An Introduction to Human Trafficking - United Nations Office on ...

PART THREE.—ACTION
lature adopted an anti-trafficking law in 2005 that was not consistent with the terms of
the Pro<strong>to</strong>col. The Head of State attempted <strong>to</strong> resolve the inconsistencies by promulgating
a national policy <strong>to</strong> combat human trafficking in 2006, which clearly addresses all the
forms of exploitation mentioned in the <strong>Trafficking</strong> Pro<strong>to</strong>col.
B.—Institutions <strong>to</strong> combat trafficking
States have established a variety of specialized institutions <strong>to</strong> respond <strong>to</strong> cases of trafficking
in persons. Sometimes these institutions are defined in the State’s anti-trafficking legislation,
while sometimes they are defined separately. These institutions vary widely and
include national rapporteurs (on trafficking), inter-ministerial or inter-agency coordination
bodies or mechanisms, bodies <strong>to</strong> coordinate the provision of services <strong>to</strong> individuals who
have been trafficked (sometimes called national referral mechanisms) and special law
enforcement units, as well as specialized prosecu<strong>to</strong>rs <strong>to</strong> detect and prosecute traffickers.
In some cases it has been left <strong>to</strong> a national human rights institution <strong>to</strong> propose new initiatives,
as in India. 8
C.—Learning what works: good practice
The past seven years have been an opportunity <strong>to</strong> learn which approaches are effective
and which are not. Not all the investment has yielded the intended results. Some initiatives
turned out <strong>to</strong> be counterproductive for the very people they were intended <strong>to</strong> benefit.
Some prove not <strong>to</strong> work when scaled up or replicated in different places. Although
there has been a considerable amount of systematic learning, much remains <strong>to</strong> be learned
about what constitutes good practice and how <strong>to</strong> assess the circumstances in which particular
techniques can be replicated successfully.
8
India’s 455-page Report on <strong>Trafficking</strong> in Women and Children in India: 2002-2003 (New Delhi, 2004) was
compiled by the country’s National <strong>Human</strong> Rights Commission, in conjunction with India’s Institute of Social Sciences
and the <strong>United</strong> <strong>Nations</strong> Development Fund for Women.
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