Committee on the Elimination Of Discrimination against Women discusses trafficking in women and girls in the context of global migration

GENEVA (22 February 2019) - The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women this morning held a half-day general discussion on trafficking in women and girls in the context of global migration.

In her introductory remarks, Hilary Gbedemah, Committee Chairperson, said that over 111 written submissions and other inputs had been received from a range of stakeholders and explained that the consultation today was the first step in the process of elaborating a general recommendation on trafficking in women and girls in the context of global migration.

Youla A. Haddadin, Advisor on Human Trafficking at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in her opening statement, stressed that the women and girls made up 70 per cent of victims of trafficking and underlined that the main purpose for which they were trafficked showed the gendered nature of trafficking in persons: in 2016, 83 per cent of women and 72 per cent of girls were trafficked for sexual exploitation.  The Committee’s general recommendation aimed to unpack the root causes of vulnerability of women and girls in the context of global migration, which would help stakeholders to mount adequate responses. 

Dalia Leinarte, Committee Expert and Chair of its Working Group on trafficking in women and girls in the context of global migration, introduced the general recommendation and said that trafficking was a gender-based crime with a disproportionate impact on women and girls, and that the added value of the Committee’s general recommendation was providing a strong women’s right perspective on the so-far gender neutral definition and treatment of the crime of trafficking in persons.

Orest Nowosad, Chief of the Groups in Focus Section of the Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanism Division at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, moderated the discussion.  The keynote speakers were: John Brandolino, Director of the Division of Treaty Affairs of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime; Kristina Touzenis, Head of the International Migration Law Unit of the International Organization for Migration; Beate Andrees, Chief of the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work Branch of the International Labour Organization; and Henny Ngu, Policy Specialist for the United Nations Development Programme Migration and Displacement Team.

John Brandolino, Director of the Division of Treaty Affairs of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, urged the Committee to focus in the general recommendation on, inter alia, enhancing early identification of potential victims and early access to support and assistance, and addressing the prevailing impunity of perpetrators through enhanced judicial measures and breaking up of traffickers’ financial and business systems.

Kristina Touzenis, Head of the International Migration Law Unit of the International Organization for Migration, highlighted the need to apply a human rights framework in addressing trafficking in persons, in addition to the criminal law one, and engage the national labour force in upholding the labour rights of migrants, not only out of solidarity, but because their exploitation represented an erosion of labour rights in the country.

Beate Andrees, Chief of the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work Branch of the International Labour Organization, said that it was important not to lose focus of specific groups of workers, such as domestic workers; forced labour in mining and extractive industries, especially children; and the financial side of the crime.  Trafficking for sexual exploitation alone generated $200 billion per year.

Henny Ngu, Policy Specialist for the United Nations Development Programme Migration and Displacement Team, spoke about trafficking in persons and exploitation in the context of migration in south-east Asia, especially in the greater Mekong region, and stressed the importance of strengthening community-based approaches, empowering individuals, and reinforcing mechanisms to apply labour rights.

Australia, Egypt, Switzerland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Cyprus, France, Brazil, Mexico, Austria and South Africa spoke in the discussion, as did the following United Nations agencies: United Nations Women, United Nations Refugee Agency, World Health Organization, UNAIDS (joint statement), and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Also taking the floor were the following civil society organizations: Human Rights Commission of Mexico City (Comisión de Derechos Humanos del Distrito Federal); Lutheran World Federation and the World Council of Churches; Anglican Consultative Council; Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers; Liberty Shared Hong Kong, Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (HOME); Women’s Links Worldwide; APROASE Mexico; Equivalencias en Accion Cepaz Venezuela; European Women’s Lobby; National Alliance of Women’s Organisations, National Board of Catholic Women & women@thewell; Centre for Human Rights of the National University of Ireland Galway; European Network for the Promotion of the Rights and Health among Migrant Sex Workers; Sex Workers’ Rights Advocacy Network; SWARM and Decrim Now; Conseil International des Femmes; Forum Femmes Méditerranée; Association Equipes d’Action Contre le Proxénétisme et d’aide aux victims; Advocates for Human Rights; Reframe Health and Justice; Equality Now; Coalition against Trafficking in Women; Global Alliance against Trafficking in Women; European Disability Forum and the International Disability Alliance; Regards des femmes at Amicale du Nid; Dutch Association Women and Law 'Clara Wichmann', Dutch Women Council (NVR) and the Dutch CEDAW; Sexual Rights Initiative; Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights and the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion; Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom; Geneva International Centre for Justice; Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice; and Plan International (joint statement).  Patricia Schulz, former member of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, and Dr. B. Brooks-Gordon, an academic also spoke.

All documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage.  The webcast of the Committee’s public meetings can be accessed at http://webtv.un.org/.

The Committee will reconvene at 3 p.m. today, 22 February, to examine the report of Myanmar under the exceptional reporting procedure on the situation of Rohingya women and girls in northern Rakhine state (CEDAW/C/MMR/4-5/Add.1).

 

Opening Remarks

HILARY GBEDEMAH, Committee Chairperson, in her opening remarks, welcomed all the participants in the general discussion, for which over 111 written submissions and other inputs had been received from a range of stakeholders.  This consultation was the first step in elaborating a general recommendation on trafficking in women and girls in the context of global migration, and it provided an opportunity for the Committee to receive inputs to assist in its drafting.  The Committee anticipated a series of consultations, particularly at regional levels, the Chair said, and called upon all stakeholders to assist in this process.  The drafting of the general recommendation would start later this year.

YOULA A. HADDADIN, Advisor on Human Trafficking at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in her opening statement, said that this general discussion came at an opportune time, as the international community had recently adopted a range of policy documents, including the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and the Global Compact on Refugees.  Ms. Haddadin stressed that the latest global report on trafficking in persons by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime had revealed that 49 per cent of the victims were women, 23 per cent were girls, and seven per cent were boys.  Women with irregular migration status were particularly vulnerable to exploitation, violence and abuse, and the failure to identify victims of trafficking in persons among irregular migrants exacerbated their vulnerability.  The main purpose for which women and girls were trafficked showed the gendered nature of trafficking in persons: in 2016, 83 per cent of women and 72 per cent of girls were trafficked for sexual exploitation.  New and emerging forms of human trafficking, such as recruiting women for the purpose of selling their babies, sexual slavery by non-State actors, or forced recruitment for suicide bombings, further reinforced the gender dimension of the phenomenon.  The Committee’s general recommendation aimed to unpack the root causes of vulnerability of women and girls in the context of global migration, which would help stakeholders to mount adequate responses. 

DALIA LEINARTE, Committee Expert and Chair of its Working Group on trafficking in women and girls in the context of global migration, introducing the general recommendation on trafficking in women and girls in the context of global migration, said that the plethora of anti-trafficking initiatives worldwide had had a limited impact on reducing the number of trafficked women and girls and increasing the punishment of perpetrators.  Traffickers had become more focused on groups in extremely vulnerable situations, such as migrant women, internally displaced women, women with disabilities, and those from ethnic minorities.  Combatting trafficking and countering the culture of impunity must be a high priority.  Organized crime groups involved in human trafficking had combined illicit practices with strong business skills.  Therefore, disrupting their business models, following the money laundering, and performing financial investigations were important elements in reducing the rate of the crime, and addressing both the supply and demand sides of trafficking in persons was crucial.

Trafficking was a gender-based crime with a disproportionate impact on women and girls: they made more than 70 per cent of victims globally and 94 per cent of victims of trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation.  That was why the added value of the Committee’s general recommendation was in providing a strong women’s right perspective on the so-far gender neutral definition and treatment of the crime of trafficking in persons.  Weak mechanisms of women’s protection of human rights emphasized the growing phenomenon of internal trafficking of persons, and trafficking for forced criminality such as forced begging was increasing too.  Ms. Leinarte emphasized the vulnerability of migrant women and girls, who were mostly targeted for purposes of sexual exploitation, and said that the vulnerability of conflict-affected women and girls and those living in refugee and internally displaced persons’ camps should not be overlooked.  All those pointed to the need for a gender-sensitive, survival-centred and human rights based approach to trafficking in persons.  Therefore, the general recommendation should reflect the gender dimension of vulnerability, recruitment, and victimisation; gender issues related to trafficking and the demand side; and an examination of law and policy responses to human trafficking from a gender perspective, concluded the Committee Expert.

Keynote Speakers
OREST NOWOSAD, Chief of the Groups in Focus Section of the Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanism Division at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and discussion moderator, in his opening remarks welcomed the participants to the general discussion and said that all statements would be available online.
JOHN BRANDOLINO, Director of the Division of Treaty Affairs of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, said that the data over the past several years showed that trafficking routes mirrored migration routes and the citizenship of the detected victims mirrored the citizens of countries whose people were on the move.  The 2018 global report on trafficking in persons, issued in January 2019, showed the specific vulnerability of women and children en route.  Mr. Brandolino emphasized that women and girls represented 70 per cent of all trafficking victims and 94 per cent of those trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation, and welcomed the fact that the general recommendation used the term “trafficking in persons”, which was all-encompassing and included many forms of trafficking such as modern slavery or trafficking for organs.

