Human Rights Council Concludes Interactive Dialogue on Freedom of Opinion and Expression

The Human Rights Council this morning held an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, and concluded an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

Siobhán Mullally, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, presenting her report on trafficking in persons, mixed migration and protection at sea, said that at least 8,500 persons died on migration routes worldwide in 2023, making it the deadliest year on record. The often politicised and punitive responses to migration at sea forced people to take more dangerous journeys. As such, these responses increased the risks of trafficking in persons. States needed to strengthen action to prevent trafficking in persons by expanding access to safe, regular migration pathways and to strengthen refugee protection and access to asylum to reduce the risks arising from dangerous journeys by sea.

Ms. Mullally also reported on her official visits to Colombia and the Central African Republic, and Colombia took the floor as a country concerned.

In the ensuing dialogue, some speakers, among other things, said security threats, climate change and restrictive policies, among other factors, pushed people to choose dangerous migration routes. It was vital to adopt urgent and effective measures to prevent trafficking, including in the context of migration at sea. States needed to step up efforts to create legal pathways for migrants. More needed to be done to ensure that screening protocols that respected human rights were in place. Many speakers said States needed to share responsibility in providing international protection for potential victims, dismantling trafficking networks, and holding perpetrators to account.

Speaking in the discussion on trafficking in persons were Qatar on behalf of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, European Union, Egypt on behalf of a Group of Arab States, Ecuador, Türkiye, Sierra Leone, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Australia, United Nations Children's Fund, Nepal, Ireland, Morocco, Armenia, Egypt, Luxembourg, Maldives, Indonesia, Ethiopia, United States of America, France, Costa Rica, United Nations Women, Nigeria, Algeria, Iraq, Djibouti, Lesotho, Russian Federation, Sovereign order of Malta, Malaysia, Belarus, Bahrain, Lithuania, Georgia, Côte d'Ivoire, Mexico, Tunisia, Albania, Panama, Bulgaria, Holy See, Togo, Cameroon, Cuba, Jamaica, Paraguay, Jordan, Switzerland, China, Romania, Venezuela, South Africa, Mali, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Eswatini, Vanuatu, Malawi, Honduras, Namibia, India, Argentina, Ukraine, Oman, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Gambia, Israel, Bangladesh and Benin.

Also speaking were the Burundi National Human Rights Commission and the National Human Rights Commission of India, as well as the following non-governmental organizations: Friends World Committee for Consultation, Defense for Children International, Coordination des Associations et des Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience, Network of Women's Non-governmental Organizations in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Istituto Internazionale Maria Ausiliatrice delle Salesiane di Don Bosco, Associazione Comunita Papa Giovanni XXIII, Caritas Internationalis (International Confederation of Catholic Charities), China Great Wall Society, Réseau Unité pour le Développement de Mauritanie, and Réseau Africain pour le Développement, la Gouvernance et les Droits Humains (RADHEG).

At the beginning of the meeting, the Council concluded its interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the first half of which started in the previous meeting and can be found here.

Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, in closing remarks, said State officials should not denigrate media or label journalists as terrorists. All governments needed to adopt national protection mechanisms for journalists at risk, which needed to also apply to journalists in exile. The Council needed to hold governments to account for not investigating the killings of journalists. She also called on governments to engage in the smart regulation of social media. Companies needed to engage with users and take responsibility for ensuring that their platforms were safe.

In the discussion on freedom of opinion and expression, some speakers, among other things, said that as authoritarian crackdowns and armed conflicts rose across the globe, so did the number of journalists forced into exile. These journalists were targeted precisely because they played a vital role in bringing the truth to light and upholding justice and democracy back home. They needed to be offered protection. Speakers decried media crackdowns in several countries and regions. One speaker asked the Special Rapporteur what steps could be taken to ensure that journalists were protected and freedom of expression was promoted?

Speaking in the interactive dialogue were Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Dominican Republic.

Also speaking was Commission nationale indépendante des droits de l'homme (Burundi), as well as the following non-governmental organizations: Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung - Gesellschaftsanalyse und Politische Bildung e.V., Article 19 - International Centre Against Censorship, Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy, Medical Support Association for Underprivileged Iranian Patients, Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture, International Federation of Journalists, Centro de Estudios Legales y SocialesAsociación Civil, International Association of Justice Watch and Mother of Hope Cameroon Common Initiative Group.

The webcast of the Human Rights Council meetings can be found here. All meeting summaries can be found here. Documents and reports related to the Human Rights Council’s fifty-sixth regular session can be found here.

The Council will reconvene at 3 p.m. this afternoon, when it will conduct an interactive dialogue with the Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity, to be followed by an interactive dialogue with the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls.

Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression

The interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression started in the previous meeting and a summary can be found here.

Discussion

In the continuing discussion, many speakers thanked the Special Rapporteur for her report, which highlighted the fundamental right to freedom of opinion and expression, an essential pillar of a democratic society. As concluded in the report, journalists were on the front line of the effort to hold the powerful to account, and for that they paid a heavy price, personally and professionally.

As authoritarian crackdowns and armed conflicts rose across the globe, so did the number of journalists forced into exile. This was rarely a choice, but an escape from imminent danger to themselves and their families. Instead of facing safety in exile, an increasing number of journalists were instead faced with extraterritorial attacks, including killings, physical violence, and surveillance that were designed to create a climate of fear and keep them silent. These journalists were targeted precisely because they played a vital role in bringing the truth to light and upholding justice and democracy back home. They needed to be offered protection.

Some speakers decried the media crackdown in several countries around the world.

Those speaking urged all States, especially those that led on freedom of expression and media freedom, to fully implement the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur’s report, including issuing emergency humanitarian visas through accelerated procedures to journalists and their families, and to ensure that all acts of transnational repression on their territory were investigated and prosecuted promptly, fully and effectively. While the Human Rights Council now had robust standards on the safety of journalists, those leading upcoming relevant resolutions were encouraged to integrate these new recommendations on exiled journalists and transnational repression.

One speaker asked the Special Rapporteur what steps could be taken to ensure that journalists were protected and freedom of expression was promoted?

Concluding Remarks

IRENE KHAN, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, in closing remarks, thanked speakers that expressed support for her mandate, and thanked civil society for providing important information. She called on States to value the work that journalists did. State officials should not denigrate media or label journalists as terrorists. All governments needed to adopt national protection mechanisms for journalists at risk, which needed to also apply to journalists in exile.

Data on killings of journalists indicated that nine out of 10 killings were not investigated. The Council needed to hold governments to account for not investigating killings.

Governments needed to engage in “smart regulation” of social media. Rather than being obsessed with the content of certain posts, they needed to hold media providers to account for transparency and accountability. All governments should look at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s guidelines for content moderation. Companies needed to engage with users and take responsibility for ensuring that their platforms were safe. If companies applied their own safety regulations, they would be able to prevent most of the online transnational attacks occurring today.

Journalists in exile were human beings. They were not seeking to disrupt society. They needed to be treated as humans and provided with support. Around 2,000 journalists had left Afghanistan since the Taliban came to power and had not been able to continue their professions.

Laws needed to be aligned to international human rights standards. This would ensure that there was no conflict between respect for freedom of expression and international law. States needed to use the least restrictive measures to protect the rights of others. Restrictions should be the exception. Ms. Khan urged States to protect freedom of expression. There was a heavy cost to not promoting freedom of expression that could be seen around the world. States needed to take a human-centred approach to ensuring journalists’ protection.

Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children

Reports

The Council has before it the reports of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children on trafficking in persons, mixed migration and protection at sea (A/HRC/56/60), and on her visit to Colombia (A/HRC/56/60/Add.1) and her visit to the Central African Republic (A/HRC/56/60/Add.2).

Presentation of Reports

SIOBHÁN MULLALLY, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, began her statement by expressing concern regarding the spiralling impacts of the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

Her report addressed the issue of trafficking in persons, mixed migration and protection at sea. The human rights of victims of trafficking and persons at risk of trafficking continued to exist at sea. The obligations to prevent trafficking in persons and to identify, assist and protect victims of trafficking, without discrimination, continued to apply at sea and on disembarkation. The failure to fulfil those obligations increased the risks of trafficking in persons and other serious violations of international law.

At least 8,500 persons died on migration routes worldwide in 2023, making it the deadliest year on record. Slightly more than half of the deaths were a result of drowning. Ms. Mullally urged States to join the multistakeholder pledge on addressing challenges faced by refugees and migrants moving by sea. She also encouraged States to join the pledge on trafficking in persons presented at the Global Refugee Forum 2023, and to commit to its implementation and support. The often politicised and punitive responses to migration at sea forced people to take more dangerous journeys. As such, these responses increased the risks of trafficking in persons. Effective measures to prevent trafficking in persons needed to include the expansion of safe, regular opportunities for migration; pathways to international protection, including effective access to asylum; rights-based family reunification; and resettlement.

For victims of trafficking at sea, first and foremost, the right to life needed to be ensured as a fundamental and non-derogable human right. States had an obligation to ensure that maritime actors could fulfil their duties towards persons in distress at sea. It was essential, therefore, that maritime actors were fully supported in meeting their search and rescue obligations under international law. Those obligations needed to be implemented without discrimination or regard to the status of the persons being rescued.

