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Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Similarly, granting immunity, in violation of international law, to any State or its agents or to non-State actors for torture or ill-treatment, is in direct conflict with the obligation of providing redress to victims. When impunity is allowed by law or exists de facto, it bars victims from seeking full redress as it allows the violators to go unpunished and denies victims full assurance of their rights under article 14. The Committee affirms that under no circumstances may arguments of national security be used to deny redress for victims.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Committee against Torture
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Implementation of article 2 by States parties 2008, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- The Committee has made clear that where State authorities or others acting in official capacity or under colour of law, know or have reasonable grounds to believe that acts of torture or ill-treatment are being committed by non-State officials or private actors and they fail to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish such non-State officials or private actors consistently with the Convention, the State bears responsibility and its officials should be considered as authors, complicit or otherwise responsible under the Convention for consenting to or acquiescing in such impermissible acts. Since the failure of the State to exercise due diligence to intervene to stop, sanction and provide remedies to victims of torture facilitates and enables non-State actors to commit acts impermissible under the Convention with impunity, the State's indifference or inaction provides a form of encouragement and/or de facto permission. The Committee has applied this principle to States parties' failure to prevent and protect victims from gender-based violence, such as rape, domestic violence, female genital mutilation, and trafficking.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Committee against Torture
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2008
Paragraph
Racial discrimination against people of African descent 2011, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- [Formulates the following recommendations addressed to States parties:] Also ensure the protection of the security and integrity of people of African descent without any discrimination by adopting measures for preventing racially motivated acts of violence against them; ensure prompt action by the police, prosecutors and the judiciary for investigating and punishing such acts; and ensure that perpetrators, be they public officials or other persons, do not enjoy impunity.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
The right to access information 2013, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- In its considerations, the Court has emphasized that the State must demonstrate a certain amount of due diligence in searching and providing information. For example, it was of the view that the State could not seek protection in arguing the lack of existence of the requested documents but, to the contrary, must establish the reason for denying the provision of the said information, demonstrating that it had adopted all the measures within its power to prove that, in effect, the information sought did not exist. Furthermore, the Court deemed it essential that, in order to guarantee the right to information, the public powers should act in good faith and diligently carry out the actions necessary to ensure the effectiveness of that right, especially when it dealt with the right to the truth of what had occurred in cases of gross violations of human rights, such as those of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial execution in the case under consideration.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- The establishment of mechanisms and processes to raise and respond to alarms is essential to preventing and stopping violence. Ensuring appropriate community liaison promotes trust and establishes and maintains strong and efficient channels of communication between communities and law-enforcement bodies. Identifying the individuals, communities or locations, community leaders or high profile places of worship or congregations that are most at risk is an important step. Increasing a visible security presence in key locations, including places of worship or nearby identified at-risk communities, is a deterrent to violence. In remote locations where there is a low presence of authorities, it may be necessary to establish a security presence to protect local communities.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Manifestations and causes of domestic servitude 2010, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- Even where there are laws and contracts that are meant to protect domestic workers, they are often inadequately enforced. Sometimes employers do not even have to register live-in domestic workers. There are no meaningful complaints mechanisms or the authorities fail to adequately follow up complaints. In many countries, the authorities also lack the legal power or human resources to follow up violations taking place in private homes. A positive exception is Uruguay, where the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate can obtain judicial authorization to conduct home inspections in cases of presumed labour law violations; the inspectorate has created a special section to monitor domestic work. Other countries require that employers ensure that live-in domestic workers attend periodic, private interviews with labour inspectors. This breaks their isolation and allows them to report abuse and exploitation.