The Human Trafficking Campaign in Cameroon: Key Actors, Common and Competing Interests

This article examines how the legal framework of human trafficking, as established by the UN Palermo Protocol and shaped by the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), gains traction in Cameroon. It focuses on the power dynamics among key actors leading the anti-trafficking campaign in Cameroon and how this affects their efforts to combat trafficking. The actors are broadly classified into two groups: external partners, including the UN, the US, and international organizations, and internal partners, such as the Cameroonian government and local civil society organizations. The study draws on the concept of traveling models and their “aura” as developed by Behrends, Park, and Rottenburg and is based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Cameroon between 2016 and 2024. The findings reveal tension between the two core elements of the Palermo Protocol—humanitarian and security considerations—as actors involved in anti-trafficking efforts tend to prioritize one element over the other. This highlights the significance of power dynamics and strategic alliances, with Cameroonian stakeholders often seeking to adapt the framework to local contexts. The article also relates to the special issue’s overarching question of how attempts at increasing equality often contribute to generating durable inequality. It shows how measures aimed at preventing human trafficking, particularly of women, inadvertently lead to them resorting to even riskier migration routes.