The general recommendation should focus on enhancing the early identification of potential victims and early access to support and assistance; address the prevailing impunity of perpetrators through enhanced judicial measures and victims support and breaking up of financial and business systems; and ensure the non-punishment for victims of trafficking and guarantee that the provision of assistance and support was not conditional on victims’ cooperation with the authorities.  Since trafficking of children, particularly girls, remained of particular concern, there was a need to strengthen child protection systems and services in all concerned countries, as well as address informal markets as more than half of detected victims of trafficking came from those labour markets.

KRISTINA TOUZENIS, Head of the International Migration Law Unit of the International Organization for Migration, recalled that in law, trafficking was a criminal law concept, created to target specific activities carried out by organized transnational groups; however, because the “merchandise” was made up of humans, there was a need to apply a human rights framework in addition to the criminal law one.  It was not possible to separate the migration context from current migration policies, which did not allow for legal migration channels, leading to the exploitation of people, especially migrants.  Their vulnerability to exploitation had been created by restrictive migratory policies in the first place, and exacerbated by inadequate labour policies which did not protect them adequately regardless of the sector of activity.  It was essential to engage the national labour force in upholding the labour rights of migrants, not only out of solidarity, but because their exploitation represented an erosion of labour rights in the country.  While recognizing the need for a greater awareness of a gendered dimension of trafficking in persons, Ms. Touzenis stressed that the majority of victims of trafficking for labour exploitation were males, therefore it was good to have specific lenses on but not turn them into blinders. 

BEATE ANDREES, Chief of the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work Branch of the International Labour Organization, said that for many women and girls of working age, migration was a very empowering experience.  There were 258 million international migrants in 2017, an increase of almost 50 per cent from 2000.  But for many of them, migration had gone terribly wrong: 25 million women, men and children were in forced labour today, and 99 per cent of victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation were women and girls.  It was also important not to lose focus on specific groups of workers, such as domestic workers; forced labour in mining and extractive industries, especially children; and the financial side of the crime: $200 billion were generated by trafficking for sexual exploitation annually.  Based on the Global Compact for Migration, the International Labour Organization had initiated programmes to address root causes of vulnerability, such as the creation of fair recruitment corridors, especially in the garment industry, among domestic workers, and in agriculture.  More than ever before, the world was well aware of the phenomenon of trafficking in persons in the context of migration and had a robust legal framework and other tools; now needed was action.

HENNY NGU, Policy Specialist for the United Nations Development Programme Migration and Displacement Team, spoke about trafficking in persons and exploitation in the context of migration in south-east Asia, especially in the greater Mekong region, where a great number of trafficking victims were located, including in the fishing and seafood industry, among domestic workers, or in sex work.  Some key lessons from over 10 years of work in the region supporting right-based and empowering institutional response and advocating to more and better legal migration channels, included the need to improve early identification and support to victims of trafficking; strengthen community-based approaches and empowering individuals, coupled with mechanisms to apply labour rights and file complaints; and address more systematically the issue of the gender pay gap and arranged marriages.

Statements by States

Australia was committed to preventing and addressing trafficking in persons, including slavery and slavery-like practices, domestically, regionally and internationally.  There was a need to partner with businesses to interrupt the supply chain, and Australia was leading the regional process.  Australia stressed the need to assist victims and support their social reintegration.

Egypt had adopted a number of laws to combat and prevent human trafficking and was a party to several international and regional instruments.  Law 82 of 2016 on smuggling of migrants had been enacted and a specific coordination mechanism had been set up.  The national strategy for human trafficking 2016 applied a comprehensive approach to addressing the phenomenon of human trafficking.

Switzerland said that migratory movements over the past several years presented additional challenges to the international community which had to use all tools available to combat trafficking in persons.  The general recommendation should apply appropriate and relevant vocabulary and precisely explain the phenomena, and include correlations between women, peace and security, and the current policies of the Security Council in the area of human trafficking.

Netherlands said that the general recommendation should aim to enable national and international authorities to effectively respond to trafficking in persons while respecting human rights, and not conflate sexual exploitation, forced prostitution, and consensual sex work.  The legalisation of commercial sex work in the Netherlands had brought numerous benefits, including greater detection of trafficking in persons.  It was essential to stop viewing sex workers as either victims or criminals.

