A/HRC/4/23
page 21
AADVANCE EDITED VERSION / Distr.
GENERAL
A/HRC/4/23
24 January 2007
Original: ENGLISH
HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
Fourth session
Item 2 of the provisional agenda
IMPLEMENTATION OF General Assembly Resolution 60/251 of 15 march 2006 entitled “Human Rights Council”
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights aspects of thevictims of trafficking in persons, especially women and children, Sigma Huda
Summary
This report is submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council decision 1/102. It covers the period January-December 2006.
Section I of the report outlines the Special Rapporteur’s activities, including participation at different conferences, the issuing of press releases and the sending of individual complaints to Governments on cases of trafficking in persons, especially women and children, during the reporting period.
Section II is devoted to a thematic study on forced marriages in the context of trafficking in persons. In this section, the Special Rapporteur defines what amounts to a forced marriage and lists different forms of existing forced marriages as reported to her in the different replies to a questionnaire on forced marriages that the Special Rapporteur sent to Governments, international organizations and non-governmental organizations.
The Special Rapporteur examines forced marriage as an act or an element of trafficking in persons, in accordance with article 3 of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and describes some of the consequences.
The Special Rapporteur further addresses the element of demand as a means to effectively combat trafficking in persons generally and, with reference to certain situations concerning marriage-brokering agencies, in the context of forced marriages specifically. Finally, section III contains the Special Rapporteur’s conclusions and recommendations to States and non-State actors on ways to prevent trafficking in persons through or for the purpose of forced marriages, discourage the demand for such marriages, protect and assist the victims concerned, and establish legal and prosecutorial measures to combat forced marriages in the context of trafficking in persons, especially women and children.
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
I. ACTIVITIES OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR 1 - 12 4
A. Country visits 1 - 2 4
B. Participation in meetings, conferences and
training courses 3 - 8 4
C. Communications to Governments and other actors 9 - 10 6
D. Press statements and publications 11 - 12 6
II. FORCED MARRIAGE IN THE CONTEXT OF
TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS, ESPECIALLY
WOMEN AND CHILDREN 13 - 60 7
A. Introduction 16 8
B. Definition of trafficking in persons, especially
women and children 17 - 18 8
C. Nature and forms of forced marriage 19 - 30 8
D. Forced marriage as a reason for or as a result
of trafficking in persons 31 - 37 12
E. Forced marriage in the context of trafficking in
persons, especially women and children 38 - 45 13
F. Protection of victims of forced marriage in the
context of trafficking in persons, especially
women and children 46 - 48 16
G. The demand for forced marriage in the context
of trafficking in persons, especially women
and children 49 - 60 16
III. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 61 - 63 19
I. ACTIVITIES OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR
A. Country visits
1. This report is submitted in accordance with Commission on Human Rights Council decision 1/102. During the reporting period (January-December 2006) the Special Rapporteur visited Bahrain, Oman and Qatar from 29 October to 12 November 2006 at the invitation of the respective Governments. The report on these missions is contained in addendum 2.
2. Concerned by reports of trafficking in persons, especially of migrant workers for forcedlabour, the Special Rapporteur reiterates her interest in carrying out visits to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Moreover, on the basis of information concerning trafficking in persons particularly for purposes of forced labour and sexual exploitation, the Special Rapporteur sent a second request to the Government of Nigeria for an invitation to visit in 2007. A request to the Government of Belarus for an invitation to visit in 2007 was also sent. The Special Rapporteur is currently in discussions with the Government of Thailand to carry out a visit, tentatively in September 2007, jointly with the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child pornography and child prostitution. In addition, she reiterates her interest in visiting Japan.
B. Participation in meetings, conferences and training courses
3. On 25 March 2006, the Special Rapporteur visited Bologna, Italy, at the invitation of Johns Hopkins University to attend and participate in the conference, “From the United Nations to the Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking in Human Beings: Recent Developments and New Challenges”. She then travelled to London where she held meetings with representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other stakeholders to discuss issues related to the implementation of her mandate. On 11 April 2006, she addressed the Westminster International Relations Forum at the University of Westminster. In May 2006, the Special Rapporteur attended a conference in London on “Micro-credit and Women’s Empowerment” organized by the Centre for Study on Democracy at the University of Westminster, where she shared her views on the root causes of human trafficking and practical ways to combat this phenomenon.
