Background

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, Ms. Siobhán Mullally, will conduct an official country visit to Colombia from 22 to 31 May. The findings of her visit will be presented in a public report to the United Nations Human Rights Council in June 2024.

Objectives

In her report, the Special Rapporteur will offer concrete recommendations to support the Government’s efforts in implementing a human rights-based response to trafficking in persons, especially women and children, and to strengthen prevention, protection and accountability efforts.

Reponses to the list of issues below would be greatly appreciated.

Other relevant information, not listed below, may also be included in your submissions.

Key questions and types of input/comments sought

• Current trends in forms and manifestations of trafficking in persons, including all forms of trafficking, regardless of their national or transnational nature, and for all types of exploitation, including but not limited to: sexual exploitation, labour exploitation, domestic servitude, forced begging, forced labour, slavery or similar practices, forced criminality, organ harvesting;
• The legislative, policy and institutional framework, including the legal framework criminalizing trafficking in persons in accordance with the definition set by the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons (Trafficking in Persons Protocol), and international human rights law, and to ensure assistance and protection to victims;
• National strategies and mechanisms of cooperation to tackle trafficking in persons and provide assistance to victims;
• Early support, including early identification and assistance to trafficked persons, with special emphasis on the unconditional nature of such support to the victim’s participation in the criminal proceedings;
• Access to effective remedies, redress and in particular compensation to victims and other measures aiming at the social inclusion of survivors;
• Accountability: Investigation, prosecution and punishment of perpetrators and victims’ rights in criminal proceedings, including the non-punishment principle of victims of trafficking in persons for offences committed in the course, or as a consequence, of being trafficked;
• International cooperation in prevention of trafficking, protection of victims, and in investigation and prosecution of trafficking in persons; as well as opportunities to strengthen international and regional cooperation to combat trafficking.

The Special Rapporteur will also welcome any input or information on specific areas such as:

• Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons: Prevention of trafficking and protection of victims or persons at risk of trafficking including among internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees and migrants;
• Statelessness and trafficking in persons: prevention and protection of stateless persons at risk of trafficking;
• Child Trafficking: Prevention of child trafficking and protection of child victims and measures to ensure the protection of young people at risk of trafficking, including unaccompanied and separated migrant, refugee and stateless children, and internally displaced children;
• Children and Armed Conflict: Recruitment of children by armed groups as a form of trafficking, for all purposes of exploitation, including forced criminality, and information on the application of the non-punishment principle, prevention and protection measures;
• Rights of Persons with disabilities: Prevention of trafficking of persons with disabilities, and measures to ensure disability inclusion in anti-trafficking and protection measures;
• Climate Change: Reponses to natural disasters, climate change and displacement, which contribute to heightened risks of trafficking;
• Sexual exploitation: Trafficking in persons for purposes of sexual exploitation, and especially children, including in the context of tourism sector activities; and trafficking as a form of sexual violence in conflict, including measures of prevention, protection and accountability;
• Women Peace and Security: integration of prevention, protection and accountability for trafficking in persons into women, peace and security action plans;
• Role of civil society: Cooperation and partnerships, with civil society and human rights defenders including migrant and refugee organisations;
• Business and Human Rights: cooperation with the private sector and businesses in countering trafficking for labour exploitation, including in supply chains; measures to prevent trafficking in persons for purposes of labour exploitation, protection of victims and accountability.

How inputs will be used

Submissions may be posted on the mandate’s website. Should you wish to maintain the confidentiality of your submission, kindly clearly indicate it at the moment of submission.

For more information on the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, and the activities of the mandate, please click here.