Beyond recognition: Human trafficking for organ removal and the Modern Slavery Act

In March 2023, the United Kingdom (UK) prosecuted its first case of human trafficking for organ removal (HTOR) under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 in R v Obeta . Drawing on case material gathered during Operation Manoa, the criminal investigation that led to the conviction, this article examines the distinctive challenges HTOR presents for policing, criminal justice, and victim protection. It focuses in particular on the contested criminalisation of people compelled, for various reasons, to sell an organ and the limited scope of the ‘non-punishment principle’ under section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act. The article also assesses recent and proposed amendments to section 22 of the Human Tissue Act introduced in response to growing concern over HTOR in the UK and internationally. It argues that, while these reforms express strong normative condemnation of HTOR, they do little to address the structural conditions behind the trade. The article therefore questions whether expanding criminal law, without corresponding regulatory reforms, for example, in global health governance, can provide more than a symbolic response to a deeply entrenched form of exploitation.