States needed to take account of the trauma endured by victims of trafficking, ensuring gender equality, the best interests and rights of all children, and non-discrimination on grounds such as disability, race, religion, nationality or migration status. International law required that persons rescued at sea must be disembarked to a place of safety. Too often, weak identification and referral processes at sea, and on disembarkation, led to failures of protection.

Victims of trafficking faced restricted access to essential services, both in the place in which they were identified and in their place of origin. Victims of trafficking had a special status in international law and rights to specialised assistance by trained and qualified personnel. Pathways to residence and stay, including pathways to long-term residence and citizenship, needed to be provided to victims. Risks of reprisals against victims and their families, and resulting fear and trauma, needed to also be recognised.

Ms. Mullally expressed concern at increasing restrictions on access to asylum in many regions. States needed to guarantee access to asylum procedures for those intercepted or rescued at sea. Designation of a place of safety required ensuring effective access to asylum, and protection against refoulement. It was essential to strengthen the capacity of all maritime and law enforcement actors to combat technology-facilitated trafficking at sea, including effective prevention and accountability measures. The provision of sufficient financial and other resources for host communities and local authorities in ports and coastal areas where disembarkations took place also needed to be ensured, to guarantee protection of the rights of victims of trafficking, including adequate resourcing of child protection services.

States needed to comply with the prohibition of refoulement and collective expulsion. Ms. Mullally said she was seriously concerned at the criminalisation of human rights defenders assisting migrants and refugees in distress at sea. States needed to strengthen action to prevent trafficking in persons by expanding access to safe, regular migration pathways. Also needed were measures to strengthen refugee protection, and access to asylum, to reduce the risks arising from dangerous journeys by sea.

Presenting her report on her visit to Colombia, Ms. Mullally said that, during her visit, she had observed conflict-related trafficking. The continued incidence of forced recruitment by armed groups among indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities, as well as the recruitment and use of children, and child and forced marriage, was a serious concern, as was the prevalence of conflict-related sexual violence, including trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation and sexual slavery.

She welcomed the differentiated approach in national policies on combatting trafficking in persons, under which the significance of gender, sexual orientation and diverse gender identities, disability status, and race and ethnicity were recognised.

The authorities needed to allocate resources to implement legislation, action plans and policy measures to ensure the effectiveness of assistance and protection measures in practice, and to resource and strengthen child protection services. She commended the measures taken to provide temporary protection status to Venezuelan refugees and urged the Government to continue to ensure the protection of Venezuelan migrants and refugees. She welcomed the commitment to strengthening the rights of domestic workers, and regulating labour conditions in sectors at risk, such as in mining. She also commended the progress made in the pioneering work of the transitional justice process. She commended Colombia’s commitment to achieving total peace, which was essential to combatting trafficking in persons, and called for continued international support for the peace process in Colombia.

Presenting her report on her visit to the Central African Republic, the Special Rapporteur said she welcomed the political will of the President and Government to combat trafficking in persons. She commended the State for its significant progress in developing the legislative and policy framework for the protection of human rights and combatting trafficking in persons, including the adoption of the National Policy on Human Rights and the 2022 law on human trafficking. Other welcome developments included the establishment of a national coordination mechanism on trafficking and an action plan.

However, despite progress in legislation and policy, implementation remained a challenge, particularly in rural areas, in situations of displacement, and against a background of continuing conflict and violence. Limited resources, continuing violence, closure of schools, internal displacement, including climate related displacement, and extreme poverty hindered the effectiveness of prevention of trafficking and protection measures, particularly for children. Ms. Mullally called on all parties to the conflict in the Central African Republic to end all forms of conflict-related trafficking in persons, and to end and prevent all grave violations against children. She urged authorities to take urgent action to facilitate access to justice in all parts of the country. The prevention of trafficking, particularly of children, required the achievement of a just and lasting peace, disarmament and demobilisation, and access to education, employment and livelihoods for the people of the Central African Republic. More effective oversight, prevention and protection mechanisms were required, with continued support of the international community.

Statement by Country Concerned

The Vice-President said that the Central African Republic had indicated that it would not take the floor.

Colombia, speaking as a country concerned, thanked the Special Rapporteur for her report and country visit. Combatting human trafficking was a priority for the Government. In the last decade, Colombia had become a country of origin, transit and destination of migrants, which led to an increase in human trafficking. In 2023, Colombia registered the entry of 539,000 migrants, double the number of migrants entering in 2022. Given the precarious migration situation in the region, a majority of these people transited with human trafficking networks, exposing them to risks. In 2023, 264 reports of human trafficking were registered in Colombia, representing an increase of 57 per cent from the previous year’s figure. Even more worrying was that 70 per cent of cases of human trafficking related to sexual abuse of women and girls.

