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Part Two. Preamble 321“Gravely concerned by the significant and increasing activities of transnationalcriminal organizations and others that profit from international trafficking in [womenand children] [persons], 4“Believing that women and children are particularly vulnerable to and targetedby transnational criminal organizations engaged in trafficking in persons,“Declaring that effective action to combat international trafficking in [womenand children] [persons, in particular women and children] requires a comprehensive,international approach in the countries of origin, transit and destination that includesmeasures to prevent such international trafficking, to punish the traffickers and toprotect the victims of such trafficking, including by protecting their internationallyrecognized human rights,“Taking into account the fact that, despite the existence of a variety of internationalinstruments containing rules and practical measures to combat the sexualexploitation of women and children, there is no universal instrument that addressesall aspects of trafficking in [women and children] [persons],“Concerned that, in the absence of such an instrument, [women and children][persons] who are vulnerable to trafficking will not be sufficiently protected,“Recalling General Assembly resolution 53/111 of 9 December 1998, in whichthe Assembly decided to establish an open-ended intergovernmental ad hoc committeefor the purpose of elaborating a comprehensive international convention againsttransnational organized crime and of discussing the elaboration of, inter alia, an internationalinstrument addressing trafficking in women and children,“Convinced that supplementing the Convention with an international instrumentfor the prevention, suppression and punishment of trafficking in [women and children][persons, in particular women and children,] will be useful in combating thatcrime,“Taking into account the provisions of the Convention, 5“Have agreed as follows:”Notes by the Secretariat1. At the second session of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of a Conventionagainst Transnational Organized Crime and during the first reading of the draft protocol,4The proposal by Argentina was restricted to trafficking in women and children. The proposal by the United States,while recognizing that women and children were particularly vulnerable to trafficking, applied to trafficking in all persons.Whenever this issue arose in this combined text, both options were given (see also note 1 by the Secretariat and footnote 7below).5Two delegations (Australia and Canada) noted that the protocol should also take into account work being done inother international forums (i.e. the proposed convention concerning the prohibition and immediate elimination of the worstforms of child labour, which was then being drafted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) (and was adopted on17 June 1999 by the General Conference of ILO as the Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action forthe Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour), as well as the draft optional protocol to the Convention on the Rightsof the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (see A/AC.254/5/Add.3 and the report of theopen-ended intersessional working group on a draft optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on thesale of children, child prostitution and child pornography on its fifth session, held in Geneva from 25 January to 5 February1999 (see E/CN.4/1999/74), as well as General Assembly resolution 54/263, by which the Assembly adopted the final text(annex II)).