UN-GIFT

• National Societies and the Federation have for many years been concerned by the extreme vulnerability of people trapped by trafficking. They work to support and assist the victims of trafficking in many different situations, in countries of origin, transit and destination.

• We insist that the vulnerability of the people themselves is the primary issue in debates about trafficking. We understand the importance of law enforcement action against criminals managing trafficking itself, but this must not prejudice the rights of the victims, nor deny them humanitarian needs.

• We are pleased that the GIFT initiative has been launched with the reduction of vulnerability and support for those who fall victim as its first mission objectives. This parallels the objectives of the RCRC Movement and links well to the work of National Societies in their countries.

• We note, however, that the emphasis on law enforcement objectives in many countries has meant that there has been insufficient attention to the situation and needs of victims, and insufficient support for actions in countries of origin which are essential if trafficking is to be effectively addressed.

• This has arisen partly because of confusion between trafficking and smuggling., and actions by some governments. The IFRC does not accept that the distinction between smuggling and trafficking has any impact on the vulnerability of the persons themselves.
o Trafficking is the subject of the “Palermo Protocol”, a treaty done in 2000 which is the basic UN program instrument. It now has 116 States party. While valuable, it gives too little recognition to the role of civil society.

• Trafficking is closely related to slavery, and is seen as a crime at that level. Statistics are difficult to build, because of the “underground” character of the crime and the difficulty authorities have in identifying victims in many cases. The total number of persons trafficked each year is, however, estimated at around 800,000, but the real figure could be a lot higher.

• Trafficking takes place for many different reasons, but the most common are forced labour (including child labour) and sexual exploitation.
• UNODC identifies Thailand, China, Nigeria, Albania, Bulgaria, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine as the greatest source countries. It identifies Thailand, Japan, Israel, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Turkey and the US as the greatest destination countries. o Note: trafficking affects all countries. Many are both source and destination countries, and also transit countries.

• IFRC agrees that there must be a much stronger and better coordinated effort by governments to collect statistics.
o Statistics must be assembled along uniform lines. A major problem now is the absence of any such base, and such statistics as exist are often not comparable from country to country.

• We note that the main background paper for the conferences acknowledges that many victims of trafficking do not identify themselves to authorities or make contact. The reasons vary, but they are usually afraid of authorities, knowing that they could be treated as criminals themselves.
o This is why the RCRC, with its well-known and global reputation for impartiality and independence, is such an important trusted partner.

• RCRC independence, alongside the role of National Societies as auxiliaries to the public authorities in their countries, is a vital asset in the fight against human trafficking.
o We have a unique ability to win the trust of the victims of trafficking, support, assist and work with them, and help them resolve their lives in the best possible manner.
o Respect for the confidentiality of contacts between the RCRC and victims is a vital element in this trusted relationship.

• IFRC has derived great benefit from the excellent work of OSCE on trafficking, and pay tribute to the energy and dedication of Helga Konrad – the first Special Representative – and her successor Eva Biaudet.
o This work, and the Alliance it has produced, is a good example of strong and committed partnership between intergovernmental organisations, the RCRC and NGOs. All three sectors need to be mobilised together if governments are to receive the advice they must have to address the massive nature of the crime of trafficking.

• Governments and Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies together referred to trafficking at the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in November 2007.
o Sitting together as equal partners, they adopted by consensus the Declaration “Together for Humanity”. The relevant paragraph states: “We are deeply concerned by all forms of human trafficking and exploitation, in particular, involving children and women and we acknowledge the role of governments to prevent such practices, to provide protection and assistance to all victims of such practices and to ensure respect for the national and international instruments prohibiting them. We also acknowledge the role of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in this respect.”
o They also agreed on the importance of ensuring that health care reaches the victims of trafficking. As they live outside the reach of normal welfare and other systems, they are among the most deprived persons in terms of access to rights and services.

• National Society action against trafficking has been supported by the Federation, but active support has been provided by the Danish Red Cross through the European Red Cross / Red Crescent Cooperation in Response to Human Trafficking.
o Although a network formed in Europe, its work is valued by National Societies in other parts of the world.
o It has published a manual, “Good practices in response to human trafficking”, which also helps National Societies in their cooperation with law enforcement agencies.
o Details, and the manual, are available from the website, http://www.redcross.dk/sw37863.asp.

• Outcomes from the Vienna GIFT will be taken into account in the IFRC's future work.
o One of IFRC's priorities will be to work for partnerships bringing together National Societies and others sharing humanitarian commitments.
o The IFRC representation in Vienna will maintain close contact with UNODC as work proceeds.

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BALI PROCESS NOTES

• The IFRC has attended Bali Process meetings since the beginning, in 2002.

• This role, and our place as an expert resource for the working group on policy issues and legal frameworks, has received fresh emphasis since the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in November 2007.

• At that meeting, the world’s governments and our worldwide network of National Societies committed themselves to working together to address the great humanitarian challenges of today.

• One of those selected was International Migration, and trafficking is clearly identified within this as an issue of the highest priority.

• The IFRC remains vitally interested in partnerships of the type encouraged by the Bali Process, and we congratulate the governments of Indonesia and Australia for hosting this side event.

• We stand ready to continue contributing expert advice based on our National Society work at community as well as national levels, noting that at the recent International RCRC Conference governments and National Societies adopted an important resolution on the auxiliary role of National Societies which will significantly assist understandings at the national level of how best to incorporate NS capacity into activity to address the crime of trafficking definition and support its victims.

• We will be happy to discuss our future contribution with the governments of Australia and Indonesia, and others of course, making use too of the outcomes of the Vienna GIFT.