The Inter-Agency Coordination Group Against Trafficking in Persons releases its 2021 achievements report
31 March, VIENNA - Trafficking in persons is an abhorrent and complex crime. It thrives in situations of poverty, discrimination, instability, and in contexts where criminal justice institutions are weak. In forced displacement, conflict and crisis settings, trafficking risks are further exacerbated. All such environments allow traffickers to target the most vulnerable in societies and lure or force them into different types of exploitation, while enjoying a large degree of impunity.
For years, the United Nations has been working side by side with Governments across the world to support the fight against trafficking in persons and strengthen the protection and assistance of the victims of this crime.
In 2021, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), together with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), led the Inter-Agency Coordination Group Against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT), a UN-mandated mechanism to support coordinated, holistic and rights-based responses to trafficking in persons and the protection of its victims across the UN system and beyond.
A full account of ICAT´s activities and achievements in 2021 was published earlier today in the 2021 Co-Chairs Report. This comprehensive resource testifies to the strong commitment of the UN and other international organizations to provide a single, united voice in the fight against human trafficking.
“Today, ICAT is a well-recognized standard-setting policy forum, with Member States increasingly seeking its guidance on anti-trafficking issues,” said UNODC Director for Treaty Affairs, John Brandolino.
ICAT counts 30 members, including several UN entities with a specialization on human rights, criminal justice, humanitarian crises, child protection, and gender issues, as well as other regional organizations with a specific geographical focus.
“We expect ICAT´s work to continue growing in the coming years and we commit, as UNODC, to continue facilitating ICAT´s increasing productivity and membership expansion, especially in underrepresented regions,” continued Mr. Brandolino.
At the heart of ICAT´s anti-trafficking action in 2021 were priorities such as mitigating the risks of trafficking in persons in public procurement. Milestones in this area included the publication of targeted policy guidance for the prevention of trafficking through sustainable procurement practices. Using its single, united voice, ICAT called on big procurers of goods and services, including governments and the UN system, to adopt strict policies to prevent the engagement of suppliers who might be involved in human trafficking.
ICAT also worked closely with the International Survivors of Trafficking Advisory Council (ISTAC) to ensure that the voices of victims and survivors of trafficking are more systematically heard by policymakers and included in anti-trafficking interventions, for example through the 2021 World Day Against Trafficking campaign last July. Furthermore, ICAT has been regularly consulting with and including the perspectives of survivors to inform its policy guidance.
For the first time, the 2021 ICAT Report also contains a compilation of key activities undertaken by its members in their individual institutional capacity, and in line with their mandate, to advance a number of jointly identified anti-trafficking priorities. Such actions include building a better evidence base for anti-trafficking action, ensuring and promoting the application of human rights-based approaches, fostering accountability of traffickers and strengthening multi-stakeholder partnerships, including with the private sector, in tackling trafficking in persons.
As co-chairs of ICAT in 2021, UNHCR promoted an innovative field outreach strategy that recognizes the differences and specificities of trafficking in persons in regional and local contexts. UNHCR shed light on the exacerbation of people’s vulnerability to trafficking in conflict, crisis and forced displacement settings due to the deterioration of the rule of law and the breakdown of social and community ties, that erode traditional protection mechanisms.
“Persons fleeing conflict, violence or persecution may be compelled to move irregularly to seek protection and be particularly vulnerable to being trafficked or to falling victim to serious crimes and human rights violations during their flight” said UNHCR Deputy Director of the Division of International Protection, Patrick Eba.
“Working together, we can ensure that anti-trafficking responses are systematically included into humanitarian action and strengthen efforts to address the multiple drivers of trafficking and the intersecting vulnerabilities that expose people to risks of harm”, added Mr Eba.
In 2022, and under the lead of the new Co-chairs, UNODC and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), ICAT will continue to pursue greater coordinated action across its membership, with a specific focus on the field level, while nurturing existing and new partnerships as a core effort to push the anti-trafficking agenda forward.
About ICAT:
ICAT was established in 2007, pursuant to UN General Assembly resolution 61/180, as a policy forum to enhance cooperation and coordination among UN agencies and other relevant international organizations to facilitate a holistic and comprehensive approach to the scourge of trafficking in persons. Its members include 31 UN entities and other international and regional organizations.
UNODC and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) are the current co-Chairs of ICAT for 2022.
ICAT has published extensively on trafficking in persons. Its wealth of information can be accessed on the website here.
For more information, follow @ICAT_News on Twitter.
