Summary

In the present report, submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 35/5, the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, further develops her findings and recommendations made in her report to the Human Rights Council at its forty-fourth session (A/HRC/44/45).

She calls for alternative approaches in the implementation of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, shifting from a law enforcement approach to an approach that is centered on human rights and victims, whether through a rights-oriented interpretation of existing provisions of the Protocol together with the jurisprudence of regional human rights courts and soft law instruments or, potentially, through a new international instrument.

She develops an interpretation of due diligence obligations of States in relation to, for example, the implementation of the rights of trafficked persons to effective remedies and the non-punishment principle. She also reflects on the negative impact of restrictive migration policies on the protection of trafficked and exploited persons and on the negative implications of the current model of victim identification, which is shaped from a criminal proceedings perspective, is made conditional on the collaboration of victims with the law enforcement authorities in many countries and is not focused on the vulnerability of trafficked persons based on personal circumstances. Consequently, she proposes a new methodology to ensure the provision of early support to trafficked persons and those vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation.

The Special Rapporteur also takes the discussion on businesses’ due diligence obligations further, analyzing how Governments and businesses should comply with their own obligations to eradicate trafficking and exploitation, especially from supply chains, through a combination of binding legislation and voluntary initiatives. Her recommendations offer a guide to States in adopting a genuinely human rights-based approach, placing at its center the protection of the rights of victims and potential victims. The recommendations are also intended to move the anti-trafficking agenda from the criminal paradigm into a more comprehensive approach, tackling the systemic nature of exploitation and treating trafficking and exploitation as a social justice issue.

Background

The year 2020 marked the 20th anniversary of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (Palermo Protocol). Despite the adoption of the Protocol, human trafficking remains a widespread human rights violation of a massive dimension, involving more than 20 million people worldwide, of which only a few hundreds are recognised as victims and supported in their process of social inclusion. The persistence of this violation reveals the existence of shortcomings and inconsistencies in the international legal framework and that a human rights-based approach to trafficking is not yet fully promoted.

Related events

As a last event before the end of her tenure, the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, Ms. Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, convened two webinars with prominent experts to discuss the failures and success of the main anti trafficking instrument and the new path towards a truly human rights centred approach.

The first webinar, organized in cooperation with the civil society organization On the Road, took place on 29-30 June 2020 and targeted a European and American audience. View the concept note and agenda with all speakers.

The second webinar, organized in cooperation with the Global Alliance against Traffic in Women (GAATW), took place on 13-14 July 2020 and brought together experts from civil society and academia from Africa and Asia. View the concept note and agenda with all speakers.

At the end of the two webinars, the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons drafted a manifest based on the discussion held with the speakers and listed 12 recommendations to support States in better implementing a human rights based approach. The manifest has been endorsed by various organizations involved in the anti-trafficking action. 

• View the recording of the first webinar (29-30 June 2020)
• View the recording of the second webinar (13-14 July 2020): Day 1 and Day 2
• Concluding remarks by UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro