Trafficking in human beings (THB) and smuggling of migrants (SoM), two distinct but often interrelated phenomena, occur on a global scale. Searching for a way out of economic inequalities, environmental crises, armed conflict, political instability and persecution, and in view of tightening border controls and restricted options for legal migration, migrants are driven to seek the services of smugglers. At the same time, a globalized economy fosters demand for diverse types of exploitation, which also makes migrants vulnerable to traffickers. Both THB and SoM are billion-dollar businesses that exact high human costs. This is illustrated by the many migrants dying while being smuggled along increasingly dangerous migration routes, and by the millions of trafficking victims trapped in exploitative situations worldwide. The African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States are increasingly stepping up to address THB and SoM. However, they face challenges in developing the necessary holistic, long-term interventions that combine law enforcement with a rights-based, victim-centred approach and with prevention efforts that are linked to development and offer realistic, practical alternatives to irregular migration. This ACP-EU Migration Action publication analyses these challenges and provides recommendations to tackle the difficulties that ACP countries face in relation to THB and SoM

Since its inception in 2002, the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime (Bali Process) has effectively raised regional awareness of the consequences of people smuggling, trafficking in persons and related transnational crime, and also developed and implemented strategies and practical cooperation in response. More than 45 member countries and international organizations, as well as a number of observer countries and international agencies, participate in this voluntary forum. At the Fifth Bali Process Regional Ministerial Conference in April 2013, Ministers agreed that policy guides be developed to assist policy makers and practitioners to criminalize people smuggling and trafficking in persons. Ministers directed that the Regional Support Office (RSO), in consultation with interested members, develop guides for States to enable a range of domestic agencies to promote a consistent understanding of international legal obligations, and to assist in the development of effective domestic legislation. Further to this direction, the RSO established a drafting committee of experts from Bali Process Member States and international organizations to develop the policy guides.The policy guides are voluntary, non-binding and intended for use as reference tools by a range of domestic agencies in Bali Process Member States. In order to keep these policy guides short, practical and user-friendly, they focus on how to effectively criminalize migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons in domestic law. Issues of protection and assistance to smuggled and trafficked persons have been addressed within the thematic scope of the guides, but it is expected that these issues may be more comprehensively addressed by future policy guides. In line with the recommendations of the Fifth Ministerial Conference in April 2013, these policy guides are the first set of Bali Process Policy Guides falling within the thematic areas of the Bali Process and on issues of particular concern to Bali Process members.

Trafficking in human beings is a gross violation of human rights that often involves extreme exploitation and abuse. To date, there has been very limited robust research on the health consequences of human trafficking, particularly for various forms of labour in the Greater Mekong Subregion. This study aims to fill critical gaps in the body of knowledge on the health risks and consequences of human trafficking in order to improve protections and care services. The groundbreaking report provides findings on the health risks and physical and psychological consequences of men, women and children in post-trafficking services in Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam, and includes recommendations to national governments and regional bodies to improve health protection and response mechanisms for trafficked persons.

Violence against women and girls is one of the most pervasive global and systemic forms of human rights violations that exist today. Even though many migrant women do not encounter violence and benefit from migration, for some of the 105 million international migrant women worldwide, violence and discrimination can appear at the very start of the migration process and under various forms. This factsheet provides an overview of this critical issue and highlights a number of initiatives from around the globe through which IOM and partners strive to address the particular needs and rights of all migrant women and girls.

The manual was prepared with the aim to inform the secondary school teachers and students about human trafficking and exploitation. This third edition was updated by IOM taking into account the changes in the legal and institutional frameworks to combat human trafficking in the Republic of Armenia. The manual incorporates three parts: theory studies that will enable an effective use of teaching materials on trafficking; eight lessons of the basic course on human trafficking and exploitation; modern strategies and techniques used in education to initiate a constructive and interactive teaching, discussion and assessment of human trafficking issues.

Over the past years, public attention has gradually turned to the experiences of migrants along the precarious Mediterranean routes to Europe. A large number of migrants continue to risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean Sea on the way to Europe, often enduring long and perilous journeys. A growing body of evidence is beginning to highlight the scale and scope of exploitation experienced by migrants along these routes, including human trafficking. This report examines migrants’ vulnerability to human trafficking and exploitation by exploring risk and protective factors associated with unsafe migration, through the systematic evidence collected by IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) operations in 2016. It presents the results from the largest existing set of survey data on the vulnerability of migrants to abuse, exploitation and human trafficking on the Mediterranean routes to Europe.

Global assessments suggest that a substantial proportion of labour migrants ends up in situations of extreme exploitation, some of whom are identified as victims of human trafficking. Because large numbers of migrant workers fall into a “grey area” between trafficking (as defined by international and national law) and exploitative labour situations, there is good reason to explore the differences and similarities between the health needs of those who have been identified as trafficked compared to other migrants working in the same labour sector who have not. It is urgent to understand present-day occupational health and safety risks, forms of abuse and exploitation in different sectors and common hazardous working and living conditions to improve prevention and response strategies. This is among the first studies to explore and compare the influence of occupational and other risk exposures on people’s health and well-being and compare the experiences of migrant workers and victims of trafficking across sectors and regions. Our multiregion qualitative study on exploitation and harm experienced by individuals in the textile sector in Argentina, and artisanal gold-mining in Peru and construction sector in Kazakhstan, found important commonalities in the health hazards and financial, social and legal challenges across sectors and regions. In total, we interviewed 71 people; of these, 18 were formally identified victims of trafficking and 53 were migrant workers.

The Republic of Uganda Border and Migration Management Assessment was carried out in 2014 in order to give an overview of the migration management structure of the country. This publication allows the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control of Uganda and other stakeholders to properly identify development needs and requirements. The assessment focuses on the following key areas of border and migration management: (a) administration; (b) migration regulatory environment; (c) border operations and policies; and (d) information technology management. It gives 38 specific recommendations for the short, medium and long term on how to improve border and migration management in Uganda.

For many trafficked persons, the physical and psychological aftermath of a trafficking experience can be severe and enduring. Health providers may come into contact with victims of trafficking at different stages of the trafficking process and at different stages of their recovery. For health practitioners, diagnosing and treating trafficked persons can be exceptionally challenging. The informed and attentive health care provider can play an important role in assisting and treating individuals who may have suffered unspeakable and repeated abuse. Caring for Trafficked Persons brings together the collective experience of a broad range of experts from international organizations, universities and civil society in addressing the consequences of human trafficking. Developed with the support of the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking, and led by IOM and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the handbook gives practical, non-clinical advice to help a concerned health provider understand the phenomenon of human trafficking, recognize some of the associated health problems and consider safe and appropriate approaches to providing healthcare for trafficked persons.

In the framework of the EU action against trafficking in human beings (THB), the project “Towards global EU Action against Trafficking in Human Beings”, which is the subject of this report, facilitated the elaboration and adoption of the Council of Ministers of an Action Oriented Paper (AOP) on the external dimension of EU justice and home affairs policies on trafficking in human beings during the Swedish Presidency (July-December 2009). The AOP provides a consolidated framework for the EU (Member States and European Commission) containing an integrated compendium of external actions as well as cooperation measures on countering-trafficking in human beings and addressing the root causes of human trafficking in the countries of origin.