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Servile marriage 2012, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- On 22 February 2008, in Prosecutor v. Brima et al, the Special Court for Sierra Leone recognized forced marriage as a crime against humanity under international criminal law for the first time. The Court confirmed that forced marriage involved a perpetrator compelling a person by force or threat of force, through words, or conduct of the perpetrator, or anyone associated with him, into a forced conjugal association resulting in great suffering or serious physical or mental injury on the part of the victim. It concluded that forced marriage might also include one or more international crimes such as enslavement, imprisonment, rape, sexual slavery and abduction.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Eradicating contemporary forms of slavery from supply chains 2015, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- Despite notable improvements in recent years, gaps in legal and regulatory protection for the human rights of victims of contemporary forms of slavery exist in a number of countries. This has a significant impact on enforcing corporate legal liability. In many cases, States also lack an integrated approach to criminal, labour and human rights laws, which impedes law enforcement and prevents effective investigation and prosecution of abuses. Where the legislative framework does exist, in some instances this is affected by lengthy legal proceedings and corruption, including bribery, which means that access to remedy is slow and victims are reluctant to come forward as a result.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- In South Asia, several countries have provisions in their national constitutions from which further enacted legislation on debt bondage flows directly. For example, article 23 of the Constitution of India prohibits trafficking in human beings, begar (debt bondage) and other similar forms of forced labour, as an enforceable right. Article 11 of the Constitution of Pakistan prohibits slavery and forced labour. Article 29 of the Constitution of Nepal prohibits debt bondage and other forms of forced labour and specifies that an employer contravening the prohibition must pay compensation. In Brazil, article 243 of the Constitution provides for the expropriation of rural or urban property in which the use of slave labour has been identified and its consignment to agrarian reform and social housing.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- Some countries have taken proactive efforts to form multi-stakeholder initiatives to ensure more effective efforts to combat contemporary forms of slavery. This includes multi-stakeholder committees responsible for combating contemporary forms of slavery, which include members of civil society. These committees are important in holding Governments accountable for enforcing laws on contemporary forms of slavery. In cases in which the Government fails to carry out its commitments, it is necessary for these stakeholders to engage the media, form alliances and mobilize public support in order to exert pressure on the authorities.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- Recently, stakeholders have made efforts to influence the sourcing decisions of companies and national and local governments in order to reduce the level of contemporary forms of slavery. It is now generally accepted that Governments are responsible for preventing contemporary forms of slavery and holding companies accountable - whether a product is produced in the country, manufactured by a company based in the country or imported and consumed by its citizens. Additionally, civil society organizations have also taken steps to promote responsible sourcing decisions and have provided guidance to companies on ways to prevent contemporary forms of slavery in their supply chains.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- In other cases, Governments have taken efforts to reward companies that take positive steps to combat contemporary forms of slavery, including by offering access to State contracts. In Argentina, the National Institute for Industrial Technology recently established a comprehensive national certification system for companies operating in the textile industry. The agency offers "certificates of quality" to firms that refrain from using forced labour and provide their employees with decent working conditions. Participating companies granted the certificate are eligible to bid on lucrative State textile contracts. In a similar spirit, the Plurinational State of Bolivia operates a certification programme called the Triple Seal, which is designed to encourage compliance with national labour laws and awarded to companies that prohibit child labour, discrimination and forced labour across their entire supply chains.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Certain forms of abuses in health-care settings that may cross a threshold of mistreatment that is tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2013, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- By reframing violence and abuses in health-care settings as prohibited ill-treatment, victims and advocates are afforded stronger legal protection and redress for violations of human rights. In this respect, the recent general comment No. 3 (2012) of the Committee against Torture on the right to a remedy and reparation offers valuable guidance regarding proactive measures required to prevent forced interventions. Notably, the Committee considers that the duty to provide remedy and reparation extends to all acts of ill-treatment, so that it is immaterial for this purpose whether abuses in health-care settings meet the criteria for torture per se. This framework opens new possibilities for holistic social processes that foster appreciation of the lived experiences of persons, including measures of satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition, and the repeal of inconsistent legal provisions.