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Part Three. Article 2 461“(c) To promote international cooperation in the interests of the protection ofthe victims of such trafficking and respect for their human rights.]” 5Notes by the Secretariat4. At the eighth session of the Ad Hoc Committee, the Office of the United NationsHigh Commissioner for Human Rights, the Office of the United Nations HighCommissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the InternationalOrganization for Migration submitted a note, arguing, inter alia, that the protocol shouldpreserve and seek to uphold the fundamental human rights of smuggled migrants, as oneof its primary objectives (see A/AC.254/27 and Corr.1, para. 15).5. At its eleventh session, the Ad Hoc Committee considered, finalized and approvedarticle 3, as amended after extensive discussion. The protection of the rights of migrantswas again in the forefront of the debate, while it was agreed that the notion of “victims”,as incorporated in the corresponding article of the trafficking in persons protocol, was notappropriate in the context of the present article. The finalization of the text of the articlewas based on a suggestion by Italy that comprised proposals submitted by Azerbaijan (seeA/AC.254/5/Add.38), Belgium, Mexico and Norway. The last amendments are reflected inthe final text of the protocol, as included in the report of the Ad Hoc Committee (A/55/383,sect. IV, draft resolution, annex III), that was submitted to the General Assembly for adoptionpursuant to resolution 54/126 of 17 December 1999.B. Approved text adopted by the General Assembly(see resolution 55/25, annex III)Article 2Statement of purposeThe purpose of this Protocol is to prevent and combat the smuggling ofmigrants, as well as to promote cooperation among States Parties to that end, whileprotecting the rights of smuggled migrants.5At the eighth session of the Ad Hoc Committee, there was extensive discussion of the need to incorporate text referringto the protection of victims or migrants. Most delegations supported this in principle. Many preferred placing the text inarticle 3, but a substantial number argued that it should be included elsewhere instead. For purposes of further discussion, itwas decided to incorporate article 1, paragraph 2, of the proposed alternative text for the draft protocol submitted by Mexicoat the sixth session (see A/AC.254/L.96). It was also decided that the text should be placed in square brackets pending furtherdiscussion. One delegation proposed that, if this text were to be used, the words “victims of such trafficking” should bereplaced with the words “smuggled migrants” for greater consistency with the substance of the draft protocol.