Multi-stakeholder Pledge: Protection for Refugees and Migrants at Risk of or Affected by Trafficking in Persons

Key outcome

To enhance access to protection, asylum, and solutions for asylum-seekers, refugees, stateless persons, and migrants, who are victims of trafficking or at risk of being trafficked, including through increased scope of and access to protection services to mitigate trafficking risks and respond to the needs of victims, and through strengthening referral mechanisms, including those between asylum and the anti-trafficking systems. Expanding protection and assistance services will also benefit returnees and host communities.

Background

In her 2023 report to the Human Rights Council, the UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in persons, especially women and children highlights how displacement, internally or across borders, heightens the risks of trafficking in persons and engages the responsibilities of States to prevent trafficking and to ensure effective protection of victims or persons at risk of trafficking. Limiting access to asylum and other forms of international protection is likely to increase the risks of trafficking in persons, by forcing people into risky, precarious situations. Existing vulnerabilities to exploitation linked to discrimination, weak child protection systems, limited access to social protection, poverty, inequality, gender-based violence and failures in the application of the rule of law are exacerbated in situations of displacement and statelessness.

Protecting the rights of asylum seekers, refugees, and stateless persons and migrants is essential to the prevention of trafficking in persons and ensuring protection of the human rights of trafficked persons and persons at risk of trafficking.

Pledge description

This pledge aims at enhancing protection for asylum-seekers, refugees, stateless persons and migrants at risk or affected by trafficking in persons, thus supporting the overarching objectives of the Global Compact for Refugees.

It aligns with the Key Recommendations and Follow-Up Actions of the 2021 High-Level Officials Meeting (HLOM), in particular with Recommendation 2, entitled 'Enhance access to international protection'.

This pledge contributes towards SDGs 5, 8, 10 and 16, and upholding the rights of trafficked persons. Furthermore, given that anti-trafficking is a thematic area of commonality between the Global Compact on Refugees and the Global Compact on Migration, when pledging for the GCR, States and stakeholders may submit similar pledges under the Global Compact for Migration in line with Objective 10 and vice versa.

Please consult the pledging guidance for an overview of measures to draw from to articulate specific pledges and contribute to achieving positive impacts for asylum-seekers, refugees, stateless persons, migrants, returnees or host communities at risk or affected by trafficking.

Leadership

  • UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children

Supported by UNHCR

Members

  • ILO
  • IOM
  • UNODC
  • ICAT

Contact details

Jacopo Giorgi, Senior Legal Officer, UNHCR - [email protected]; Liliana Sorrentino, Legal Officer, UNHCR - [email protected]

Related pledges

Contributions towards this multi-stakeholder pledge