The United Nations Trust Fund for Contemporary Forms of Slavery has recently received significant new contributions which is enabling it to provide a substantial number of travel and project grants to NGOs and individuals involved in the fight against trafficking. Other relevant UN mechanisms include the Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children and the Committee on the Rights of the Child. All of these mechanisms are serviced and supported by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Its purpose is to ensure that appropriate links are made between these various mechanisms as well as between the officers who are working with them. Its objective is to work towards the integration of a human rights perspective into international, regional and national anti-trafficking initiatives.
Emphasis is on legal and policy development.
The Programme does not aim to undertake large projects or to otherwise duplicate initiatives, which are being undertaken elsewhere. The first Protocol deals with Trafficking in Persons - Particularly Women and Children. The second Protocol concerns Smuggling of Migrants. The Inter-Agency statement contained specific recommendations for strengthening the draft text of both instruments by enhancing protection provisions and ensuring adequate and appropriate links to existing international human rights instruments and standards. The Guidelines will provide a practical tool for governments as well as international organisations including agencies and programmes within the United Nations system.