HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL HOLDS INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE WITH EXPERTS ON DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN AND ON TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

The Human Rights Council this morning held a clustered interactive dialogue with Ivana Radačić, Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice, and with Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons.

The Council heard the presentation of reports by Ms. Radačić and Ms. Giammarinaro and statements by concerned countries on 20 June and a summary of the statements can be found here.

Ms. Radačić, in concluding remarks, said that gender was not only an identity issue but also a social structure matter, which was why its mainstreaming was necessary. Diversity, both cultural and religious, was valued, not just between countries but also among communities. However, neither were static or monolithic and they were subject to different interpretations, including to those of fundamentalists. For that reason, during visits of the mandate holder, all voices were heard and particular attention was paid to the voices of women who experienced discrimination, regardless of the cultural context. Family values could not serve as justification for the violation of women’s rights.
In concluding remarks, Ms. Giammarinaro expressed hope that the Global Compact on Migration would strongly prohibit the detention of children. Faith-based organizations, including Caritas, Santa Marta Group, Committee of Churches and others played a major role in the protection of victims of trafficking. People working with asylum seekers knew how difficult it was to interview migrants who were experiencing trauma and shock. Multi-agency cooperation had to be promoted, indicators needed to be established, and countries that had unconditional models could be used as resources for best practices. Training was essential for staff to recognize victims, not only border police but also healthcare specialists and public servants.

During the interactive dialogue, speakers noted that while progress had been made in advancing the rights of women and girls, violations of their rights remained common. Some delegations pointed to the increased opposition to the universal applicability of the rights of women and to persistent impunity for violations. Speakers agreed that legal frameworks must be strengthened in order to ensure the effective elimination of all forms of gender discrimination. Delegations stressed that cultural traditions should not be used to justify the denial of women’s human rights, decision-making or bodily autonomy.

On trafficking, speakers welcomed the Special Rapporteur’s focus on the rights of women and child migrants. Delegations identified the need to compile State and civil society best practices in order to develop more effective trafficking-related policies. Transnational crime and trafficking were extremely lucrative businesses in a world characterised by large movements of people. Combatting trafficking called for cooperative approaches to dismantling criminal networks. Adequate assistance to migrants and refugees could only be provided through human-centred approaches.

Speaking during the discussion were the delegations of Norway on behalf of a group, European Union, New Zealand on behalf of a group of countries, Belarus on behalf of a group of countries, Togo on behalf of the African Group, Viet Nam, Israel, Germany, Maldives, Pakistan, Namibia, Poland, Belgium, Sovereign Order of Malta, Colombia, United Arab Emirates, Brazil, France, Thailand, Croatia, Iraq, Egypt, Italy, Australia, Kuwait, Djibouti, Holy See, Mexico, Hungary, Paraguay, Lithuania, Iran, Lichtenstein, Togo, Slovenia, Republic of Korea, Angola, Botswana, Greece, Tunisia, Bulgaria, Venezuela, South Africa, Bahrain, China, Malaysia, Honduras, Seychelles. Algeria, Russian Federation, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Côte d’Ivoire, India, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Ecuador, Bolivia, Myanmar, United Kingdom, Nigeria, Nepal, Slovakia, UN Women, Philippines, Portugal, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Georgia, and Jordan.

The following non-governmental organizations also took the floor: Al-khoei Foundation; Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS) Asociación Civil; Ahlulbayt Foundation; Center for Reproductive Rights (in a joint statement with several NGOs¹⁾; International Human Rights Association of American Minorities (IHRAAM); VIVAT International (in a joint statement with Franciscans International); Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights (YCSRR); Association for Women's Rights in Development; European Region of the International Lesbian and Gay Federation ILGA-EUROPE (in a joint statement with Federatie van Nederlandse Verenigingen tot Integratie Van Homoseksualiteit - COC Nederland and International Lesbian and Gay Association); Caritas Internationalis International Confederation of Catholic Charities; Make Mothers Matter; Foundation ECPAT International (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking in Children for Sexual Purposes); Indian Movement “Tupaj Amaru”; Action Canada for Population and Development and Espace Afrique International.


The Council will next hold the first part of its annual full-day discussion on the human rights of women, addressing the impact of violence against women human rights defenders and women’s organizations in digital spaces.


Clustered Interactive Dialogue with the Working Group on Discrimination against Women and the Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons

Norway, speaking on behalf of a group of countries, expressed concern about the backlash against sexual, reproductive and health rights of women and girls, as well as their lack of access to comprehensive sexuality education, contraceptives and services. European Union remained concerned about attempts to rollback full and equal enjoyment of human rights of women and girls. Turning to trafficking in persons, it emphasised that protecting the fundamental rights of all migrants should be at the centre of efforts to manage migration. New Zealand, speaking on behalf of a group of countries, voiced concern about the persistence of a global discriminatory cultural construction of gender and asked the Working Group to provide examples of good practices of how States could promote recognition that cultural, religious and family values were not incompatible with women’s and girls’ human rights.

Belarus, speaking on behalf of a group of countries, noted that the topic of identification, referral and protection of victims of trafficking was relevant and urgent, and underlined the importance of more sustainable and closer linkage between the activities of all Human Rights Council Special Procedures in the area of human trafficking. Togo, speaking on behalf of the African Group, agreed that there was still discrimination against women in both public and private spheres in times of conflict and peace alike. As for trafficking in persons, the African Group fully concurred that it was important to protect victims’ rights, especially at the time when States were negotiating a Global Compact on Migration. Viet Nam underlined that a multi-layered approach focused on the root causes of trafficking and migration should be applied. It proposed to the Special Rapporteur to consider studying the impact of gender inequality on trafficking in persons.

Israel noted that the road to gender equality and the full realization of women’s rights remained long and challenging. Over more than a decade of combatting trafficking in Israel, the full eradication of trafficking in women for the purpose of prostitution had been achieved, resulting in advanced mechanisms and best practices. Germany expressed gratitude for the report of the Working Group on discrimination against women about reasserting equality and countering rollbacks. The Special Rapporteur was asked to share best practices on developing standard screening forms and training, particularly in the context of mixed migration movements. Maldives affirmed that advocacy on women’s rights required high visibility and had to be a political priority. Maldives ensured that the rights of victims of trafficking were protected and perpetrators committing such crimes were prosecuted.

Pakistan asked the Working Group to elaborate what steps could be taken to ensure the enforcement of equal pay for women for work of equal value. Work was being done at regional and national levels to combat trafficking, carrying out a wide range of policy, legal, administrative and technical measures. Namibia expressed concern that 40 years after the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, no country had achieved full equality, so it supported the call for concerted efforts to counter rollbacks against the universality of women’s rights. Poland supported efforts to mainstream the fight against discrimination against women in law and in practice across the United Nations system as well as sharing of good practices on the elimination of discriminatory laws and practices.

Belgium said the Working Group’s report pointed to persistent discrimination against women and impunity for the violation of women’s rights. Women’s rights could not be subordinated to cultural, religious or political considerations. On migrants, Belgium stressed that States must ensure that their legal frameworks and policies met international standards. Sovereign Order of Malta asked Ms. Giammarinaro if it was possible to include the role of faith-based organizations in the prevention of human trafficking and in the protection of victims. The Order also asked if international best practices on trafficking could be compiled into a dedicated website. Colombia underscored continued shortcomings in the protection of victims in mixed migration flows. Colombian officials were undergoing training in order to prevent the crime of trafficking. The Government was developing communication strategies to inform people of the risks of human trafficking.

United Arab Emirates said that there were persistent discriminatory practices that prevented women from fully enjoying their rights, particularly in employment. It welcomed that the Working Group had said that cultural and traditional practices did not contradict the rights of women and girls. Women in the United Arab Emirates constituted forty per cent of the labour force. Brazil voiced its concern about increasing opposition to the universal applicability of human rights standards to women. The elimination of discrimination against women and girls must be a stand-alone goal as well as a mainstreaming issue. Turning to migration, Brazil asked how the provision of safe ways to tackle migration flows could help vulnerable populations. France was concerned about the re-emergence of laws discriminating against women around the world. The Government was committed to eradicating the wage gap in the coming years. On human trafficking, France was cooperating with Balkan States to promote capacity-building and dismantle criminal networks.

Thailand concurred that laws and policies needed to be further strengthened to ensure the effective elimination of all forms of gender discrimination, and it stressed the cross-cutting nature of gender equality. On trafficking, Thailand had increased efforts to enhance victim identification processes and protection services to victims. Croatia remained troubled by the persistence of gaps and obstacles to achieve gender equality, due to the rise of movements opposing the universality of women’s rights. It asked the Working Group for views on how to ensure greater representation of women in political and economic decision-making bodies. Iraq attached high importance to international efforts in combatting human trafficking in its various forms and asked how the international community could participate within the concept of collective responsibility to eliminate that crime. As for discrimination against women, Iraq stressed the need to focus on national plans to enhance the role of women in society.

