Human trafficking occurs in almost every country in the world, but it takes on particularly abhorrent dimensions during and after conflict. It is defined as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of people through the threat or use of abduction, abuse of power or vulnerability, deception, coercion, fraud, force, or giving payments or benefits to a person in control of the victim for the purpose of exploitation. While many trafficking victims are exploited within their countries of residence, other victims are trafficked across regions More than 72 percent of detected victims are women and girls; Western and Central Europe and North America, Central America, and the Caribbean have particularly high rates of detected women and girls. Some forms of trafficking are particularly prevalent in the context of armed conflict, such as sexual exploitation, enslavement, and forced marriage; forced labor to support military operations; recruitment and exploitation of child soldiers; and removal of organs to treat injured fighters or finance operations.Traffickers also target forcibly displaced populations. On migration routes, human traffickers deceive people into fraudulent travel arrangements and job opportunities. Migrants face unique danger as they go through holding points and informal settlements or accept unsafe employment opportunities. Refugee women and girls are at particular risk of sex trafficking and forced marriage.

Today, nearly 250 million children are living in countries and areas affected by conflict. An untold number of children are now living in communities besieged by conflict and often cut off from sufficient humanitarian aid. And far too many children have been recruited, forced into, or otherwise used by armed groups. Around the world, millions of children have been scarred physically and psychologically by violence— experiencing horrors no child should ever experience; witnessing events no child should ever see; victimized by the worst of humanity. Each and every one of these children has the right to a childhood — to be safe, to learn, and to grow into adulthood. The right to progress, not only for their sake, but also for the sake of their societies. For children whose rights have been violated with impunity are less likely, as adults, to respect the rights of others. For 20 years, the Office of the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict has summoned outrage and compelled action to prevent grave violations against children, working in partnership with governments, NGOs, and UN agencies — and aided by the UN Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism. Our past progress — exemplified by some of the examples in this report — shows what we can do, through common effort — now and in the future. For example, last year alone, almost 10,000 boys and girls were released from armed forces or groups.

Hundreds of thousands of children are associated with armed forces and armed groups in conflicts around the world. Girls and boys are used in a variety of ways from support roles, such as cooking or portering, to active fighting, laying mines or spying and girls are frequently used for sexual purposes. This recruitment and use of children violates their rights and causes them physical, developmental, emotional, mental, and spiritual harm. The recruitment and use of children by armed forces and armed groups has been a focus of international attention and has been widely condemned, yet children continue to be involved in adult wars and to become disabled or die in such conflicts. While the release and reintegration into civilian life of many of these children has been supported through interventions and programmes designed to assist them, others have returned home on their own, often to face an uncertain future and a further fight for acceptance from their family and community. Girls in particular are likely to be stigmatized and even rejected by their community if it is known that they have been used by an armed force or armed group and the rejection of their children may be even more severe. Other children are encouraged by their families and communities to participate in armed conflict, despite the danger and harm this involves. Despite their experiences, such children are resilient and can contribute constructively to reconstruction and reconciliation efforts if given appropriate help, support and encouragement.

The findings of the report are the results of a wide-ranging, multistakeholder process that included participation by young people. Despite the considerable achievements of the past 10 years, challenges remain. According to 2006 estimates, more than 1 billion children under the age of 18 were living in areas in conflict or emerging from war. Of these, an estimated 300 million were under age five, and more than 18 million children were refugees or internally displaced. The strategic review notes that there is increased global awareness about deliberate violations against children in armed conflict, such as the recruitment and use of children by armed groups. However, appalling consequences that stem from the complex interplay of conflict, poverty and discrimination are often overlooked. Children living in war-affected contexts are less likely to be in school or have access to clean water and basic sanitation. They are more vulnerable to early mortality as a result of disease and undernutrition, and they have less chance of becoming adults able to play a constructive role in their societies.

These Guidelines address implementation of the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (MRM) on grave violations against children in situations of armed conflict under Security Council Resolutions 1612 (2005), 1882 (2009), 1998 (2011) 2068 (2012), and 2143 (2014). They describe the purpose and focus of the mechanism; specify the leadership, roles and responsibilities of implementing actors, in particular UNICEF, peacekeeping and political missions and Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator, and the MRM architecture and information flow; outline reporting requirements; and highlight the critical linkage of the MRM to response programming and advocacy. The MRM Guidelines are essential reading for co-chairs and members of the country task forces for monitoring and reporting, also known as CTFMRs.The MRM Field Manual, a companion publication to the Guidelines, is designed to serve as a comprehensive resource for practitioners responsible for implementing the MRM. The manual and its annexes cover in detail the technical aspects of monitoring and reporting practice, as well as critical issues related to information management and security. The manual also covers the issue of response, to ensure that monitoring and reporting activity is underpinned by adequate programmes and services for victims of violations. The MRM is a living document, and both the Guidelines and the Field Manual will undergo periodic reviews under the auspices of the Global Task Force on Children Affected by Armed Conflict.

The economic, geographic, and cultural diversity of Asia and the Pacific region is reflected in the varying prevalence and forms of modern slavery found across the region. In Asia and the Pacific, there are instances of debt bondage, including hereditary forms of bonded labour in South Asia, forced labour exists in migrant dominated sectors across the region, forced marriage persists, and state-imposed forced labour, while most commonly known to exist in North Korea, occurs in several countries within the region. The Asia and Pacific region is home to the two most populous countries in the world, India and China, as well as some of the least populous island nations, among them Tuvalu, Nauru and Palau.