Due to Colombia’s geographical conditions, the issue of trafficking had been exacerbated in the islands and the coasts. In 2023, the Colombian national navy rescued 335 people in this area. Seeking to address these dynamics, Colombia was combatting migrant smuggling and human trafficking networks. The State was aiming to achieve the regularisation of the migrant population of Venezuela through a variety of special permits. Tackling these issues required an inter-State approach which had the support of the international community. Colombia called for a coordinated response, including the countries of the Americas, to address the issue of trafficking and guarantee the rights of migrants. The Government was committed to peace. Colombia thanked the Special Rapporteur for her important observations and recommendations.

Discussion

In the ensuing dialogue, some speakers, among other things, expressed deep concern about the issues related to trafficking presented in the report, including the loss of life of migrants at sea. Criminal trafficking networks preyed on and abused vulnerable people. Human trafficking was an affront to every person’s right to liberty. Trafficking in persons was one of the most wide-spread organised crimes, affecting more than 50 million people around the world. It prevented the development of countries. One speaker expressed concern at the sophistication of modern trafficking activities.

Security threats, climate change and restrictive policies, among other factors, pushed people to choose dangerous migration routes. A number of speakers said it was vital to adopt urgent and effective measures to prevent trafficking, including in the context of migration at sea. States needed to step up efforts to create legal pathways for migrants. More needed to be done to ensure that screening protocols that respected human rights were in place. Victims of violations emerging from trafficking needed access to justice. The criminalisation of migration should not be allowed.

One speaker said addressing protection gaps at sea was complex. Some speakers welcomed the Special Rapporteur’s recommendations about how to address these and how to rescue persons at risk at sea. States had an obligation to identify persons at risk of trafficking in surveillance operations at sea.

Several speakers said women, children and persons with disabilities were particularly vulnerable on such routes. Women and girls accounted for six out of every 10 victims of trafficking. Speakers expressed concern about the criminalisation of women migrants, which exacerbated the challenges they faced. Member States needed to provide support services to all women and girls who were victims of trafficking at points of disembarkation.

One speaker expressed concern that punitive measures exposed migrant children to rights violations and hindered their access to support. States needed to strengthen child protection capacities and strengthen access to justice and child-friendly justice procedures. They also needed to create and expand pathways for regularisation and stay, including for children. A number of speakers supported the Special Rapporteur’s call for protection of the best interests of the child in the context of trafficking.

The only way to truly combat trafficking was to work together, one speaker said. The issue required a global, sustainable approach. States needed to share responsibility in providing international protection for potential victims, dismantling trafficking networks, and holding perpetrators to account. One speaker said country projects to combat trafficking needed to be carried out at the request of the concerned country. Another speaker called for international cooperation to address digital tools used by trafficking networks. One speaker highlighted the work of religious communities in protecting the rights of victims of trafficking.

A number of speakers expressed their commitment to addressing human trafficking, including at sea, and presented national measures to combat trafficking in persons and support victims.

Some speakers asked how the international community could work better together to fight trafficking in persons and strengthen accountability measures, including for trafficking at sea; how to protect women, girls and persons with disabilities on migration routes; how States could ensure an enabling environment for civil society organizations working to protect migrants at sea; and how to address the criminalisation of migration and the problems that came with outsourcing of surveillance operations.

They also asked whether the Council should set up an independent mechanism concerned with rights at sea; how to ensure that issues related to children were at the heart of anti-trafficking policies; about measures to ensure that States implemented the non-punishment principle in relation to processing of trafficking victims; means of protecting the rights of refugees who were victims of trafficking; how States could ensure that screening protocols were established and followed at all disembarkation points; how expanding safe migration options contributed to reducing deaths at sea; and how the international community could combat trafficking in person schemes in which State actors were complicit.

Intermediate Remarks

SIOBHÁN MULLALLY, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, emphasised that the focus needed to be on implementation in practice without discrimination, and efficient resourcing to ensure access to justice for victims of trafficking. Ms. Mullally said that search and rescue teams had obligations under the existing law of the sea, and there was potential for the use of digital technologies to strengthen search and rescue. Where funding was provided to third States, it was important that there were positive obligations of search and rescue effectively implemented. A place of safety needed to be a place which ensured effective access to asylum. Multi agency responses were critical, as was a route-based response which recognised effective access to services.

