The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, Especially in Women and Children, Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, submitted a report to the Human Rights Council in March 2009, outlining findings and drawing conclusions from the work she has completed since she began in August 2008 until March of this year. The report begins by defining trafficking and discussing the global issues related to human trafficking. Information came from many sources, including NGOs, governments, and UN reports. The report declares that “[a]s one of the fastest growing criminal activities in the world, trafficking in persons results in serious breaches of human rights and dignity.”
The Special Rapporteur’s agenda, as explained in her report, includes linking issues like migration, HIV, conflict, and gender-based violence to trafficking. The office also will work to improve methods of data collection to be more coherent and comprehensive, and to allow information to be shared among nations. She will use a human rights approach to address the problems and to provide redress for victims of trafficking. This can be done through various international legal instruments and at the regional and national levels. However, as the report notes, “[r]esponses to the questionnaire sent by the Special Rapporteur demonstrate that most countries criminalize trafficking for prostitution of women and children; few however criminalize trafficking for forced labour or trafficking in men.” Moreover, changes in the criminal law are not enough; local legislation also must address remedies and compensation for victims of trafficking.
Compiled from: Promotion and Protection of All Human Rights, Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Including the Right to Development, Report submitted by the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, Human Rights Council, United Nations General Assembly, A/HRC/10/16, 20 February 2009 [PDF, 27 pages].