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The scope and objective of the exclusionary rule in judicial proceedings and in relation to acts by executive actors 2014, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- There is State responsibility for complicity in torture when one State gives assistance to another State in the commission of torture or other ill-treatment, or acquiesces in such acts, in the knowledge (including imputed knowledge) of the real risk that torture or ill-treatment will take place or has taken place, and aids and assists the torturing State in maintaining impunity for the acts of torture or ill-treatment. A State would thus be responsible when it was aware of the risk that information was obtained by torture or other ill-treatment, or ought to have been aware of that risk and did not take reasonable steps to prevent it. Moreover, the Special Rapporteur finds that the assistance provided by States does not have to have a substantial effect on the perpetration of the crime of torture itself for it to be regarded as responsible.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
The right to an effective remedy for trafficked persons 2011, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur engaged in further dialogues with a number of stakeholders following the presentation of the Human Rights Council report and found that the obstacles discussed above in successfully obtaining remedies are still common in many parts of the world. As far as compensation is concerned, research conducted by the European Action for Compensation for Trafficked Persons project ("COM.PACT project") demonstrated that although there is an emerging awareness about the right to compensation for trafficked persons and the legal frameworks in these European countries allow trafficked persons to claim compensation, the actual receipt of a compensation payment by a trafficked person is extremely rare. While there is a variety of factors that negatively affect trafficked persons' ability to claim compensation, the most common reasons include the lack of knowledge on the part of trafficked persons about their right to compensation, restrictive eligibility criteria for State-funded compensation funds, the failure of law enforcement authorities to confiscate assets or to use confiscated assets to compensate trafficked persons and the lack of jurisprudence on compensation for trafficked persons. Further, discussions at the international round table on "Compensation for trafficked persons in Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine", organized by La Strada Belarus on 10 June 2011, revealed that such obstacles as the lack of information about the right to compensation, the lack of knowledge on the part of judges and lawyers about the victims' right to compensation and the absence of legal aid, significantly reduce trafficked persons' chances of successfully claiming compensation.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
The right to an effective remedy for trafficked persons 2011, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur reiterates that States have an obligation to provide remedies for trafficked persons where they fail to exercise due diligence to prevent and combat trafficking in persons or to protect the human rights of trafficked persons. Furthermore, States have a duty to respect, protect and fulfil the right to an effective remedy under international human rights law. To this end, States' responses to trafficking should be guided by the objective of implementing the right to an effective remedy for trafficked persons. Trafficked persons must be recognized as holders of rights from the moment when they are identified as trafficked and States should implement measures to facilitate their realization of these rights. As different components of the right to an effective remedy are interrelated with each other, it is crucial for States to provide for a continuum of assistance and support, aimed at restitution, recovery, compensation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition, as appropriate in each individual case.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
The right to an effective remedy for trafficked persons 2011, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- A related concern is the absence in many States of a "reflection and recovery period", during which trafficked persons may escape the influence of traffickers, recover psychological stability to consider their options, and make an informed decision as to whether to cooperate with law enforcement authorities without the risk of being removed from the country. This period is not only an integral element of recovery, but also the fundamental first step in seeking other forms of reparations, such as compensation. The security and well-being of trafficked persons, which may be facilitated by the reflection and recovery period, is an essential prerequisite for trafficked persons in seeking compensation. Given the high degree of trauma experienced by trafficked persons, empirical evidence suggests that a minimum period of 90 days is required in order to ensure that the cognitive functioning of trafficked persons improves to a level at which they are able to make informed and thoughtful decisions about their safety and well-being, and provide more reliable information about trafficking-related events. This issue of a "reflection and recovery period" will be explored further in section D, subsection 3.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
The right to an effective remedy for trafficked persons 2011, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- Where State-funded compensation schemes for victims of crime exist, States should abolish eligibility criteria which have the effect of preventing trafficked persons from seeking compensation, such as nationality and long-term residence requirements. Where no compensation scheme exists, States should consider establishing one that provides compensation to trafficked persons and using confiscated assets and tax deductible voluntary donations to finance such a scheme. Compensation through such scheme should be available to all groups of trafficked persons on a non-discriminatory basis.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
