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

PART THREE.—ACTION
“The appointment of a high-level mechanism or coordina<strong>to</strong>r in the office of the
UN Secretary-General on human trafficking would enable the UN’s multifaceted work
on trafficking <strong>to</strong> be coordinated properly”.
In 2005, the <strong>United</strong> <strong>Nations</strong> System’s Chief for Coordination recognized the challenges
in countering human trafficking and proposed establishing an inter-agency mechanism <strong>to</strong>
strengthen coordination. 17
2.—Bilateral funding
Many industrialized States fund anti-trafficking initiatives in other countries, especially in
those countries from which people have been trafficked in<strong>to</strong> their country or region. The
effectiveness of the financial support provided by bilateral donors has sometimes been
undermined when many donors have committed relatively small amounts separately <strong>to</strong>
diverse projects, rather than pooling their contributions. While these small amounts have
produced some results, they are usually inadequate for more systemic solutions, such as
an initial needs assessment or the collection of adequate data about the abuse that a subsequent
intervention aims <strong>to</strong> s<strong>to</strong>p. The interventions that are supported benefit in large
part because of the goals of the organization that secures funding and the preoccupations
of the donor (for example, preferring their funds <strong>to</strong> assist children rather than adult
women), rather than as a result of any objective assessment of needs. Inadequate funding
has also resulted in insufficient evaluation and impact assessment, meaning that lessons
about which techniques are effective (and which are not) are not learned properly.
17
<strong>United</strong> States of America, Government Accountability <strong>Office</strong>, <strong>Human</strong> <strong>Trafficking</strong>: Moni<strong>to</strong>ring and Evaluation
of International Projects are Limited, but Experts Suggest Improvements, GAO report GAO-07-1034
(Washing<strong>to</strong>n, D.C., July 2007) p. 11.
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