Egypt expressed concern about the disappearance of the distinction between trafficking and other forms of crimes in the report of the Special Rapporteur. It was of utmost importance not to hold persons in holding places of substandard conditions. Italy asked how structural disadvantages faced by women in the economic sector could be better addressed, and how good practices of identifying victims of possible trafficking among migrants could be further improved. Australia stressed that cultural traditions should not be used to justify the denial of women’s human rights, decision-making or bodily autonomy. Turning to trafficking in persons, it noted that it was committed to ensuring that trafficked persons received appropriate care and support.

Kuwait reaffirmed its commitment towards women’s rights as confirmed by its ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Djibouti shared the view about the need to establish guiding principles and procedures for the detection of victims of trafficking. Djibouti joined the call for concerted action to fight for women’s empowerment and against harmful practices such as early and forced marriage. Holy See said that the transnational crime of trafficking had developed as a lucrative business in a world where over 900 million people were on the move. Four years ago, Pope Francis had assisted in the launch of the Santa Marta Group to engage law enforcement agencies and religious actors to help eradicate trafficking in persons.

Mexico warned about dangerous backsliding across the world when it came to gender equality and asked how the Working Group planned to address gender equality, while respecting religious and cultural differences existing in different countries. Hungary shared the viewpoint on the necessity of raising awareness of and accountability for the elimination of discrimination but also for empowering women until they obtained full equality everywhere. Paraguay reasserted its commitment towards fighting against discrimination, indirect and direct, visible and invisible, ensuring that gender perspectives were cross cutting in all spheres. Trafficking was a complex issue, linked to other crimes and was affecting mainly women and children. Paraguay was already implementing many of the recommendations to combat it.

Lithuania said promoting women’s leadership was crucial and pointed to the International Women Political Leaders Summit convened in the country. Victims of trafficking were subjected to multiple forms of violence. Lithuania asked how United Nations entities could achieve synergy in effectively promoting the rights of women and girls. Iran said capacity-building played a key role in narrowing the gap between men and women. An executive order had been issued in Iran stating that each ministry, institute and organization must allocate 30 per cent of managerial positions to women.

Lichtenstein said that over 40 million people were enslaved in 2016. The financial sector was well positioned to mitigate the problem. The sector could close the impunity gap that existed regarding modern slavery. Lichtenstein asked what other non-United Nations actors could contribute to combatting modern slavery. Togo noted legal progress in the protection of women and girls. Still, inequality continued to curtail women’s ability to fully enjoy their human rights. Turning to trafficking, Togo said strengthening international cooperation and taking a human-centred approach to addressing migration flows must be priorities.

Remarks by the Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on the Issue of Discrimination against Women in Law and in Practice and the Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons

IVANA RADAČIĆ, Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice, said the United Nations must evaluate its gender equality policy to ensure that women’s rights were at the centre of any reform effort. The Chair-Rapporteur said the work of the Commission on the Status of Women had led to positive exchanges and called for its work to continue. On economic empowerment, she said there was a link between economic empowerment and bodily empowerment and legislation requiring disclosure of salaries could help close the gender pay gap. Instituting quotas was a positive way to ensure increased women’s participation in politics. She said many organizations were engaged in ensuring that cultural and religious values were in line with gender equality and stressed that States must support narratives that countered anti-equality rhetoric.

MARIA GRAZIA GIAMMARINARO, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, thanked speakers for their interest in how to operationalize some of her suggestions. Speaking of best practices for an early identification model of trafficked migrants, she said there were not so many good practices because it was a relatively new issue. The traditional model of early identification was mostly based on cases identified by the police when exploitation was already in place in a country. There was no exploitation in place in countries in the case of trafficking of migrants; all there was were narratives by migrants about their experiences during their journey. Dedicated procedures should be established in places where migrants arrived for protective purposes, such as multi-agency good practices on the basis of a good will of people to cooperate. Narratives of migrants showed that labour exploitation was a very common experience among migrants and refugees. Ms. Giammarinaro highlighted some good standard operating procedures in existence in Italy and Greece. The integration of the asylum system with the trafficking system in Italy was one such example. Cooperation between non-governmental organizations and national judiciary systems was an opportunity to refer victims to protection services. Early identification of vulnerability of migrants was possible when all the ingredients were in place. As for cooperation between countries of origin and destination, unfortunately there were not many examples of successful regional cooperation.