The Arab States are currently both the source and recipient of the largest numbers of refugees and internally displaced people globally. As the region experiences conflict and resulting displacement – and given its position at the junction of migratory paths for Afghans, Sudanese, and Somalis fleeing conflicts in their homelands – vulnerability to modern slavery in the Arab States has sharply increased. An estimated 5.7 million refugees originated in the region since mid-2016 and 12 million people were displaced internally in Middle Eastern countries.This displacement, accompanied by severe economic decline, widespread violence and psychological distress, collapse of essential public services in many districts, and weak labour laws has contributed towards the vulnerability of refugees, internally displaced persons, minority groups, and ordinary citizens to trafficking and exploitation.

The present report, prepared following consultations and covering the period from January to December 2019, is submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution 2427 (2018) and presents trends regarding the impact of armed conflict on children and information on violations committed. Where possible, violations are attributed to parties to conflict and the annexes to the present report include a list of parties engaging in violations against children, namely the recruitment and use of children, the killing and maiming of children, rape and other forms of sexual violence against children, attacks on schools, hospitals and protected personnel, and the abduction of children. The information contained in the present report was vetted for accuracy by the United Nations. Where information is not verified, it is qualified as such. Where incidents were committed earlier but only verified in 2019, that information is qualified as relating to an incident that was verified at a later date. The information presented does not represent the full scale of violations against children, as verification depends on access. The report presents trends and patterns of violations, in order to effect a change in behaviour by parties, contribute to facilitating engagement with parties responsible for violations, promote accountability and include child protection issues in peace processes. Attacks or threats of attacks on community and civic leaders, on human rights defenders and on monitors of violations against children is a cause for concern and a strain on the monitoring capacity.

Disaffected, impoverished, and displaced people in weak and failing states are particularly vulnerable. Human trafficking exploits social and political turmoil caused by natural disasters, economic crisis, and armed conflict. The exploitation and forced servitude of millions of trafficking victims take many forms. Women and children are trafficked into becoming child soldiers and concubines of illegal armed groups, men, women and children are trafficked into forced labor and sexual slavery, forced to sell drugs, steal, and beg money for the criminals controlling them, and thousands are coerced or forced into a growing black market trade in human body parts. The growth in illegal mining operations by illegal armed groups and organized crime is also fueling conditions of forced labor. Trafficking victims are dehumanized and suffer grave physical and mental illness and often die at the hands of their captors and exploiters. Colombia is particularly afflicted by the scourge of human trafficking. All the elements of modern-day slavery and human exploitation are present in this Latin American state that is struggling to overcome decades of internal armed conflict, social fragmentation, poverty, and the constant debilitating presence of organized crime and corruption. Women’s Link Worldwide recently reported that human trafficking is not viewed as an internal problem among Colombian officials, despite estimates that more than 70,000 people are trafficked within Colombia each year. This article examines human trafficking in its many forms in Colombia, the parties involved in trafficking, and the State’s response or lack of response to human trafficking. The article also presents innovations that might be effective for combating human trafficking, and proposes that Colombia can serve as an effective model for other countries to address this growing domestic and international human rights catastrophe.

The review found a great deal of work on the subject of conflict and its effects on women, children, and gender-based violence; the gender aspects of peacekeeping; and human trafficking in countries that once were in conflict. However, very few of these works deal directly with the issues of conflict, human trafficking, and their interrelationships; even fewer works contain in-depth descriptions and analyses of conditions present in conflict and post-conflict situations, which particularly contribute to the emergence of human trafficking in post-conflict and neighboring countries. The exception is the growing body of work on childsoldiers and women associated with the fighting forces (WAFF), recent works on human trafficking in women and girls for sexual exploitation in and around areas with peacekeeping missions, and the evolving links between post-conflict trafficking in persons and organized crime. From the literature review, most trafficking in post-conflict countries follows predictable patterns based on the country’s placement on the conflict spectrum. Immediately before and during conflict, human trafficking is primarily related to the recruitment and use of child soldiers and WAFF. At this stage, there is also human trafficking of refugees and displacedpersons, especially for sexual exploitation or labor. Immediately following conflict, most child soldiers and WAFF victims are released and try to reintegrate back into civilian society—usually through a disarmament, demobilization, and rehabilitation (DDR) program. With the influx of large numbers of peacekeepers, human trafficking shifts toward prostitution of women and girls. In the post-conflict period, the lack of law and order and the large numbers of vulnerable and destitute populations, especially female refugees, IDPs, separated children, and war widows, contribute toward the country becoming a source and a transit point for human trafficking for sexual exploitation or forced labor. In this post-conflict climate, women and girls suffer disproportionately from lack of access to resources and education, thereby heightening their vulnerability to various forms of exploitation and human trafficking. In search of opportunities to improve their social, economic, and political situations in more developed cities or countries, yet lacking comprehensive information or access to legitimate migration programs, many of these persons fall victim to human traffickers. This phenomenon occurs not only in the immediate post-conflict period, but often well after the conflict has subsided. In some areas, such as the former Soviet Union and the Balkans, literature links post-conflict trafficking with organized and transnational crime. A few of the reviewed works also examine the role wealthier countries play as sources of demand and destination of trafficked persons.