4. On 9 June 2006, the Special Rapporteur attended a conference in Stockholm on “Regional Cooperation to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings” organized by the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 19 to 24 June 2006, the Special Rapporteur took part in the thirteenth meeting of special procedures mandate holders of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. On 23 June 2006, she attended a meeting organized by the World Organization against Torture (OMCT) on “Poverty, Inequality and Violence: Is There a Human Rights Response?” and shared her observations and comments on the conclusions and recommendations of the OMCT international conference held in October 2005.
5. From 12 to 15 August 2006, she visited Kathmandu at the invitation of the Office of the National Rapporteur on Trafficking at the National Human Rights Commission. In Nepal, she held numerous consultations with various public officials, NGOs and the media on issues concerning trafficking in persons, violence against women and gender-based violence, as well as on methodologies for documentation of and reporting on national data on trafficking in persons. At the invitation of the Coalition against Trafficking in Women (CATW)-Asia Pacific, the Special Rapporteur visited Chiang Mai, Thailand, from 27 to 29 August 2006, where she attended the CATW regional conference on “Addressing the Demand Side of Trafficking: Challenging States, Social Movements and the Media”. During this conference, Ms. Huda gave a presentation on the challenges and responses to the regional situation of human trafficking in the Asian-Pacific region. From 4 to 6 September 2006, the Special Rapporteur visited Seoul to attend an international conference on the “Linkages between Prostitution and Trafficking”, at the invitation of the Center for Women’s Human Rights. The Special Rapporteur gave a keynote presentation on “Unveiling the demand face of human trafficking: a critical overview of the UnitedNations definition and the role of States in addressing this issue”.
6. On 7 September 2006, the Special Rapporteur was in New York where she visited the Girls Education and Mentoring Society, an NGO working with survivors of prostitution. She also visited Sanctuary for Families, a legal aid, mentoring and counselling agency, where she met with survivors of domestic violence and victims of forced marriage. On 11 September 2006, the Special Rapporteur discussed her role and mandate during a meeting in Washington, DC withCongressman Chris Smith. She also met with the Secretary-General and other officers of the Organization of American States. She met with Dr. Lagon of the United States Department of State and other officers of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. The Special Rapporteur ended her visit in Washington, DC with a press statement in which she highlighted the steps taken to combat trafficking and the gaps that still exist. On 13September2006, the Special Rapporteur gave a presentation at the University of Iowa, UnitedStates of America, on the scope of her mandate. She then held meetings with activists and lawyers and visited shelters for rescued women and girls. On 16 September 2006, the Special Rapporteur addressed a rule of law seminar organized by the American Bar Association and the International Bar Association on women and child trafficking.
7. From 18 September to 6 October 2006, the Special Rapporteur visited Geneva to present her thematic report on the relationship between trafficking and the demand for commercial sexual exploitation (E/CN.4/2006/62) to the Human Rights Council as well as her reports onthemissions to Lebanon (E/CN.4/2006/62/Add.3) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (E/CN.4/2006/62/Add.2). In her statement to the Council, she reiterated that the issue of demandis of crucial importance in addressing trafficking in persons, especially women and children, from a human rights perspective. She held several meetings with government delegations, NGOs and intergovernmental organizations. From 25 to 27 October 2006, the SpecialRapporteur visited Minsk to attend a conference organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Belarus Ministry of International Affairs, the UnitedNations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation inEurope (OSCE) on “Cooperation between Source and Destination Countries in Combating Trafficking in Human Beings”. She made an opening statement on “International standardsetting and law enforcement in combating trafficking in persons: cooperation between source and destination countries”. While in Minsk, the Special Rapporteur met with government officials to discuss her possible official visit to Belarus in 2007 and also held discussions with NGOs on her mandate. In addition, she met with members of a delegation from Qatar and discussed with them the situation of human trafficking in Qatar prior to her visit there the following week.