Slovenia shared concerns of the Working Group on the negative trends and backlash in the protection of women’s rights and welcomed views of the Group on best ways to secure invariability and sustainability of political will and commitments for gender equality. Republic of Korea said that in Korean society an entrenched gender stereotype towards the role of women still existed, so the Government had adopted a multi-sectoral approach to counter such narrative. Angola noted that the implementation and realization of the Sustainable Development Goals was an opportunity to pursue the reduction of asymmetries, gender inequality, and the elimination of discrimination against women.

Botswana noted that recent demonstrations and online campaigns led by women had made a tremendous impact on refocusing ongoing debates on inequality of women. It was important to ensure comprehensive trafficking laws that did not discriminate against any group and which focused on identifying victims. Greece stressed that women’s rights faced high risks today and backlashes had been in stark contrast with the achievements of past decades. Efforts to fight trafficking were intensified through the introduction of pivotal legal and institutional instruments, including the National Referral Mechanism. Tunisia stated that despite all international efforts to fight discrimination against women, the problem remained, requiring efforts of all stakeholders to be stepped up.

Bulgaria said it was a pioneer in Europe in the adoption of anti-trafficking legislation. Recognizing the vulnerability of children, the Government was conducting annual campaigns at educational institutions to prevent trafficking. Bulgaria asked for examples of indicators used in the identification procedures of trafficking in persons. Venezuela noted the establishment of a robust legal framework to afford women the best possible protections. The Government was implementing laws to ensure that women lived a life free of violence. On trafficking, Venezuela said the phenomenon had national and international implications and called on efforts to dismantle criminal networks. South Africa stood in recognition of the selfless efforts of Albertina Sisulu and Winnie Nomzamo Madikizele-Mandela to combat apartheid. These women had a vision for a world in which discrimination against women was eradicated. A major challenge in addressing trafficking issues was that victims were afraid to come forward with their stories.

Bahrain said combatting trafficking by assisting victims was a Government priority. Bahrain had established a shelter to accommodate victims of trafficking and provide social services. A victims’ assistance fund was also established to work towards the reintegration of victims and ensure their inclusion in the labour market. China said it had enshrined gender equality and attached great importance to women’s participation in politics. Gender equality was a fundamental policy of the State and clear guidelines were in place to promote the rights of women. China supported an in-depth investigation into the trafficking of women and children. Malaysia believed the aspirations of every woman to equality could only be achieved through gender-sensitive and whole-of-society approaches to policy making. The Government was in the process of drafting a gender equality bill. In Malaysia, those identified as victims of trafficking were granted protection orders by the relevant courts.

Honduras concurred that gender equality and the full realization of women’s and girls’ rights remained challenging, and appreciated the recommendations made in the Working Group’s report. As for trafficking in persons, it underscored the shortcomings in migration policy and scant results in assisting victims in the context of mixed migration flows. Seychelles said that trafficking in persons remained an evident part of many societies around the world, adding that it had continued to take steps to address trafficking in persons at the national level, and it was currently prosecuting its first case of trafficking. Algeria pointed to the remaining challenges of women earning less than men and being more exposed to violence. As for trafficking in persons, Algeria had established a national committee to fight and prevent trafficking, and it had focused on building the capacity of law enforcement agencies.

Russian Federation voiced concern about the Working Group’s conclusions about the influence of the family on achieving equality between women and men. It was unacceptable to try to impose controversial conclusions that did not enjoy the support of the majority of countries. It also did not share the view of the Special Rapporteur that the focus on victims should replace the fight against trafficking in persons as a crime. Bosnia and Herzegovina shared the concern that the advancement of women’s rights and full equality were slow, uneven and far from a global reality. Gender equality and women’s empowerment remained a priority for the country, both domestically and at the international level. Côte d’Ivoire said that States needed to draw up strategies to promote women’s access to decent work and equal pay, and to give them greater visibility. In addition, it noted that human rights should be at the heart of policies to manage all stages of mixed and mass migratory movements.

India believed that priority had to be given to establishing, strengthening and investing in institutions for advancing the rights of women and gender equality, and noted that women’s empowerment was a top priority for India to ensure inclusive and equitable development. Azerbaijan said that, as the first Muslim country to grant women the right to vote, it had been taking all necessary measures to guarantee women’s empowerment and gender equality. Bangladesh said that the Working Group had rightly identified that education, empowerment, decision making and discrimination were important areas that needed to be addressed. Failure to identify a trafficked person correctly was likely to result in a further denial of that person’s rights.

