Statement by Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children at the 69th session of the General Assembly Third Committee Item 68 (b & c) 

24 October 2014
New York 

Mr. President,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is an honour for me to address this General Assembly for the first time in my capacity as the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children. In view of my nomination by the Human Rights Council in June this year, I do so with great respect for the work of my predecessors and for the experience and expertise assembled in this room and within the wider UN system. I also seize this opportunity to address this Assembly with a strong sense of responsibility and commitment to the implementation of the mandate entrusted to me by the Human Rights Council. It is a shared responsibility, however, and I look forward to continue building partnerships and synergies with all of you to overcome the obstacles to the full and effective protection of the human rights of victims of trafficking in persons, especially women and children.  

I am fortunate to be able to build upon the work of my two predecessors, Ms. Sigma Huda and Ms. Joy Ezeilo, who achieved ground-breaking work on the issue of trafficking in persons, especially women and children, since the establishement of the mandate.

In fact the report that I am presentating before you today was prepared by my predecessor, Ms. Joy Ezeilo. This report provides a critical assessment of work of this mandate a decade after its establishment (2004-2014) and draws the attention of the General Assembly to the major areas of focus and the contribution to key conceptual and legal gains of the mandate on which I wish to build on during my tenure as Special Rapporteur. 

The establishement of this mandate in 2004 proved to be a milestone, affirming on behalf of the international community two key principles: first, that the human rights of trafficked persons should be at the centre of all efforts to combat trafficking; and second, that anti-trafficking measures should not adversely affect the human rights and dignity of all persons concerned. Over the past decade, the mandate has persistently reaffirmed the central role of the international legal definition of trafficking in persons of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (Palermo Protocol) in establishing the parameters of trafficking and enabling responses to be developed with consistency and clarity. Today, the definition is interpreted in a broad way: trafficking can take place for a wide range of end purposes, including, but not limited to, sexual exploitation and labour exploitation; it can involve as victims men and boys, as well as women and girls; and it can take place across borders or within a country, including the victim’s own.

The mandate has adopted a human rights-based, victim centered and collaborative approach to fighting trafficking in persons which have guided Member States towards ensuring that all aspects of national, regional and international responses to trafficking are anchored in the rights and obligations established by international human rights laws. In this regard, the fulcrum of the work specifically relied on 11 pillars “Five Ps”: Protection, Prosecution and Prevention, Punishment of perpetrators and Promotion of international cooperation as well as three “Rs” (Redress, Rehabilitation and Reintegration); and three Cs (Capacity, Coordination and Cooperation).

In addition, five areas of cross-cutting concerns have emerged as major themes of importance to the anti-trafficking movement and this mandate. These are:

1. the right of victims to assistance, protection and support: In line with the rights-based and victim centred approach, the mandate has focused strongly on elaborating the legal dimensions of the right of victims to assistance, protection and support and in considering the extent to which these rights are respected and protected in practice. Low identification rates particularly of men and boys as well as the continuing strong focus on trafficking for sexual exploitation at the expenses of other forms of trafficking such as labour exploitatiation, has remained  a widespread problem impeding efforts to effectively fight trafficking in persons and fostering immpunity for this grave human rights violation.
   
   
2. the right of victims to effective remedies. Trafficked persons are frequently left without remedies or the support necessary to access them, a situation that exacerbates the risk of further human rights violations, including through retrafficking. It is on this basis that the mandate, in cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, developed the Basic Principles on the right to an effective remedy for trafficked persons which, inter alia, notes States’ obligation to provide remedies to victims of trafficking, as set out in a number of relevant international legal instruments and widely recognized by United Nations bodies and regional courts. The Basic Principles are the result opf extensive research on this topic and seven regional and global consultations held between 2013 and 2014 as per Council resolution 20/1 as well as written submissions by States and other statkeholders. The Basic Principles, that I encourage States to incorporate into their domestic legislation,  are annexed to the report before you today.
   
   
3. the human rights-based approach in the criminal justice response to trafficking in persons. While accepting the dangers that an overwhelming focus on investigations and prosecutions may take attention away from the rights and needs of victims, the mandate emphasized that a strong response from the criminal justice system is an integral part of dealing effectively with trafficking. The “administration of criminal justice systems must be geared towards guaranteeing access to justice to victims, providing an effective remedy, promoting respect for the fundamental human rights of victims, including offenders, and ensuring adequate protection and assistance to victims of trafficking in order to prevent revictimization and avoid the danger of being retrafficked” (A/64/290, para. 99).
   