Irregular migration could place people in difficult situations, as could regular migration. It was important that expanded safe routes to migration prevented people from being put into risky situations and allowed them to travel safely. The report highlighted obligations regarding specialised provisions in providing safe migration routes. In international law on trafficking in persons, there was an emphasis on partnership with civil society, recognising the important role they played in search and rescue. It was important to end the criminalisation of human rights defenders and to protect rescued victims of human trafficking.

Discussion

Continuing the dialogue, some speakers, among other things, said the report shed light on the thousands of migrants who died on dangerous sea routes each year. One speaker expressed concern about the increased number of deaths on migration routes in 2023. Speakers referred to the plight of migrants travelling across the Sahara, the Sahel and the Darien Gap, as well as on the high seas. Irregular migrants were often forced to use inappropriate boats and unsafe paths, putting them at increased risk.

Many speakers noted that the crime of trafficking in persons had resulted in a transnational crisis. Human trafficking was a grave violation of human dignity. Persons living in extreme poverty were more likely to become victims of trafficking. Trafficking was a lucrative crime. Traffickers were increasingly using sophisticated online tools to facilitate their activities. They offered false promises of safe journeys, housing and employment. This scourge should not be allowed to continue unabated with impunity.

Some speakers said punitive migration policies were contributing to increasing the vulnerability of migrants. Victims of trafficking were being detained in inhumane conditions. The detention of child trafficking victims violated their rights and led to increased stigmatisation. Child-friendly practices and trauma-informed care needed to be implemented to protect child victims. Maritime officials needed to be trained in such practices. Some speakers said illegal unilateral coercive measures were causing people to choose unsafe migration routes, putting them at heightened risk of trafficking. They called on all States to stop implementing such measures.

The report stressed the need to prevent trafficking and protect victims. Speakers said States needed to take steps to punish traffickers. Appropriate protections for victims of trafficking were also paramount. Training needed to be provided to officials working to prevent trafficking. All States needed to uphold the principle of non-refoulement and address the root causes of trafficking. Pathways to safe and orderly migration needed to be broadened to prevent trafficking. States were obliged to protect the rights of all migrants, including at sea and regardless of migration status. Special attention needed to be paid to vulnerable groups, particularly women, children and persons with disabilities.

The gap in protection for migrants at sea was often due to a lack of cooperation between States and other maritime actors, some speakers said. Partnerships needed to be formed between countries of origin, transit and host countries to enhance efforts to prevent trafficking, regularise migration pathways, and identify and support victims. States needed to respect international norms related to trafficking, exchange information, and work together to combat organised crime. Partnerships also needed to be formed between States, the private sector and civil society to combat trafficking.

Some speakers raised insecurity situations in various countries, which were causing mass migrations of vulnerable groups, placing them at risk of trafficking, including for sexual purposes. Governments needed to provide additional protection measures for affected people.

One speaker said that it was vital to take action to end statelessness. This would contribute to preventing trafficking. Another said all efforts needed to be exerted to protect refugees and asylum seekers and implement the Palermo Protocol. States needed to step up capacity for search and rescue of refugees and asylum seekers at sea, disembark those persons at places of safety, and refer them to appropriate screening processes and protection services.

Some speakers presented national measures to combat trafficking in persons. They expressed willingness to implement the report’s suggestions and cooperate to tackle transnational trafficking.

Speakers asked about measures to address the financial networks that funded trafficking activities; how landlocked countries could contribute to boosting regional cooperation to combat trafficking of persons at sea; about good practices for developing joint plans on combatting trafficking and identifying victims of trafficking; how awareness raising campaigns helped to reduce trafficking; about measures for strengthening international cooperation to combat trafficking; and about action to close accountability gaps.

Concluding Remarks

SIOBHÁN MULLALLY, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, called on all States to protect victims of trafficking. States had obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and had obligations to provide best interest in terms of guardianship for child victims of trafficking. Ms. Mullally called on States to support, protect and enable the work of human rights defenders, including those supporting migrants at sea. Restricting access to asylum would push people into more dangerous journeys and increased risks of trafficking in persons. The involvement of any State official in trafficking in persons was an aggravated form of this crime and there should be appropriate sanctions for such involvement.

Ms. Mullally called on all States to strengthen the capacity of financial investigations to combat trafficking in persons. Statelessness could contribute to increased risks of trafficking in persons, due to placing people in vulnerable situations. She reiterated States’ obligations to ensure the rights of the child on rescue at sea and on disembarkation. It was important to ensure access to accountability for victims, which could be challenging. A recent development had established the platform on the rights of refugees, launched at the Global Refugee Forum in December, which strove to protect refugees from becoming victims of trafficking.

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