b) International and regional organizations

Faced with the complex and multifaceted nature of human trafficking, the mobilization of international organizations is essential:

 

→ Within the United Nations system many bodies, departments and offices, funds and programs, agencies, related organizations, and specialized agencies are involved in the fight against trafficking:

  • Secretary-General of the United Nations (Mr. António Guterres): The Secretary-General is the chief administrative officer of the Organization and “performs such other functions” as are entrusted to him by the Security Council, the General Assembly, and the Economic and Social Council (Chapter XV of the UN Charter). He is the head of the Secretariat, one of the main organs of the United Nations, composed of departments and offices, each with specific responsibilities and expertise. Some of the offices are headed by experts who may be relevant to human trafficking:
  • Ms. Virginia Gamba, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict → Report for the 49th session of the HRC, 2022 (A/HRC/49/58)
  • Ms. Pramila Patten, Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict
  • Ms. Najat Maalla, Special Representative on violence against children → Report for the 49th session of the HRC, 2022 (A/HRC/49/57) 
  • Ms. Alice Wairimu Nderitu. Special Advisor for the Prevention of Genocide.

 

  • United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC): it is composed of 47 States that are responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the world. The Council mandates experts – called Special Rapporteurs – to act on a specific country or theme, among which: 

 

NAME

TITLE

RECENT REPORTS

Ms. Siobhán Mullally

Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children

Report to the Human Rights Council:

– Application of the principle of non-punishment, 2021 (A/HRC/47/34)

Report to the General Assembly:

– Intersections between trafficking in persons by proscribed groups and terrorism, 2021 (A/76/263)

+ Previous reports

Mr. Tomoya Obokata 

Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences

Report to the Human Rights Council:

– Link between displacement and contemporary forms of slavery, 2021 (A/HRC/48/52)
 Reports to the General Assembly:

– Role of organized criminal groups in contemporary forms of slavery, 2021 (A/76/170)

– Contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, 2020 (A/75/166)

+ Previous reports

Mrs. Mama Fatima Singhateh

Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children

Reports to the Human Rights Council:

– A practical approach to combating the sale and sexual exploitation of children, 2022 (A/HRC/49/51)

– Visit to Montenegro, 2022 (A/HRC/49/51/Add.1)

– Effects of coronavirus disease 2019 on various forms of sale and sexual exploitation of children, 2021 (A/HRC/46/31)

Reports to the General Assembly:

– The gender dimension of child sexual exploitation, 2021 (A/76/144)

– Sale and Sexual Exploitation of Children, 2020 (A/75/210)

+ Previous reports

 

  • Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): its objective is to promote, monitor, inform,and report on compliance with international human rights law and international humanitarian law around the world. It publishes annual reports on the situation of human rights, including human trafficking and related issues (United Nations Human Rights Report 2020).

 

  • United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC): its objective is to assist Member States in achieving the goal of security and justice for all by making the world safer from crime, including human trafficking, drugs and terrorism. It publishes biennial reports on human trafficking (2020 UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons). 
  • UNICEF: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is responsible for advocating for the rights of children, helping to meet their basic needs and promoting their full development. UNICEF also intervenes in emergency situations to protect the rights of children, notably under article 45 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989).

 

 

  • United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): UNHCR is an international organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting the rights of refugees and building a better future for refugees, displaced communities, and stateless people. It publishes reports every year, presenting the work it does to protect tens of millions of people (refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, stateless people, etc.) as well as the challenges and crises that exist (Global Report 2020).

 

  • International Organization for Migration (IOM): its objective is to help ensure the humane and orderly management of migration, to promote international cooperation on migration issues and to seek practical solutions to migration problems and provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in need. IOM publishes reports every two years on the state of migration in the world (World Migration Report 2022).

 

  • World Trade Organization (WTO): The WTO is the only international organization with a global vocation that deals with the rules governing trade between countries. At the heart of the organization are the WTO Agreements, negotiated and signed by most of the world’s trading powers and ratified by their parliaments. The goal is to make trade as smooth, predictable, and free as possible.

