Message from the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson to the Ad-Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of a Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime Fourth Session, Vienna, 7 July, 1999

Mr. Chairman,


I would like to begin by expressing my thanks to members of the Ad-Hoc Committee for allowing me to deliver this message. It was my great hope to be with you in person. I trust that I will have that opportunity some time in the future before you wind up your important and difficult work.

My remarks today will be limited to the two Protocols which are the focus of the Working Groups attention this week. My views on the two drafts are set out in some detail in an informal note which is before you (A/AC.254/16). I will not repeat what is in there. Rather, I would prefer to use this opportunity to explore some of the broader issues which these two instruments touch upon.

Each year, hundreds of thousands of individuals - the vast majority women and children from developing and transitional countries - are tricked, sold, coerced or otherwise procured into situations of exploitation from which they cannot escape. These individuals are the commodities of a transnational industry which, legally and illegally, generates billions of dollars each year and, almost without exception, is conducted with a frightening level of impunity.

At the same time, hundreds of thousands - perhaps millions of desperate individuals - are knowingly entrusting their lives and fortunes to unscrupulous profiteers. As borders are tightened around the world organized criminal networks provide the only chance for many people in their search for security and a better life. It is right to target these networks. It is also right to continue our fight against the corruption which allows them to flourish. However, in our efforts to eliminate illegal migration we cannot forget that all persons, irrespective of their status, have rights in law which must be protected.

Any instrument dealing with the issue of illegal migration - whatever its perspective - should explicitly commit itself to preserving and protecting the fundamental rights to which all persons, including illegal migrants, are entitled. We can attack and dismantle the organized criminal networks that are engaged in the illicit movement of persons for profit. We can also work to ensure that the victims of this sad trade are not subject to further ill-treatment and abuse. These two goals are not irreconcilable.

Special attention should also be paid to the fact that increasing numbers of asylum seekers are being transported in circumstances which would be covered by the draft Protocol on Migrant Smuggling. This group includes persons with genuine claims to refugee status. It is essential that the Protocol does not become another obstacle to the already daunting task of claiming refugee protection. I therefore urge States to ensure that the principle of non-refoulement of asylum seekers is preserved in this instrument.

The issue of trafficking in persons presents equally great challenges. My own work and that of my Office is based on two fundamental principles:

First: that human rights must be at the core of any credible anti-trafficking strategy;
and,

Second, that we must work from the perspective of those who most need their human rights protected and promoted.

Trafficking and related practices such as debt bondage, forced prostitution and forced labour are violations of the most basic of human rights. The right to life; the right to dignity and security; the right to just and favourable conditions of work; the right to health; and the right to equality. These are rights that we all possess - irrespective of our sex, our nationality, our social status, our occupation or other difference. Trafficking is also inherently discriminatory. In the case of trafficking into the global sex industry, we are talking about men from relatively prosperous countries paying for the sexual services of women and girls - and sometimes men and boys - from less wealthy countries. This is more than a labour rights issue or an issue of unequal development. It is a basic human rights issue because it involves such a massive and harmful form of discrimination.

I urge this Committee to integrate human rights into its analysis of the trafficking problem and in the development of an effective international legislative response. That, in my view, 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 organized crime. It is also the only way to ensure that well-intentioned anti-trafficking initiatives do not compound discrimination against female migrants or further endanger the precariously held rights of individuals working in prostitution.

While trafficking is primarily conduced by private individuals and groups, the State must also assume its responsibilities. International law is clear on the point that all States have a legal responsibility to protect and promote the rights of all persons within their jurisdiction. This responsibility translates into a legal obligation on governments to work towards eliminating trafficking and related exploitation. That means developing effective law enforcement structures and weapons to fight organized crime. It means continuing to tackle public-sector corruption. Governments also have an obligation, individually and collectively, to fight the underlying causes of trafficking: the poverty, discrimination and social exclusion which ruin the lives and destroy the choices of many of the worldÆs women, men and children.

Members of the Committee are no doubt aware of the historic nature of their work. The process in which you are engaged represents the first legislative consideration of the trafficking issue in over half a century. It is also the first attempt to develop, in an international forum, a legal definition of "trafficking". The end result of your work should represent a step forward in eliminating trafficking and in securing the rights of trafficked persons. You have the opportunity here in this room to set a standard that will guide us through the twenty-first century.

Mr. Chairman,

Trafficking and irregular migration are perhaps the most pressing and the most complex problems currently facing the international community. They are of course interrelated. Today's victim of trafficking may well be yesterday's - or tomorrow's - illegal immigrant. In both cases the potential for violation of human rights is enormous. In both cases, the involvement of organized criminal groups is increasing faster than we are able to measure. Neither of these issues can be addressed effectively by one State or even by a Group of States. They are transnational in scope and transnational in effect. The work that is being done here is therefore vital.

I am of course aware that the instruments being discussed in this meeting are not human rights treaties. They are clearly designed as transnational cooperation agreements with a particular focus on organized crime. However, in my view it is essential that new international instruments do not conflict with or otherwise undermine international human rights law. I urge members of the Committee to bear this in mind as you strive to develop a system which will rid the world of organized crime and the widespread misery which it generates. I encourage you to go even further: to ensure that the spirit of human rights law, as well as it's letter, is reflected in the end result.

Thank you.