   
4. the prevention of trafficking: The mandate has examined both the general concept of prevention of trafficking in persons and particular aspects of a preventive approach. This includes addressing demand and supply chain transparency and accountability , addressing the root causes that make individuals vulnerable to traffickers and redressing the human rights violations leading to trafficking in persons (A/HRC/23/48). The mandate has also maintained a strong focus on non-State actors, including victims themselves and the role they can or should play in preventing and responding to trafficking. As a result,  a series of clear and practical recommendations for businesses and States aimed at eliminating trafficking in supply chains (A/67/261) and a draft set of benchmarks and indicators for ensuring that supply chains are free of trafficking (A/HRC/23/48/Add.4) were developed.
   
   
5. trafficking in persons for the removal of organs: in recent years, there have been a series of anecdotal evidence and reputable reports documenting systematic trafficking in persons for the removal of organs in several different regions of the world and major prosecutions in Africa and Europe. Consistently with the commitment of the mandate to tackling difficult, emerging and under-researched issues, attention was also paid to trafficking in persons for the removal of organs, with a view to contributing to the international conversation at a pivotal point.

Mr. President,

I would like now to turn to my vision for this mandate in the years to come. Trafficking in persons is an issue to which I have devoted a considerable amount of time and passion over the past 15 years, lately as the former Special Representative for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and previously as a judge, policy-maker and diplomat. On this occasion, I would like to share with you some preliminary thoughts on the principles, strategies and directions which will guide me in the exercise of this mandate over the next years.

My first priority is the protection of the rights of trafficked persons. I will explore, in particular, grounds for assistance and support, that should be unconditional and based on personal and social conditions, and access to justice and remedies including compensation, including through civil and labour law remedies. The criminal justice response is of course crucial, but it should be strengthened and accompanied by a number of other actions, including actions aimed at facilitating trafficked persons' access to civil and labour law remedies and compensation.

I am convinced that one of the added values of my mandate is to show that a consistent human rights based approach makes the prevention of and fight against trafficking stronger and more effective.

Secondly, I will focus on prevention as a strategic approach, taking into account the massive dimension of trafficking, especially for labour exploiation. In particular, I will explore which regulations of the labour market can reduce and ultimately eradicate trafficking, including regulation and checks on recruitment agencies, sometimes charging fees on workers, and contributing to debt bondage. I will also continue to work on actual implementation of self-regulatory action by the private sector, aimed at cleaning the supply chains from trafficking, forced labour and slavery. In this context, I will also explore the role governments can and must play to encourage companies to adopt codes of conduct and other similar mechanisms, and consistently monitor their actual implementation.

I also plan to pay particular attention to the intersection of gender inequality and trafficking in persons. I will explore, among other things, the double burden borne by migrant women and girls, who most probably are still the vast majority of trafficked persons, who are sexually exploited, and exploited at work, in households, restaurants, hotels, in agricolture and the textile industry, among others. their vulnerability as migrants and as women puts them at risk in in environments where gender discrimination is still rife.

Moreover, I would like to focus on how prevention of trafficking in persons can be addressed through the social inclusion of all vulnerable people including migrants, and particularly child migrants; ethnic or racial minorities; asylum seekers; refugees; among others. Promoting social inclusion should be a strategic approach that everyone should take seriously as a powerful preventive measure.

In undertaking my duties, I will endeavour to adopt a collaborative approach with a wide range of stakeholders. First and foremost I intend to strengthen the collaboration with States parties to the Palermo Protocol and engage in a meaningful and forward-looking dialogue with those States that have not yet ratified it. The mandate has also greatly valued its cooperation with UN agencies, international organisations and existing coordination mechanisms among these entities like ICAT, and I intend to build on the partnerships that have cemented in these past ten years.

And naturally, I will strive to closely cooperate with the other human rights mechanisms beginning with relevant mandates such as the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, to name but a few.

I am also committed to continue consulting with and listening to victims, civil society and non-State actors. The wide axperience we have gained over the past ten years shows that cooperation with non-State actors, including victim support organisations, workers unions and businesses, is absolutely crucial. In particular, non-State actors should be considered strategic partners - not only service providers - and included in the process of designing and implementing policies.

I thank you all for your kind attention and I look forward to a fruitful interactive dialogue and future collaboration.

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