 

  • International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD): The IBRD is one of the World Bank’s institutions dedicated to the poorest countries by providing loans, guarantees, advisory services, etc. Among other things, it works for gender equality in the workplace and the integration of certain communities such as the Roma.

 

  • International Labour Organization (ILO): The only “tripartite” agency of the United Nations, the ILO brings together representatives of governments, employers, and workers from 187 Member States to set international standards, develop policies, and design programs to promote decent work for all.

 

  • World Health Organization (WHO): Its purpose is to promote health, safeguard global security by monitoring health conditions and assessing health trends, and serve vulnerable populations.

 

  • United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO): UNESCO seeks to build peace through international cooperation in education, science and culture. UNESCO’s programs contribute to the achievement of the sustainable development goals set out in the 2030 Agenda adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015.

 

→ Other international organizations, not belonging to the UN system, have activities and publications against trafficking. For example:

 

→At the regional level, organizations are also working to combat trafficking:

 

  • Council of Europe: The Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings(Warsaw Convention) goes beyond the minimum standards of existing international instruments and strengthens the protection of victims. This Convention is enriched by a monitoring mechanism (Chapter VII) which relies on two bodies: the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings(GRETA) responsible for evaluating the implementation of the Convention by the Parties, and the Committee of the Parties, composed of representatives of the Parties to the Convention.

This mechanism, as well as the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the possibility for non-Member States to accede to the Convention, are evidence of the activity of this international organization in the fight against trafficking.

 

  • European Union (EU): The EU strategy is based on a comprehensive legal and policy framework based on the Anti-Trafficking in Human Beings Directive (2011) and reflects the EU’s commitment to eradicating trafficking. The EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator is responsible for improving coordination and coherence between EU institutions, EU agencies, Member States and international actors, and for developing existing and new EU policies to combat human trafficking. This includes monitoring the implementation of the EU Anti-Trafficking Strategy 2021-2025.

 

  • Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE): The OSCE addresses many issues related to trafficking in human beings: human rights and the rule of law, corruption and the fight against crime, discrimination and inequality, economic and migration policies, etc. It fights against human trafficking through an action plan (Decision No. 557 OSCE Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings) which serves as a framework for the Organization’s activities and deploys efforts in prevention, prosecution, protection, partnership, following a victim-centered and human rights-based approach. The OSCE is particularly active through its Office and its Special Representative and Coordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Mr. Valiant Richey. Each year, he organizes a high-level conference of the Alliance against Trafficking in Persons (a broad international forum of international, non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations that join forces to prevent and combat trafficking in human beings).

 

 

 

 

 

  • The Commonwealth or Commonwealth of Nations is an intergovernmental organization composed of 54 Member States – almost all former territories of the British Empire – united by language, history, culture and values such as democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Human rights are addressed in the latest Commonwealth Secretariat Strategic Plan: 2021/22-2024/25.

 

International law enforcement agencies such as INTERPOL and EUROPOL also play a key role in the fight against trafficking. The information and intelligence obtained and shared allows teams to mount international operations, identify and investigate cases of human trafficking with European and international dimensions.

 

  • INTERPOL (International Criminal Police Organization) supports national police forces in tactical field deployments aimed at dismantling criminal networks that traffic in human beings and migrants.
  • EUROPOL (European Police Office) is a European police agency specializing in the fight against all forms of crime. It facilitates the exchange of information between national police forces, particularly in the areas of drugs, terrorism, international crime, and pedophilia.
  • EUROJUST is the European Union’s criminal justice coordination agency. With the aim of making Europe safer, EUROJUST supports the judicial authorities of the Member States in their cooperation and collaboration – including with third countries – to combat cross-border organized crime and terrorism in EUcountries.

 

Europol, Situation report: Criminal networks involved in the trafficking and exploitation of underage victims in the european union, The Hague, October 2018, document ref no: 1001370