The first decade of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children 2014, para. 46
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No prosecution or punishment. The acceptance that victims of trafficking should not be punished - or indeed prosecuted - for offences that have been committed in the course of their trafficking, such as immigration and work offences has grown. The Special Rapporteur has regularly upheld the importance of this principle and endorses the now widespread position that States should not prosecute or punish victims "for unlawful acts committed by them as a direct consequence of their situation as trafficked persons or where they were compelled to commit such unlawful acts" (CTOC/COP/WG.4/2009/2, para. 12(b)). A number of States, international organizations and civil society groups responding to the questionnaire pointed to the work of the Special Rapporteur on this issue as a major achievement, helping to establish non-prosecution and non-punishment as an accepted standard.
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Non-negotiated soft law
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Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children