Source The United Nations
Media www.rajawalisiber.com – Siobhán Mullally, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, warned, “We continue to see impunity. And the consequence of that is a failure to ensure access to justice for victims to effective remedies, and in particular, continued failures of prevention of trafficking in persons in armed conflict.”
Briefing the press today (17 Oct) in New York, Mullally said, “Accountability for conflict-related trafficking for all purposes of exploitation remains limited, and prevention metrics are ineffective.”
She also said, “It is well established that armed conflicts are recognized among the factors that make people vulnerable to trafficking in persons. However, it is essential that we recognize that vulnerability is a collective failure of States and the international community under our collective responsibility to protect.”
She explained, “Generally, there’s a failure to ensure the effective and full application of relevant international legal norms of international humanitarian law, international criminal law, international refugee law, and international human rights law.”
She stated, “We know that trafficking in persons has remained largely invisible in truth recovery and transitional justice accountability processes. The failure to ensure guarantees of non-repetition further undermines processes of peacebuilding with their armed groups and criminal networks frequently engaging in trafficking in persons in post-conflict and, in particular, in transition settings.”
The Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons continued, “We continue to see impunity. And the consequence of that is a failure to ensure access to justice for victims to effective remedies, and in particular, continued failures of prevention of trafficking in persons in armed conflict.”
The expert stressed that the risks are exacerbated by limited access to international protection pathways, including resettlement, humanitarian visas, and asylum, and the failure to ensure protection services in humanitarian settings.
She also said that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has not prosecuted the crime of trafficking in persons yet – whether under the crimes against humanity of enslavement or sexual slavery or under other relevant and related crimes.
She noted that despite significant evidence of crimes against migrants, including trafficking and sexual violence in conflict, impunity for conflict-related trafficking persists.
She concluded, “It is essential that states ensure effective access to protection, including effective access to asylum and other forms of international protection.”