIC WELFARE ISSN: 2798-9313 LICS 2026 Topic: Strengthening Legal Frameworks for Combating Human Trafficking and Enhancing Protection of Women and Children reached such a degree of systematic cruelty that it deserves to be classified as a gross human rights violation. heoretically, the state bears a fundamental responsibility to ensure protection for all its citizens from the threat of modern slavery. This constitutional mandate is not a discretionary obligation but an imperative duty rooted in international law and the doctrine of popular sovereignty. The state's failure to stop the operations of human trafficking syndicates reflects a protection deficit that, sociologically, may be interpreted as a form of betrayal of the social contract. Within the framework of human rights law, a state may be held accountable not only through direct actions (acts of commission) that violate rights but also through omissions when the state is aware of serious threats yet fails to take adequate preventive or protective measures. The sluggishness of law enforcement agencies in dismantling trafficking syndicates is often caused by systemic corruption or bureaucratic incapacity, which, from a justice perspective, places the state in the position of an indirect facilitator of human trafficking perpetrators. Human trafficking involving syndicates is often highly organized, involving powerful actors with extensive political and economic networks. When the state is unable to penetrate the wall of impunity constructed by such syndicates, the dignity of law as a protector of the vulnerable becomes eroded. This causes victims especially women and children to become trapped in prolonged cycles of suffering without access to dignified justice. The principle of justice in modern criminal law demands a shift in focus from pure retribution toward restoration. However, in cases of gross human rights violations arising from human trafficking, existing recovery systems remain heavily dependent on the state's ability to apprehend perpetrators. If perpetrators are not captured, victims' rights to justice are often buried as well, a reality that contradicts the essence of dignified justice, which should position victims at the center of legal protection. The Theory of Dignified Justice teaches that law must not be mechanistic or merely a tool for the state to satisfy a desire for punishment. Law must honor human beings and provide genuine protection for their inherent rights. Therefore, state accountability in the context of human trafficking should be understood as an objective responsibility (strict liability), whereby the state remains responsible for victims' losses regardless of whether perpetrators are successfully prosecuted. The main argument of this paper is that human trafficking carried out by syndicates, when occurring on a massive and systematic scale with state involvement or acquiescence, should be State Accountability for Gross Human Rights ... (Yayan Supiani) The copyright of this document is owned by Faculty of Law UNISSULA and is protected by the law ║ 784