New Zealand concurred on the benefits of a legal and policy framework for the legalization and regularization of sex work and warned against criminalization.  The general recommendation should therefore make a distinction between sexual exploitation and consensual sex work.

Sweden reiterated its commitment to the Convention and the obligation of States parties to address trafficking in persons and prostitution, and said that it had prohibited the purchase of sex services in order to protect women and girls from exploitation and trafficking.

Cyprus remained committed to combatting human trafficking and protecting victims, and had enacted a solid legal framework, which had been recently revised to address root causes of trafficking, which was the demand side.  Therefore, Cyprus had criminalized the use of services from victims of trafficking, and had provided a detailed definition of demand.

France was worried by the scope and breadth of human trafficking which reduced victims to silence and made of them objects of immoral and illicit commerce.  France had enacted a robust legal framework and would continue to work nationally, with the European Union, and at the United Nations.  All States should effectively implement the existing legal framework, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention against Torture.

Brazil said that in 2005, it had put in place an international hotline called 108, with functions in 16 different countries.  It had been hugely important in the identification of Brazilian women trafficked abroad. 

Mexico stressed that migration must be looked at through the framework of gender inequalities and condemned human trafficking as a contemporary form of slavery.  A comprehensive protection of the human rights of women migrants and their effective access to justice were among key issues, Mexico said, urging the Committee to ensure in its general recommendation appropriately linked with the Global Compact on Migration.

Austria had set up a national task force for combatting human trafficking in 2004 and had in place comprehensive action plans to combat the phenomenon.  Based on its experience as a country of transit and destination, Austria stood ready to cooperate on the elaboration of the general recommendation.

South Africa was encouraged by the Committee’s work on developing this general recommendation and stressed that migration and trafficking were complex issues that impacted on all States.  The act on the prevention and combatting of trafficking in persons had entered into force in 2015.

Statements by Civil Society Organizations 

Human Rights Commission of Mexico City (Comisión de Derechos Humanos del Distrito Federal) said that Mexico was undergoing an impressive and large migration flow and said that the Commission was addressing the emergency caused by the migrant caravans from Central America.

Lutheran World Federation and the World Council of Churches called attention to the fact that in a large number of cases in Nepal, victims of trafficking changed their testimony and were reluctant to appear in court.  Therefore, it was essential to pay adequate attention to the protection and support of victims in the general recommendation.

Anglican Consultative Council stressed that churches must be key partners in the global fight against human trafficking, and this should be on the general recommendation’s concrete recommendations to States.  Churches were also outspoken advocates for the adoption of a strong legal framework.

Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers said that many sex workers in the region engaged in sex work because they needed money, and added that it was important to distinguish between voluntary sex work and trafficking.  Consensual sex workers were hard workers, and criminalizing them was not an adequate approach. 

Liberty Shared Hong Kong stressed the need to ensure greater accountability of those who profited from the exploitation of women and girls and requested the Committee in the general recommendation to call upon States to strengthen anti-laundering and other schemes, in order to disrupt and confiscate illicit funds, and compensate victims.

Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (HOME) said that national legislation must be strengthened to reflect international standards, particularly in order to improve the early identification of victims of trafficking.  Excluding domestic workers from key labour protection made them very vulnerable to exploitation.

Women’s Links Worldwide said that States had divergent issues of trafficking in persons, from security to human rights based, that was why it was important for the Committee to address the obligations of States to identify and support victims using human rights and gender based approaches.

APROASE Mexico stressed that consensual sex work was not trafficking in persons and warned against conflation of human trafficking and sex work which resulted in Mexico in the violation of the human rights of sex workers.

Equivalencias en Accion Cepaz Venezuela emphasized the need to address the root causes and risk factors of trafficking in persons and women’s vulnerability, which included poverty and human rights violations of women and girls.  It was essential to adequately address complex humanitarian crises and their role in trafficking in persons and exploitation.

European Women’s Lobby was deeply concerned that the general recommendation addressed only one aspect of article 6 of the Convention and did not adequately elaborate on prostitution and sexual exploitation.  In this context, addressing demand was critical, and this required the examination of entire prostitution systems and networks.

National Alliance of Women’s Organisations, National Board of Catholic Women & women@thewell was concerned by the decision to exclude the exploitation of women in prostitution from the general recommendation.  The non-governmental organization also objected to the use of the term “forced prostitution” in the draft text.

