The effectiveness of the ILO’s conventions concerning trafficking for forced labour in conflict settings: Libya as a case study
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Date
2025-12-31
Authors
Yousef, Nedaa
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Publisher
University College Cork
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Abstract
This thesis explores the concept of effectiveness in international law by examining the implementation of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) conventions relating to forced labour in conflict settings, where effectiveness is most challenged by the absence of a sovereign state in the traditional sense. It tackles Libya as a case study where armed conflict is ongoing and where different actors are at play in what contributes to a situation of legal pluralism. The thesis adopts Harold Koh’s framework of transnational legal process as a means of understanding the effectiveness of international law. In particular, the thesis argues that effectiveness includes norm internalisation, in other words the law can become effective when it is internalised in the domestic realms of the state regardless of the absence of a unified sovereign authority. In Libya, where authority is dispersed among different actors, the ILO can utilise legal pluralism to contribute to norm internalisation, which would eventually lead to the law being effective. This thesis offers a theoretical innovation by expanding Harold Koh’s theory of transnational legal process to conflict settings and legally pluralist contexts. Through the study of Libya, it provides empirical insights into the operation of international law in conflict setting, i.e., a stress test for effectiveness. Furthermore, it pushes forward a normative critique of the ILO by highlighting its institutional and ideological strengths and limitations.
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Keywords
Effectiveness , International law , Conflict , ILO , Legal pluralism , Labour , Human trafficking , Forced labour , Human rights , Libya
Citation
Yousef, N. 2025. The effectiveness of the ILO’s conventions concerning trafficking for forced labour in conflict settings: Libya as a case study. PhD Thesis, University College Cork.