8. On 22 November 2006, the Special Rapporteur attended an international conference organized by the City Council of Madrid on “Human Rights and Prostitution”, where she delivered an opening speech highlighting the main observations and conclusions of her report to the Human Rights Council. She also underscored that prostitution is a profitable form of trafficking and emphasized the need to develop prevention, protection and prosecution mechanisms. She also spoke at the Madrid City Hall on 24 November to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and then proceeded to Norway. In Oslo, the Special Rapporteur attended a conference on trafficking of and violence against women organized by FOKUS - Forum for Women and Development, where she gave a presentation on her role and responsibilities as Special Rapporteur. She also met with public officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and representatives of NGOs. The Special Rapporteur attended the Inter-parliamentary Conference on Human Rights and Religious Freedom in Rome from 27 to 29November 2006 organized by the Institute of Religion and Public Policy, where she gave a presentation emphasizing the importance of such dialogues in better understanding religion in the perspective of human rights and participated as a panellist.
C. Communications to Governments and other actors
9. Since the presentation of her last report on communications (E/CN.4/2006/62/Add.1) the Special Rapporteur has sent 29 communications to Governments and, at the time this report was finalized, had received 13 replies. The report on communications sent during the period under review is in addendum 1.
10. The Special Rapporteur also sent a letter to the Secretariat of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in connection with a ministerial meeting that was held on 11May 2006 in Dhaka to discuss issues of trafficking. The Special Rapporteur recalled that any action aimed at combating trafficking in persons should be based on human rights principles and requested that the SAARC Secretariat share with member States the Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking (E/2002/68/Add.1).
D. Press statements and publications
11. On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, on 25 November 2006 the Special Rapporteur issued a public statement which highlighted various forms of violence against women, including trafficking in human beings, and expressed particular concern about online pornography. She called upon concerned citizens, organizations, Governments and international bodies to work effectively towards combating the crime of violence against women, especially in the context of human trafficking.
12. On Human Rights Day, 10 December 2006, all special procedures mandate holders, including the Special Rapporteur, issued a joint press release on poverty and human rights stressing their deep concern that millions of people are still systematically deprived of fundamental human rights simply because they are poor.
II. Forced marriage in the context of trafficking in persons, especially women and children
13. The Special Rapporteur chose for her annual thematic report to gather information on forced marriage in the context of trafficking in persons. To this end she sent a questionnaire to all Member States, regional bodies and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations working on issues related to forced marriage and trafficking in persons. The Special Rapporteur wishes to express her sincere and heartfelt thanks to all those who have provided information for this report.
14. The following Governments responded to the questionnaire: Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Israel, Jamaica, Lebanon, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Mauritius, Mexico, Philippines, Sweden, Theformer Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Tunisia, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America and Venezuela. The UNICEF offices in Belarus, Nigeria, Switzerland, the United Republic of Tanzania and Uruguay, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the OSCE Missions to Bosnia and Herzegovina and to Moldova also responded to the questionnaire. Other replies were also received from the IOM field offices in Afghanistan, Belarus, Colombia, Egypt, Germany, Guatemala, GuineaBissau, Hungary, Italy, Moldova, Norway, Viet Nam and Zambia as well as the IOM Regional Mission for Central and South-Eastern Europe.[1]
15. The following national and international NGOs also replied to the questionnaire: Action for Children Campaign/Institute for Modern Rights Studies (United Kingdom); Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (Afghanistan); Association guinéenne de femmes enseignantes de l’élémentaire (AGFE) (Guinea); Ashiana Network (United Kingdom); ASTRAAnti-Trafficking Action (Serbia); Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association (Bangladesh); Christian Children’s Fund (Afghanistan); The CRADLE - Children’s Foundation (Kenya); Deutsche Staatborgerinnen Verband (Germany); European Roma Rights Centre, Human Rights Information and Documentation Centre (Georgia); Institute of the Indigenous Peoples of the North (Russian Federation); Instituto Suore Buon Pastore (Italy); Lilith Project, Eaves Housing for Women (United Kingdom); Maasai Aid Association (Kenya); Minority and Indigenous Rights Advocacy of Nigeria (Nigeria); Mouvement français pour le planning familial (France); Nomadic Integrated Development Research Agency (NIDRA) (Kenya); SOITM Foundation (Iraq); Solwodi (Germany); Sisters of the Good Shepherd (Ethiopia); Suzanne Mubarak Women’s International Peace Movement (Egypt); Women in Need Development Consortium (WINIDECO) (Kenya); World Vision International; and Yayasam Mitra kesehatan dan Kemanusiaan (The Health and Humanity Foundation) (Indonesia). Finally, the Special Rapporteur also conducted personal interviews with victims of forced marriage from several countries including Bangladesh, Côte d’Ivoire, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, and SriLanka.[2]