A/HRC/29/38
The Special Rapporteur will focus on prevention of and protection from all forms of
trafficking in persons, in continuation of the broad interpretation of trafficking in persons
adopted by the mandate. This would include developing understanding of new and
emerging trends of trafficking, such as the consequences and impacts that conflicts and
humanitarian crises may have on trafficking; and the link between mixed migration flows
and trafficking, which she intends to explore further within existing human rights
frameworks. The prevention of trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation, including
of vulnerable or marginalized groups such as migrants, children, minorities, asylum seekers
and refugees, will be another aspect of the expert’s focus.
Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur will adopt an inclusive and holistic approach to
preventing and combating trafficking in persons which requires addressing the
systemic/underlying social factors that create the vulnerabilities of victims and potential
victims of trafficking. Building on the existing work of the mandate, in particular the basic
principles on the right to an effective remedy for victims of trafficking in persons
(A/HRC/26/18 and A/69/33797), she will look into remaining gaps in the conceptualization
of that right and its operationalization at the national level. Moreover, the Special
Rapporteur intends to analyse laws, policies and practices around the world and take stock
of promising practices and lessons learned on the provision of unconditional assistance to
victims and potential victims of trafficking, including children, who are frequently left
without assistance or the necessary support to access remedies, including compensation.
She expects to provide guidance to policymakers and practitioners on better implementing
the right to assistance and support and maximizing outreach and impact, thereby
contributing to more effective prevention and prosecution.
The Special Rapporteur is of the view that additional guidance would be necessary
to better equip States for the actions required to comply with their obligations to exercise
the principle of due diligence, and to ensure accountability for the rights of trafficked
persons by preventing trafficking, investigating and prosecuting traffickers, assisting and
protecting victims of trafficking and providing access to remedy.
The Special Rapporteur expects to engage with all stakeholders to address
trafficking effectively by partnering and engaging with States and non-State actors. She
will also consider civil society organizations as strategic partners — not only service
providers — to be included in the process of designing and implementing targeted antitrafficking measures.
Additionally, the Special Rapporteur will continue reaching out to the private sector,
in particular engaging with businesses and employers, as well as trade unions, to look out
for possibilities for public-private partnerships aimed at establishing effective actions to
prevent and combat trafficking. Such actions, including State action plans or other
regulations, will increase awareness of the risks that trafficking entails for businesses and
employers, and encourage them to commit themselves to take action to eradicate
trafficking, especially from their supply chains. To that end, the Special Rapporteur will
bring together businesses in selected sectors to exchange experiences and practices with
each other, review their assessment protocols through the lens of trafficking prevention,
pilot the use of benchmarks and indicators and encourage multi-stakeholder initiatives,
where they exist, to respect human rights and combat trafficking in persons, including the
establishment of complaint mechanisms enabling vulnerable workers to report exploitation.
In the final section, the Special Rapporteur sets out the methodology she intends to
adopt in carrying out her mandate, which includes the conduct of country visits and the
production of country reports, the development of thematic expertise and checklists to
shape international standards, the promotion of clarity around trafficking and fleshing out
the substantive content of key trafficking issues. In order to respond effectively to reliable
allegations of human rights violations and protect the rights of actual or potential victims of
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