A human rights-based approach to the administration of criminal justice in cases of trafficking in persons 2012, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- It should be recalled that these persons are first and foremost victims of trafficking who, by virtue of that status, are entitled to immediate protection and support. International law clearly states that all trafficked persons have a right to protection from further harm, a right to privacy, and a right to physical and psychological care and support. Trafficked persons also have a right to be informed of their legal options and given the time, space and help required to consider those options carefully. In some cases, this may require the regularization of the trafficked person's legal status to allow them access to services and to protect them from deportation.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
A human rights-based approach to the administration of criminal justice in cases of trafficking in persons 2012, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- Proactive investigations that seek to collect evidence to obviate or support victim testimony are another way for States to realize their due diligence obligation to prosecute trafficking without unduly burdening victims. The Special Rapporteur notes that alternative or corroborative evidence may be difficult to collect in trafficking cases because of limited resources and a lack of trained officials, particularly in States most affected by trafficking. The situation may also be compounded by the hidden nature of the crime and the lack of concrete records or indicators of criminal activity. It is important to acknowledge that substituting victim testimony with alternative evidence may not allow for full and effective prosecution. Nevertheless, the added value of such evidence merits attention, not least because the discovery of additional or corroborative evidence may alleviate some of the pressure put on victims during the prosecution process.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
A human rights-based approach to the administration of criminal justice in cases of trafficking in persons 2012, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- Another good practice is where States have taken measures to provide victim-witnesses with important information about participation in the justice process and to address privacy and safety concerns during trials. In the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Crown Prosecution Service has a policy of keeping victims informed about case developments, hearing dates, verdicts and sentences. In order to help agencies provide victim-witnesses with information in a language they understand, UNODC and the Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT) have developed a tool, "VITA", to identify the nationality and language of trafficked persons.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Integration of a human rights-based approach in measures to discourage the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation of persons, especially women and children, and which leads to human trafficking 2013, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Evidence collected over the past decade indicates that a substantial proportion of the workers who are trafficked and subjected to forced labour are contract workers who are not recruited or employed directly by the business for which they are working (on a work site, such as a farm or construction site). Instead, they are supplied by an agency or intermediary. In such circumstances, States should consider regulating the activities of recruitment agents and agencies. If they decide not to introduce a system of regulation, States still have a responsibility to ensure that recruitment agents and agencies are not contributing to human trafficking, both by checking on the effectiveness of any system of self-regulation practiced by the employment industry and ensuring that suitably trained law enforcement officials are available to investigate whenever abuses are reported.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The first decade of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children 2014, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- Addressing demand. Trafficking feeds into a global market that seeks out cheap, unregulated and exploitable labour and the goods and services that such labour can produce. Both mandate holders have affirmed that international law requires States to discourage the demand that fosters exploitation related to trafficking. The Special Rapporteur has examined that demand in detail in the context of a review of prevention (A/65/288, paras. 29-38) and in a dedicated report (A/HRC/23/48). In the latter report, the Special Rapporteur recommended that States take steps to understand the nature of demand and develop measures to discourage it, based on accurate information and experience. Basic human rights, including the prohibition on discrimination, should further guide this process. The Special Rapporteur also noted the importance of ensuring that measures to address demand do not themselves negatively affect individual rights and freedoms.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Due diligence and trafficking in persons 2015, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- In practice, due diligence has been applied mainly as a reactive obligation, often leading States to focus on post-hoc anti-trafficking measures, such as investigation and prosecution of trafficking. Instead, properly constituted, the due diligence standard enables States to take a proactive and long-term approach that focuses, for example, more closely on the prevention arm of due diligence. It also requires States to take a holistic approach that evaluates how due diligence in each of the different areas of anti-trafficking - such as prevention, prosecution, and punishment - interact with each other. For example, providing adequate protection and assistance to victims of trafficking in persons after they have been identified is also often necessary to prevent instances of retrafficking. Due diligence should be taken into account before, during and after each anti-trafficking intervention by not only considering each individual measure on its own terms, but also how it intersects with other anti-trafficking efforts.