DRAFT CEDAW General recommendation on Trafficking in Women and Girls in the Context of Global Migration I. Introduction 1. Article 6 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (the Convention) sets out States parties’ legal obligation to “take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women”. Despite the plethora of existing anti-trafficking legal and policy frameworks at the national, regional and international levels, trafficking in women and girls remains pervasive globally. Perpetrators enjoy widespread impunity and women and girls continue to be subjected to extreme forms of gender-based violence, constituting a violation of their human rights and an obstacle to their achievement of substantive equality. The call for strategic global action by States to combat trafficking in women and girls is echoed in the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 2. According to the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (the Committee), the phenomenon persists due to States parties’ failure to effectively address the root causes of trafficking in women and girls and to discourage the demand that fosters the exploitation of women and girls, which leads to trafficking. An inquiry into the experience of women and girls on the move, both those forcibly displaced and those who choose to migrate, reveals the potential adverse impact of States parties’ migration framework on women and girls and the resulting risk of being trafficked. Inadequate attention to women’s and girls’ experiences as victims of trafficking results in low rates of identification, assistance and protection. Restrictive migration policies and over-reliance on the criminal justice system to address trafficking in women and girls are barriers for victims’ access to justice and other services including health and psychosocial support. 3. This general recommendation sets out practical guidance on how to overcome this impasse using a gender transformative approach – characterized by anti-trafficking measures that are gender-sensitive, rights and needs-based, and evidence-led, emphasizing women’s and girls’ empowerment as a strategic priority for sustainable development. It affirms States parties’ obligation of due diligence to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish trafficking in women and girls, to protect victims as well as to provide reparations. II. Objective and scope 4. The Committee is mandated by article 21 of the Convention to develop general recommendations with the aim of clarifying States parties’ obligations to combat discrimination against women and girls in the current context.1 Discrimination is defined in Article 1 of the Convention as any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment and exercise by women of all human rights and fundamental freedoms.2 Article 2 of the Convention identifies the legal obligations of States parties to respect, protect and fulfill women’s right to non-discrimination and to the enjoyment of substantive equality with men.3 The Committee advances that a life free from being trafficked must be recognized as a human right and appropriate conditions must be created for that right to be fully exercised by women and girls.4 The requirement for States parties to pursue by all appropriate means a policy of combatting trafficking is of an immediate nature; delays cannot be justified on any grounds.5 1 General recommendation No. 28 (2010) (CEDAW/C/GC/28), para. 2. General recommendations: No. 28 (2010) (CEDAW/C/GC/28), para. 4; No. 36 (2016) CEDAW/C/GC/36, para. 21. 3 General recommendation No. 28 (2010) (CEDAW/C/GC/28), paras. 9 and 16. 4 General recommendation No. 36 (2016) CEDAW/C/GC/36, para. 21. 5 General recommendation No. 35 (2017) (CEDAW/C/GC/35), para. 21. 2 1

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