A/HRC/56/60 I. Introduction 1. At sea, victims of trafficking or persons at risk of trafficking are often perceived as being without rights, rightless. The rights of victims of trafficking and persons at risk of trafficking continue to exist at sea. Despite the disputes that arise, the often contested nature of jurisdiction and the increasing criminalization of migration, the normative framework of international law, as it applies to protection at sea, sets out a comprehensive range of obligations for maritime actors, including States, non-State actors, and international and regional entities. The obligations to prevent trafficking in persons and to identify, assist and protect victims of trafficking, without discrimination, continue to apply at sea. The failure to fulfil those obligations increases the risks of trafficking in persons and other serious violations of international law. 2. The often politicized and punitive responses to migration at sea, including restrictions on safe, regular migration, restricted access to asylum, pushbacks risking refoulement, arrest and detention on disembarkation, and criminalization of human rights defenders engaged in search and rescue operations, force people to take more dangerous, more risky journeys. Effective measures to prevent trafficking in persons must include the expansion of safe, regular opportunities for migration, pathways to international protection, including effective access to asylum, rights-based family reunification and resettlement. The prevention of trafficking in persons, and protection of victims, is a core, non-derogable human rights obligation, rooted in article 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and requires continuing commitment and positive action by States. Trafficking in persons by its very nature threatens human dignity and the fundamental freedoms of its victims and “cannot be considered compatible with a democratic society”.1 It is also an international crime. 3. In the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, States commit to international cooperation “to save lives and prevent migrant deaths and injuries through individual or joint search and rescue operations, standardized collection and exchange of relevant information, assuming collective responsibility to preserve the lives of all migrants, in accordance with international law” (para. 24). In the Progress Declaration of the International Migration Review Forum. States reaffirmed their “collective responsibility to preserve the lives of all migrants and take action to prevent loss of migrant lives”, expressing deep concern that “thousands of migrants continue to die or go missing each year along perilous routes on land and at sea” (para. 14). Many of those who die or go missing are victims of trafficking. Despite that reaffirmation of collective responsibility, according to the data collected by the Missing Migrants Project of the International Organization for Migration, at least 8,565 persons died on migration routes worldwide in 2023, making it the deadliest year on record. The 2023 death toll represents an increase of 20 per cent compared with 2022. 4. The Special Rapporteur highlights the Multistakeholder Pledge on Developing Comprehensive Responses to the Protection Challenges Faced by Refugees and Migrants Moving by Sea, presented at the Global Refugee Forum 2023, which aims at encouraging States and other stakeholders to ensure the protection of asylum-seekers, refugees, stateless persons and migrants moving by sea, in particular, in the context of mixed movements. As presented, the Pledge is in line with the recommendations contained in other relevant initiatives, such as the pledge on trafficking in persons, also presented at the Global Refugee Forum 2023. 5. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals expressly included migration in three of its targets 2 and recognized the positive contribution of migrants for inclusive growth and sustainable development. 3 Target 10.7 commits to facilitating orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of 1 2 3 2 European Court of Human Rights, Rantsev v. Cyprus and Russia, application No. 25965/04, Judgment, 7 January 2010, para. 282. Targets 8.8, 10.7 and 17.18. See also Goal 8 on promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all; Goal 10 on reducing inequality within and among countries; and Goal 17 on systemic issues. General Assembly resolution 70/1, para. 29. GE.24-06692