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- However, during conflict even the most basic and urgent victim protection measures may be difficult to secure. For example, effective protection to the victims of forced marriage and sexual enslavement at the hands of ISIS and Boko Haram is proving challenging. Post-conflict societies may also lack the capacity to undertake necessary risk assessments and provide required protections to victims and potential victims of trafficking due to inadequate or non-existent referral mechanisms. Moreover, trafficking in persons is currently not taken into consideration within existing humanitarian and peacekeeping operations in conflict and post-conflict situations. As a result, many victims and potential victims of trafficking, especially those fleeing conflict, remain undetected, primarily due to lack of trained officials likely to encounter and identify possible victims of trafficking in persons, such as law enforcement, peacekeepers and humanitarian personnel. Victims may also refrain from seeking protection due to the social stigmatization linked to certain forms of trafficking, including sexual exploitation, possible retaliation from traffickers, discrimination or mistrust of authorities.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations 2016, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- The majority of States have enacted anti-trafficking laws. Of those States that have adopted such laws, 41 per cent have reported no trafficking convictions, or fewer than 10, per year, a figure that reveals the extent of impunity for perpetrators involved in the crime of trafficking in persons, whether government employees, members of the military or peacekeeping, humanitarian and other international personnel during conflict and post-conflict situations. Impunity is a contributing factor to trafficking in persons. The accountability of those who engage in trafficking in persons in situations of armed conflict mitigates the risks of trafficking. In cases where national criminal justice systems fail or lack the jurisdiction to appropriately respond to trafficking, the possibility of international, hybrid or regional courts prosecuting cases of trafficking, within the scope of their jurisdiction, with the possibility of including crimes of human trafficking within the legal statutes of such courts so as to ensure accountability and fight impunity, is a matter under discussion.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Violence against women: Twenty years of developments to combat violence against women 2014, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- To ensure effective focus on the issue of sexual violence in armed conflict situations and their aftermath, the Security Council suggested that the Secretary-General appoint a special representative to provide coherent and strategic leadership and work effectively to strengthen existing United Nations coordinating mechanisms in addressing sexual violence in such situations. The Security Council urged States to adopt judicial reforms to address sexual violence; investigate all reports of sexual violence; and deploy a team of experts to investigate situations of sexual violence in armed conflict. The Security Council also called for more effective monitoring and reporting of issues of sexual violence within the United Nations system, targeted sanctions and more effective use of periodic field visits by its mechanisms.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2011, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- Education has a unique potential to create a positive environment in which attitudes condoning violence can be changed and non-violent behaviour can be learned. Schools are well placed to break patterns of violence and to provide skills that enable people to communicate, negotiate and support peaceful solutions to conflicts. This is possible at all stages of life, especially early childhood, when initiatives can decisively improve the development of talents and abilities, reduce marginalization and associated risks of violence, and promote access to school and educational achievement. An environment free of violence in all its forms is also instrumental to promoting the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, in particular to ensure universal primary education for all and to eliminate gender disparities in education.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2012, para. 99
- Paragraph text
- But beyond the cost to each individual victim, violence has serious costs for households, communities and national economies. As noted in a WHO study, meeting the direct costs of health, criminal justice, and social welfare responses to violence diverts many billions of dollars from more constructive societal spending. The much larger indirect costs of violence due to lost productivity and lost investment in education work together to slow economic development, increase socioeconomic inequality, and erode human and social capital. Investing in the prevention of violence is therefore of critical importance, not only as a question of human rights and good governance but also of good economics.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2012, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- In most cases, information is obtained from broad categories, such as domestic violence, or limited to a few areas, such as crime, with limited disaggregation on the basis of gender, age, social origin or disability.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph