Summary

In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, sets out the obligations that apply to maritime actors, to States and other maritime actors, including non-State actors, commercial vessels and international organizations, to ensure effective prevention of trafficking and protection of victims of trafficking at sea, including, in particular, child victims. She sets out the obligations to ensure accountability for the serious human rights violation and serious crime of trafficking in persons, and access to effective remedies for victims. Restrictions on safe, regular migration, restricted access to asylum, pushbacks risking refoulement, arrest and detention on disembarkation, and criminalization of human rights defenders engaged in search and rescue operations force people to take more dangerous, more risky journeys, leading to deaths and disappearances at sea. Thousands of migrants continue to die or go missing each year along perilous routes sea. Many of those who die or go missing are victims of trafficking. Effective measures to prevent trafficking in persons must include the expansion of safe, regular opportunities for migration, pathways to international protection, including effective access to asylum, rights-based family reunification and resettlement. The Special Rapporteur calls for urgent, effective and coordinated action by States and maritime actors to prevent trafficking in persons in the context of migration at sea and to protect victims and persons at risk of trafficking. Such action must be compliant with international law, recognizing the trauma and serious harm endured by victims of trafficking.