World Day Against Trafficking in
Persons
30 July 2019
"Profound change" needed
for social inclusion of survivors of trafficking, says UN rights expert
GENEVA (29 July 2019) –In a
statement to mark World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, the UN Special
Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, Maria
Grazia Giammarinaro, urges States to step up efforts to ensure compensation for
people who are trafficked:
“It is critically important that
States invest in long-term solutions to ensure social inclusion for survivors
of human trafficking. This means ensuring that there are robust procedures by
States to allow victims to access to justice and remedies including
compensation.
Profound changes are needed in
States’ approaches to migration and trafficking. Restrictive and xenophobic
migration policies and the criminalisation of migrants, as well as of NGOs and
individuals providing humanitarian aid, are incompatible with effective action
against human trafficking.
Politicians fuelling hatred,
building walls, condoning the detention of children and preventing vulnerable
migrants from entering their territories are working against the interests of
their own countries.
What is needed is safe, orderly and
regular migration, which includes making provision for the social integration
of migrants. This is crucial also for victims of trafficking, including women
suffering discrimination, gender-based violence and exploitation, and children
subjected to abuse during their journey, especially when travelling alone. The
reality is that restrictive migration policies produce irregularity and
vulnerabilities, and foster exploitation and trafficking. Therefore social
inclusion is the only and right answer.
Survivors of trafficking need
solidarity and a friendly social environment to regain control of their lives,
a process that certainly also requires financial resources. The right to an effective remedy is at the
core of a victim-centred and human rights-based approach that empowers victims
of trafficking and respects fully their human rights. However, to date,
compensation remains one of the least implemented provisions of the PalermoProtocol, especially with regard to trafficked children.
Access to remedies is not limited
to compensation, but it also encompasses restitution, which implies the
reuniting of families and the restoration of employment for victims, as well as
guarantees of non-repetition. This includes a strong preventive component,
requiring States to address the root causes of trafficking.
Private sector grievance mechanisms
are an important tool in this regard and more effort must be made to listen to
the voices of workers when cases of trafficking and severe exploitation are
identified in business operations and supply chains, in order to find viable
alternative solutions for their employment.
I urge States to remove obstacles
hampering access to justice for victims by giving residency status to people
who have been trafficked, and by ensuring they are not detained or prosecuted
for illegal activities they may have been involved in as a result of being
trafficked. If they have been convicted, their criminal records must be
cleared.
An empowerment process for
survivors of trafficking requires a transformative project based on education
and training, opening new paths to help them acquire new skills and equipping
them for job opportunities. In particular for women, such a process should not
be shaped on traditional gender-based activities, but should rather explore
innovative solutions in non-traditional areas of education and employment.
The path to regaining physical and
psychological integrity, self-esteem and independence for people who have been
subjected to serious human rights violations is long. However, I believe that
effectively including survivors in society and valuing their potential, skills
and expertise can give them an opportunity to rebuild and change their lives,
prevent re-trafficking and actively contribute to the dismantling of criminal
networks.”
ENDS
Ms Maria Grazia Giammarinaro
(Italy) was appointed as Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons,
especially women and children by the UN Human Rights Council in June 2014, to
promote the prevention of trafficking in persons in all its forms, and to encourage
measures to uphold and protect the human rights of victims. Ms Giammarinaro has
been a Judge since 1991. She served as a Pre-Trial Judge at the Criminal Court
of Rome, and currently serves as a Judge in the Civil Court of Rome. She was
the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human
Beings of the OSCE, and served in the European Commission’s Directorate-General
for Justice, Freedom and Security in Brussels, where she was responsible for
combating human trafficking and sexual exploitation of children. She drafted
the EU Directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and
protecting its victims.
The Special Rapporteurs are part of
what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special
Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights
system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and
monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or
thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a
voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their
work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in
their individual capacity.
For further inquiries and media
requests, please contact please contact srtrafficking@ohchr.orgsrtrafficking@ohchr.org
For media inquiries related to
other UN independent experts please contact: Mr. Jeremy Laurence, UN Human
Rights – Media Unit (+41 22 917 9383 / jlaurence@ohchr.org)
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independent human rights experts on Twitter @UN_SPExperts.
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