Ecuador was aware of the outstanding challenges in the fight against discrimination against women, and in that regard, the President of Ecuador had launched the national crusade against gender-based violence in 2017. Bolivia agreed that national and regional human rights institutions and grassroots activists had been essential in ensuring that women could fully enjoy their human rights and fight against discrimination. Myanmar practiced a zero-tolerance policy towards violence against women, undertaking several measures to prevent domestic violence and eliminate gender stereotypes. The fight against trafficking required individual and collective efforts to address push-factors, and cooperation between countries was essential for the protection, identification, referral and return of victims.

United Kingdom said States must be united in the belief that girls’ education and women’s economic empowerment remained key to unlocking a world free from violence. The commoditilisation and exploitation of human beings was an affront to human rights. The United Kingdom asked how Member States could support the work of the mandate holders. Nigeria reiterated its condemnation of human trafficking and commended the Special Rapporteur ‘s work towards advancing victims’ protections. Nigeria stressed the importance of the early conclusion of ongoing negotiations on the Global Compacts on Migration and Refugees. Nigeria was committed to combatting discrimination against women. Nepal was committed to combatting discrimination against women as well as trafficking in persons. The Government was implementing a national plan of action to prevent the trafficking of women and children. Nepal called for greater international cooperation in combatting all forms of discrimination against women.

Slovakia stressed that States were obliged to prevent and fight against trafficking in persons and respect the international prohibition of forced labour. Noting that women were successful mediators and goodwill ambassadors, Slovakia asked how to increase women’s participation in migrant screening processes. UN Women said States must provide women human rights defenders with access to justice and bring an end to impunity enjoyed by perpetrators of crimes against them. UN Women was working to ensure that safeguard mechanisms were in place to assist human rights defenders in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Philippines agreed that States must resist the temptation of addressing increased migration flows through the crime prevention lens. Philippines regretted that many women were deprived of sexual and reproductive health services and asked how the Human Rights Council could counter attacks on women’s human rights.

Portugal shared the view that human rights protection had to be at the centre of any policy response to the management of migration flows. Portugal provided support to all victims of trafficking both national and foreign, and it had recently approved the fourth National Action Plan for preventing and combatting trafficking in persons. Sri Lanka recognized the important role of international women’s rights mechanisms in developing a legal and normative framework to advance women’s rights. Turning to trafficking in persons, it agreed that the crimes of smuggling of migrants and trafficking had become increasingly blurred. Morocco shared the view that obstacles to women’s empowerment and persistent inequalities needed to be removed. It equally supported the Special Rapporteur’s emphasis on the prevention of trafficking and assistance to victims of trafficking.

Georgia stated that identifying and responding to the modern forms of trafficking remained the biggest challenges for countries. As for discrimination against women, Georgia believed that the remaining gaps demanded stronger commitment from the international community in order to bring deserved attention to the protection of women’s rights. Jordan stated that it was committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality. Its recent legislative changes and amendments had included protection against domestic violence and cybercrimes. Jordan had also adopted laws to combat trafficking in persons.

Al-khoei Foundation was extremely concerned about the widespread issue of female genital mutilation. Over 200 million young girls and women were subjected to female genital mutilation, due to deeply rooted sentiments of gender inequalities. Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS) Asociación Civil noted the historic day of 14 June in Argentina when parliament had legalized abortion, echoing the recommendation of this Working Group, although the Senate had yet to confirm the law. Ahlulbayt Foundation was concerned about violence and discrimination against women, particularly Islamophobia against veiled women in European countries.

Center for Reproductive Rights in a joint statement with several NGOs¹, commended the Working Group for its fruitful work, stressing that around 225 million women were systematically deprived of access to essential modern contraception and 25 per cent of the world’s population lived in countries with highly restrictive abortion laws. International Human Rights Association of American Minorities (IHRAAM) briefed the Council about the Asifa Innocence Ravaged incident where 8-year-old Asifa Bano was held captive in a Hindu temple, tortured and murdered in Indian-administered Kashmir. A call was issued asking for justice to be delivered and reparation realized. VIVAT International in a joint statement with Franciscans International, briefed the Council about migration flows in Southeast Asia where 6.5 million migrants resided in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, many of whom had been subjected to labour exploitation.

Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights (YCSRR) acknowledged advances in efforts to eliminate discrimination against women. Women were still being denied the right to do what they wanted with their bodies. Young women faced systemic and structural forms of oppression. There was little space for young women to exercise their autonomy. Association for Women's Rights in Development commended the Working Group’s work to strengthen the fundamental rights of women, which was a call to action. Gender justice and bodily integrity and autonomy were key issues concerning women, whereas the rising authoritarianism posed a threat to women’s rights. European Region of the International Lesbian and Gay Federation ILGA-EUROPE in a joint statement with Federatie van Nederlandse Verenigingen tot Integratie Van Homoseksualiteit - COC Nederland and International Lesbian and Gay Association appealed to the Working Group to ensure the consistent inclusion of lesbians within the best practices that it delivered, and recommended that the Group cooperate with and support the Independent Expert on sexual and gender orientation. Caritas Internationalis International Confederation of Catholic Charities underlined the importance of identifying and supporting migrants vulnerable to trafficking, who were often sent from one side to another. It favoured a human rights-focused approach that honoured every individual, and stressed the importance of working together to reinforce institutional cooperation to that end.

Make Mothers Matter invited the Working Group to consider motherhood and women’s role in so-called “social reproduction” as a common root cause of discrimination, and the “unfinished business of feminism.” The systemic discrimination against mothers at hiring, promotion and wages had a name: “the motherhood penalty." ECPAT International (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, and Trafficking in Children for Sexual Purposes) reminded that every year, millions of children and adolescents below the age of 18 were victims of trafficking. It thus called for the prioritization of child trafficking in national and international policies and legal frameworks for children. Indian Movement “Tupaj Amaru” said that the Human Rights Council was too focused on Israel, whereas the United States had imposed its vision of human rights on the world. The United States had left the Council and UNESCO, which demonstrated double standards and politicization.
Action Canada for Population and Development welcomed the Working Group’s remarks on how concepts of the so-called “protection of the family” and “sovereignty” of the States were used to undermine women’s rights. Espace Afrique International was pleased with the representation of women in the political arena, particularly in Africa where some of the countries had the highest number of women in parliaments. Yet some African countries had the highest numbers of girls not enrolled in schools.

Concluding Remarks

IVANA RADAČIĆ, Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice, said gender was not only an identity issue but also a social structure matter, which was why its mainstreaming was necessary. Diversity, both cultural and religious, was valued, not just between countries but also among communities. However, neither were static or monolithic and they were subject to different interpretations, including to those of fundamentalists. For that reason, during visits of the mandate holder, all voices were heard and particular attention was paid to the voices of women who experienced discrimination, regardless of the cultural context. Family values could not serve as justification for the violation of women’s rights. Cooperation with UN Women was reiterated as well as with other relevant bodies. The role of the Council was in countering narratives, including those in Eastern Europe and Latin America which had been attacking gender equality, and support for States was needed in such endeavours, by allowing State visits, supplying with information and adequate funds. The Governments of Chad and Samoa were thanked for their cooperation and the United Nations Trust Fund was thanked for enabling representatives to attend the meeting. Intersectionality was the approach embedded in the work of the Working Group.

MARIA GRAZIA GIAMMARINARO, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, underscored that she was permanently cooperating with other mandate holders, in particular with the Special Rapporteur on the rights of migrants, the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery. They issued joint communications, urgent appeals, press statements and on occasion they reported jointly to the Council. She expressed hope that the Global Compact on Migration would strongly prohibit the detention of children. Faith-based organizations, including Caritas, Santa Marta Group, Committee of Churches and others played a major role in the protection of victims of trafficking. Ms. Giammarinaro said that her recommendations on the identification of victims were in line with the New York declaration on the protection of migrants in vulnerable situations and they should be part of the Global Compact on Migration. People working with asylum seekers knew how difficult it was to interview migrants who were experiencing trauma and shock. Multi-agency cooperation had to be promoted, indicators needed to be established, and countries that had unconditional models could be used as resources for best practices. Training was essential for staff to recognize victims, not only border police but also healthcare specialists and public servants.

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¹Joint statement on behalf of: Center for Reproductive Rights; Association for Women's Rights in Development; International Planned Parenthood Federation; - International Federation for Human Rights Leagues and Plan International, Inc.


For use of the information media; not an official record

HRC18.085E