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538 Travaux préparatoires: United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crimeble international law, in particular the right to life, the principles of non-discriminationand non-refoulement and the right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel,inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 2“2. States Parties shall afford migrants effective protection against violencethat may be inflicted upon them, whether by public officials or by private individuals,groups or institutions, by reason of having been smuggled. 3“3. States Parties shall afford due assistance, as far as possible, to migrantswhose life or safety has been endangered by reason of having been smuggled. 4“4. At the time of any detention, migrants shall be informed of their right tothe protection and assistance of the consular or diplomatic authorities of the State ofwhich they are nationals. 5 ]”Colombia (A/AC.254/L.237 and Corr.1)Eleventh session: 2-28 October 2000Colombia was in favour of retaining article 7 quinquiens within the text of theprotocol, but proposed the addition of a new paragraph as follows:“In applying the provisions of this article, States Parties shall take into accountthe special needs of women and children.”Notes by the Secretariat2. In a note submitted during the eighth session of the Ad Hoc Committee by theOffice of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Office of theUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Children’s Fund andthe International Organization for Migration, the need for including a specific and explicitprovision for the protection of smuggled children had been emphasized (seeA/AC.254/27 and Corr.1, para. 19).2At the informal consultations held during the ninth session of the Ad Hoc Committee, some delegations expressedconcern that this provision overlapped with existing article 15 bis. Many delegations noted that the proposed text containeda positive obligation that was not found in article 15 bis and some supported it, while others opposed it for that reason. Inan informal note submitted during the fourth session of the Ad Hoc Committee, the United Nations High Commissioner forHuman Rights had urged that consideration should be given to inserting such a provision in the protocol to ensure respectfor and protection of the rights of illegal migrants owed to them under applicable international law. In the same note, it hadbeen pointed out that this provision could be strengthened through reference to the core rights to which irregular or illegalmigrants were entitled (see A/AC.254/16, para. 6).3At the informal consultations held during the ninth session of the Ad Hoc Committee, some delegations expressedconcern about the reference to public officials in this paragraph. Several noted that matters of violent treatment were alreadythe subject of domestic criminal law in all States.4At the informal consultations held during the ninth session of the Ad Hoc Committee, most delegations indicatedeither support for or acceptance of this proposed paragraph.5At the informal consultations held during the ninth session of the Ad Hoc Committee, some delegations expressedsupport for this proposal. Many noted that the right to consular assistance was already found in the Vienna Convention onDiplomatic Relations of 1961 (United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 500, No. 7310) and the Vienna Convention on ConsularRelations of 1963 (United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 596, No. 8638). Some felt that this made its inclusion in the presentprotocol unnecessary, while others indicated that they could support its inclusion, provided that the wording matched thatof the earlier instruments exactly.