Centre for Human Rights of the National University of Ireland Galway said that expanding legal routes to migration reduced vulnerability to human rights.  Labour inspectors played a key role in preventing trafficking for labour exploitation, therefore their roles must be strengthened, in particular in the sectors of domestic work and agriculture.

European Network for the Promotion of Rights and Health among Migrant Sex Workers said that victims of trafficking must not be further exploited as witnesses and must receive adequate support and protection irrespective of their willingness to cooperate with authorities.  Further, States should abolish laws criminalizing migration and sex work, encourage the respect of sex workers’ human and labour rights, and support their access to service.

Sex Workers’ Rights Advocacy Network stressed that for consensual sex workers, this profession was an economic choice, made in order to support themselves and their families.  Sex workers were against trafficking, exploitation and forced labour, and asked the Committee to recognize and respect the human and reproductive rights of sex workers and call for differentiated approaches to sex work   

SWARM and Decrim Now said that sex workers were acutely aware of the risks of exploitation and said that criminalization of both sex work and migration cemented those harms, particularly those most vulnerable.  Criminalization in any form harmed sex workers and the Committee should call for decriminalization.

Conseil International des Femmes provided a personal testimony of a young woman trafficked for sexual exploitation and stressed that without the freedom to say no, a yes was simply a resignation.  There must be decriminalization of victims and criminalization of demand and pimping.

Patricia Shulz, former member of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, said that the general recommendation should emphasize the need to address the root causes of trafficking and exploitation, including in terms of reducing poverty and providing access to education.  It should promote a labour and social law approach to the phenomenon of trafficking and sexual exploitation, in contrast to the prevailing accent on the criminal approach.

Forum Femmes Méditerranée said that no woman chose to be degraded by migrating for prostitution, and stressed that the complex realities of migration must be taken into account, including its root causes.

Association Equipes d’Action Contre le Proxénétisme et d’aide aux victimes said that the person who was prostituted should not be criminalized but must be seen as a victim.  It was important to harness the power of awareness raising, and ensure training of all those coming in contact with victims of trafficking.

Advocates for Human Rights stressed the vulnerability of migrant children to trafficking, even when they travelled with adults.  A victim-centred approach must be put in place to ensure the adequate support and reintegration of victims.

Reframe Health and Justice denounced the new law in the United States which had prohibited online advertising for sex workers, which increased the vulnerability of sex workers to violence, abuse and exploitation.

Equality Now said that the general recommendation should emphasize the obligation of States to address gender-based discrimination and inequality and put in place safe migration routes.  All States should address structural factors that increased vulnerability to trafficking and exploitation, including in the context of migration, and put in place measures that addressed impunity at all levels for sexual exploitation, including at the level of demand.

Coalition against Trafficking in Women was concerned that the general recommendation was framed in the context of global migration and said that it should urge States to address trafficking and exploitation for prostitution in line with their international obligations, the Palermo Protocol in particular, and while paying adequate attention to their root causes.

Global Alliance against Trafficking in Women said that the phenomenon of global migration was indicative of the prevailing economic structures in the world, in which many people were stuck between a rock and a hard place.  It was essential for States to ensure decent work for all and respect for human rights, reduce inequality within and between countries, ensure access to justice for all, and address climate change.

European Disability Forum and the International Disability Alliance drew attention to the greater vulnerability of women and girls with disabilities to trafficking and exploitation, particularly those in institutions.  Those with visible disabilities were often trafficked into forced begging, while women and girls with intellectual disabilities were trafficked for sexual exploitation as their traffickers believed that they were easier to manage and would be less credible if they reported the crime.

Regards des femmes at Amicale du Nid said that every woman must enjoy her human rights, and that there was no justification for the violation of their rights.  The prostitution system reinforced inequality between women and men, and perpetuated discrimination and violence against women.  Prostitution must be decriminalized.

Dutch Association Women and Law 'Clara Wichmann', Dutch Women Council (NVR) and the Dutch CEDAW stressed that trafficking in persons was first and foremost a human rights violation and that human rights must guide all responses.  The general recommendation should be led by the perspectives, interests, and human rights of the women concerned, thus anti-trafficking must focus on empowering women, and widening their options rather than punishing them for the narrow choices they had.

Sexual Rights Initiative stressed that conflation of trafficking and sex work perpetuated the deeply structural imbalances at the root of vulnerability, and recommended full decriminalization of sex work in its entirety.

