In her most recent report to the UN Human Rights Council, the UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in persons, especially women and children, urged governments to “fully recognize the rights of trafficked persons.” The Special Rapporteur, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, said governments should implement policies that properly identify victims of human trafficking and provide assistance and protection to all migrants, regardless of residence or other status. According to Ms. Giammarinaro, many migrants are fleeing conflict zones, persecution, torture, extreme poverty, and other human rights abuses. As a result, migrants are extremely vulnerable to exploitation for sex and labor by traffickers, both during and after the migration process. In order to prevent and combat human trafficking, the Special Rapporteur recommends that states adopt “effective measures aimed at ensuring safe and regular channels of migration, effective asylum policies and social inclusion of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees.”
Compiled from: ‘They know they will be exploited during their journey’ – New UN report on human trafficking, United Nations, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, News (June 19, 2015).