It is commendable that the Standing Committee on Democracy and Human Rights is working on such an important resolution to address human trafficking. This resolution is so timely as the conflict in Ukraine is triggering a humanitarian crisis, a displacement crisis, unprecedented in speed and scale. It is a fact that conflict exacerbates vulnerability to trafficking as well as its prevalence and severity. As in recent weeks an unprecedented number of persons – typically women, children and the elderly – are being forced to leave their homes and to travel a challenging and perilous path to reach the western borders of Ukraine and cross in hope of help and safety, I fear that human trafficking of Ukrainian women and children can be a dangerous by-product of this conflict-fueled refugee crisis. As earlier migration crises have demonstrated, criminal groups or individuals will take advantage of large flows of people to exploit the most vulnerable in transit and destination countries.
Trafficking in persons is a serious crime that affects many countries. Most detected victims are international migrants who have moved from one country to another. A move to another country is, for most, a life-changing decision that can be motivated by a range of factors – the dream of a better life with better jobs, political stability or simply of a new life in a new environment. People may also be 鈥榩ushed鈥� away from their community of origin by conflict or natural disasters or lack of decent employment. For some, however, their experience may become one of trafficking in persons.
I am grateful for this opportunity to contribute to the debate. I will focus my intervention on (i) the importance of a gender dimension, and (ii) the linkages between trafficking in persons and conflict. But, more importantly, I urge you, during your deliberations, to focus on the situation in Ukraine, on how to prevent the current humanitarian crisis from turning into a human trafficking crisis. As the humanitarian crisis is in an early phase, prevention of human trafficking through addressing vulnerabilities of people seeking refuge should be a priority for all relevant actors including you as Parliamentarians.
The reality is that despite the plethora of existing legal and policy frameworks to combat trafficking at the national, regional and international levels, women and girls comprise the majority of detected victims of trafficking across the world including in conflict situations.
The first point I wish to emphasize is that this situation persists due to a lack of appreciation of the gender dimensions of trafficking overall and, in particular, of the trafficking of women and girls who are exposed to various types of exploitation, including sexual exploitation. A gender analysis of the crime reveals that its root causes lie in sex-based discrimination, including the failure to address the prevailing economic and patriarchal structures and the adverse and gender-differentiated impact of the labour, migration and asylum regimes of States that create the situations of vulnerability leading to women and girls being trafficked.
Accordingly, it is critical that the resolution addresses the identification and elimination of root causes such as:
(a) the systemic gender-based discrimination that creates the economic and social injustices experienced disproportionately by women and girls;
(b) situations of conflict and humanitarian emergencies, and the consequent displacement;
(c) discrimination in migration and asylum regimes; and
(d) the demand that fosters exploitation and leads to trafficking.
States must address the root causes by mobilizing public resources and strengthening public services in support of gender equality and the promotion of the human rights of women and girls and sustainable development, in order to reduce the risk factors that lead to trafficking. Full implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals is essential in order to address the factors that heighten the risks of trafficking, in particular achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls; promoting peace, justice and strong institutions; reducing inequalities; ending poverty in all its forms; ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for women and girls; ensuring healthy lives, and promoting the well-being of women and girls of all ages.
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Situations of conflict and humanitarian emergencies
Treaty obligations that address trafficking including for sexual exploitation do not cease in the context of states of emergency resulting from conflict, political events, health crises or natural disasters. During conflict, many factors that increase individual and group vulnerability to trafficking 鈥� such as lack of economic opportunities, discrimination and gender-based violence – are exacerbated. During displacement, as community and family support networks are weakened or destroyed, vulnerability to trafficking is considerably increased.
Many armed groups are also using sexual violence including trafficking in persons and slave trading to advance core ideological, military, and financial objectives. One widely reported example of this practice is the trafficking in persons and enslavement of Yazidi women and girls by ISIL in Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic. We also recall how girls were abducted by Boko Haram, traded and trafficked. The group itself reported that its intention was to sell the girls for forced marriages or as slaves. As the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, I have met survivors of conflict-related trafficking and sexual violence in many conflict zones – from Rohingya women in Cox鈥檚 Bazar to victims of Boko Haram in IDP camps in Maiduguri, Nigeria. They all demand justice and holistic services.
In 2019, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 2467 stating that all Member States must take a survivor-centered approach to address sexual violence including trafficking in persons for the purposes of sexual exploitation, violence, and slavery.
In this regard, I would like to make a few recommendations which could inform the drafting of this resolution:
- Importance of a comprehensive legal framework
In resolution 2467(2009), the Security Council stresses the critical role of the domestic investigation and judicial systems of member states to prevent and eliminate sexual violence in conflict and calls on national authorities to strengthen legislation to foster accountability.
Laws influence behavior. Legal sanctions deter individuals from engaging in criminal activity. Criminal penalties do not just punish violators, but also deter others from committing similar offenses. Law is not only a price to be paid by a perpetrator but also an expression of society’s disapproval of forbidden behavior. Although over the past decades, many States have adopted or improved legislation to address trafficking in persons, significant gaps in legal frameworks persist.
It is imperative that comprehensive victim-centered, human-rights focused, child-sensitive and gender-sensitive anti-trafficking legislation that provides a harmonized approach to criminalizing trafficking at all jurisdiction levels, be adopted.
- Victim assistance and protection
Victims of trafficking have a right to special assistance and protection measures provided by the State. However, they often face restricted access to essential services, both in the place in which they are identified and in their place of origin. Comprehensive long-term, needs-based, victim-centred assistance and protection measures are often lacking in anti-trafficking response measures. Victims of trafficking are in need of high-quality support services with immediate availability, which must be inclusive and accessible, and include access to information on their rights as victims. They require medical, psychological, social and legal services, and simplified methods to access to them, as well as to safe and appropriate accommodation.
- Application of other protection frameworks
It is also vital that your resolution calls for enhanced cross-border collaboration, coordination and knowledge exchange among border control, law enforcement, child protection and social protection authorities and non-governmental organizations, to provide displaced and migrant women and girls with appropriate and sufficient reception facilities and services, which incorporate gender and trauma sensitivity into arrangements for arrivals at land, air and sea borders, including the provision of safe accommodation and adequate treatment.
Last but not least, the resolution must urge States to ratify or accede to all relevant instruments more especially the:
(a) Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; and
(b) Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
These Protocols provide a comprehensive framework for cooperation between States and set out minimum standards for victim protection to complement the wider framework of international law, including international human rights law.
In conclusion, as you deliberate on the resolution, I urge you to remember the heart-wrenching images (which haunt me) of women and children, separated from male family members, fleeing the relentless shelling of Russian military action in Ukraine. I also urge you to include a recommendation that borders remain open to all fleeing the conflict irrespective of their nationality, race or religion. Parliaments have a crucial role to play in preventing and countering trafficking in persons. A resolution that focuses on both prevention and response, a resolution which is gender-sensitive, survivor-centered, and human rights based that takes into account both conflict and non-conflict trafficking in persons for sexual exploitation, violence and slavery will be an affirmation of the role of parliamentarians.
The complexity of trafficking in persons makes the diversification of partnerships an urgent priority. My office is honored to partner with the IPU on this subject.
Thank you.