Dr. B. Brooks-Gordon, an academic, stressed that the Internet had changed the nature of work, including sex work, for those who diversified their sources of income, saved for a house, and created safer lives for themselves.  But this was only possible if sex work was not criminalized and sex workers were not infantilized.

Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights and the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion drew attention to discrimination against women in matters of nationality in a number of countries, which undermined their equal status of society and caused statelessness.  Trafficking could also lead to new causes of statelessness, for example in some countries prolonged absence from a country could lead to a loss of nationality.

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom said that the Committee must reflect on what happened when human rights violations and militarism intersected.  In many places in which foreign military bases were established, sexual exploitation became a part of the context, as women, girls and boys were forced into prostitution.

Geneva International Centre for Justice said that human trafficking required an integrated approach and included the aspects of prevention, which started with proper understanding of local conditions and social factors.  The risk of trafficking due to migration was heightened in societies in conflict.

Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice supported the Committee’s view that trafficking of women and girls was rooted in gender-based discrimination and structural inequality.  States should give due regard to the Global Compact for Migration to protect women from irregular and unsafe migration channels which increased their vulnerability, and ensure that immigration rules did not facilitate trafficking.

Plan International, speaking in a joint statement, urged the Committee to reflect in its general recommendation on the specific vulnerabilities of girls and what States could do to address the risks to girls.  The approach must be shifted from a law enforcement to human rights, and include prevention, protection, prosecution and partnerships.

Statements by United Nations Agencies

United Nations Women said that being a migrant heightened the risk of being trafficked, and for migrant women and girls, multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination that they faced exacerbated their vulnerabilities.  The adoption of the Global Compact for migration provided an important blueprint to address trafficking and exploitation of migrants in a coordinated manner, while the general recommendation would bridge an important gap between global migration and trafficking.

United Nations Refugee Agency said that survivors of trafficking could become refugees, and refugees and internally displaced persons could become victims of trafficking.  The more closed the borders were, the riskier the migration travels became.  States should ensure that international protection was available to victims of trafficking, and that best available assistance was provided in each individual case, including access to livelihoods.

World Health Organization highlighted the importance of a holistic approach to trafficking in the context of global migration, which would include prevention and support measures.  The World Health Organization warned against conflating trafficking for sexual exploitation with sex work, and underlined the responsibility of the health sector to identify the survivors and provide adequate assistance and support.

UNAIDS in a joint statement, focused on the distinction in a definition of sex work and trafficking, highlighting that the former was consensual and the latter was coercive.  It was critical to advance the health and rights of sex workers, including through the decriminalization of sex work, which had been shown to reduce HIV transmission rates by over 30 per cent.

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said that trafficking in persons always constituted a crime, while migrant smuggling was not.  The criminalization of migration forced migrants to find less safe ways, putting them at risk of trafficking and exploitation.  It was crucial to establish mechanisms to identify vulnerabilities and protection needs and ensure referrals that were gender sensitive.

Concluding Remarks

HENNY NGU, Policy Specialist for the United Nations Development Programme Migration and Displacement Team, in conclusion stressed the importance of programmatic and policy approaches that Governments could apply.

BEATE ANDREES, Chief of the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work Branch of the International Labour Organization, in her concluding remarks, said that particular importance should be placed on widening of women’s and girls’ choices in accessing education and decent work, especially considering that most jobs that women traditionally held would soon disappear due to automation.

KRISTINA TOUZENIS, Head of the International Migration Law Unit of the International Organization for Migration, said that the focus must be on protecting people from exploitation, which was what made something wrong.  Also, it was necessary to recognize that some sex work was not exploitation.

JOHN BRANDOLINO, Director of the Division of Treaty Affairs of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, agreed that prevention aspects were key, including through migration and labour regulation.

DALIA LEINARTE, Committee Expert and Chair of its Working Group on trafficking in women and girls in the context of global migration, in her concluding remarks, thanked different voices and opinions heard today and reaffirmed that gender equality and women’s rights would be at the heart of the general recommendation.  Consultations would continue, including at regional levels.

OREST NOWOSAD, Chief of the Groups in Focus Section of the Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanism Division at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and discussion moderator, concluded by noting that there were clearly international, regional and local dimensions to the problem, which called for an integrated approach to address intersectionality.

HILARY GBEDEMAH, Committee Chairperson, in her concluding remarks, thanked all the participants for their constructive contributions to the discussion which marked the beginning of the elaboration of the general recommendation.

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