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Palais des Nations, Geneva,
9 April 2002



OHCHR/COUNCIL OF EUROPE PANEL DISCUSSION:
COMBATING TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN BEINGS –
A EUROPEAN CONVENTION?


REMARKS BY MARY ROBINSON
HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS





Mr. Chairman,
Fellow panellists, ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to begin my short presentation by thanking the Council of Europe for organising this event in cooperation with my Office. The subject matter of this panel - a possible trafficking convention for Europe – is one which interests me greatly and I am very pleased to be here with you all today. The setting is also particularly appropriate. The Commission on Human Rights has been at the forefront of the fight against trafficking and has given important direction and support to my Office in this area (1).

I am also pleased to note the sponsorship of this event by the IGO Contact Group on Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling. This Group, which is now one year old, was established by representatives of OHCHR, the International Labour Organization, the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees the International Migration Policy Programme and the Council of Europe to promote cooperation and collaboration amongst intergovernmental organisations (2). It can already point to a number of significant achievements and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the members of the IGO Group on their important work.

The sheer scope of the problem of trafficking almost defies description. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people - perhaps even more - are tricked, sold, forced or otherwise coerced into situations of exploitation from which they cannot escape. These individuals are the commodities of a transnational industry which generates billions of dollars and, almost without exception, operates with virtual impunity.

Despite recent encouraging developments at the national, regional and international levels, little has changed for those caught up in this sordid trade. Attempts to deal with trafficking have, thus far, been largely ineffective. This is not a very positive evaluation but it is, I believe, an honest one.

More people are being trafficked than ever before. The pool of potential victims in this part of the world, as in all others, is growing rapidly because of widespread inequalities, lack of employment opportunities, violence, discrimination and poverty. Increasingly restrictive immigration policies on the part of many wealthy States force individuals desperate for work into the arms of unscrupulous traders. Traffickers are able to operate with impunity because of inefficient law enforcement compounded, in some cases, by official corruption. The global sex industry, which generates billions of dollars for governments as well as for organized criminal networks, is allowed to flourish without constraint.

What more can we do? I believe that first of all we must recognize the complexities involved. Trafficking is not one event but a series of constitutive acts and circumstances implicating a wide range of actors. It is essential that anti-trafficking measures take account of this fact and that efforts are made to address the entire cycle of trafficking. This will involve, first and foremost, improving our information base so that we know exactly what we are dealing with. It will also involve ensuring an appropriate legal framework and an adequate law enforcement response at the national level; protecting and supporting trafficked persons; improving cooperation and coordination between countries; and identifying and responding to those factors which increase vulnerability to trafficking and which sustain demand.

In developing detailed responses to each stage of the trafficking cycle it is essential that we keep certain very basic policy principles in mind – guiding principles which can also provide us with a way of measuring the success of anti-trafficking initiatives. Many of you are aware of the work of my Office in this area. I am pleased that I will shortly be releasing a set of International Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking. The Principles and Guidelines are the product of my Office's involvement in this issue since 1999. They have benefited from a wide consultation process involving most of the organisations represented here today, including the Council of Europe, as well as a number of individuals also present. OHCHR will be using the Principles and Guidelines as a framework for our own work and I will be offering them to States, intergovernmental organisations and others as a possible tool in their fight against trafficking.

For my Office, the key principle has always been the primacy of human rights: human rights must be at the core of any credible anti-trafficking strategy.

What does it mean to make human rights the centre of our anti-trafficking work? For me, it means, first and foremost, acknowledging that trafficking and related practices such as debt bondage, forced prostitution and forced labour are violations of the basic human rights to which all persons are entitled. The right to life, to equality, dignity and security; the right to just and favourable conditions of work; the right to health; the right to be recognised as a person before the law. These are rights which we all possess - irrespective of our sex, our nationality, our occupation or any other difference.

A human rights approach also demands that we acknowledge the responsibility of governments to protect and promote the rights of all persons within their jurisdictions. This responsibility translates into a legal obligation on governments to work towards eliminating trafficking and related exploitation. Passivity and inaction are insufficient. Tolerance or complicity is inexcusable.

Finally, for me as High Commissioner, a human rights approach to trafficking means that all parts of the international system should integrate human rights into their analysis of the problem and into their responses. This is the only way to retain a focus on the trafficked person, to ensure that trafficking is not simply reduced to a problem of migration, a problem of public order or a problem of transnational crime.

What does all this mean for a possible European Convention on Trafficking? I would like to use this opportunity to publicly express my support for such an initiative. A further strengthening of legal commitments at the regional level is, I believe, an essential part of the global solution to the trade in human beings. The proposal for a European Convention on this issue deserves our encouragement and support.

At the same time, we need to make sure that mistakes of the past are not repeated and that a new treaty represents a net advance for trafficked persons and their rights. This will be achieved if the European States agree to make human rights the foundation and reference point for the new Convention.

The following points could also usefully be kept in mind:

First: A new regional Convention on trafficking should build on what we already have. Almost two years ago, the international community finally agreed on a definition of trafficking. That definition, now contained in the Palermo Protocol, (3) supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, should be integrated in any new legal instrument on this subject;

Second: In order to promote uniformity and minimum standards, the protection and assistance provisions of the Palermo Protocol should be incorporated into the proposed European Convention as basic obligations. Protection and support are too important to be made optional.

Third: The Convention should explicitly protect trafficked persons from prosecution for the illegality of their coerced entry or residence, or for the unlawful activities they may undertake as a direct consequence of their situation;

Fourth: The possibility that trafficked persons may be in need of international refugee protection should be explicitly acknowledged;

Fifth: The Convention should recognise that the problem of child trafficking is a distinct one requiring special attention. The best interests of child victims must be considered paramount at all times. Children should be provided with appropriate assistance and protection. Full account should be taken of their special vulnerabilities, rights and needs.

Sixth: The Convention should promote safe, and as far as possible, voluntary return. Trafficked persons should be offered legal alternatives to repatriation where it is reasonable to conclude that such repatriation would pose a serious risk to their safety and/or that of their families.

Seventh: the Convention should guarantee, to trafficked persons, the right of access to adequate and appropriate remedies.

Finally, the proposed Convention should require States to address the factors that increase vulnerability to trafficking including inequality, poverty and all forms of discrimination. It should also address demand as a root cause of trafficking.

Ladies and gentlemen;

It is necessary for us all to confront the uncomfortable fact that so far, we have not succeeded in eliminating this trade in people for profit. We have not even managed to stem the tide.

A European Convention on trafficking is a potentially important part of the solution. We have the opportunity, in Europe, to develop a treaty which will provide an example for other regions to follow. However, the chance will only come once. We must work together to get it right.

Thank you.





Notes


1. CHR Resolution 2001/48 esp. at OP 5. See also GA Resolution A/RES/55/67 at OP2.

2. The IGO Contact Group on Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling was established by representatives of OHCHR, the International Labour Organization, the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in March, 2001. Other members now include the International Migration Policy Programme and the Council of Europe. The Coordinator of the Geneva-based NGO Caucus against Trafficking participates in an observer capacity. The Group was led by OHCHR for its first year. In March, 2002, UNHCR and ILO jointly took over this position. The IGO Group seeks to strengthen individual and collective capacities of member organisations in the areas of trafficking and smuggling through the sharing of information as well as through the development and implementation of joint initiatives.

3. The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, adopted by the General Assembly in November, 1999, UNGA Resolution 55/25 of 15 November 2000.


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