A/HRC/20/18/Add.1
Below is a short summary of some of the key issues from Australia’s report by the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children. Read the full text. Please note that this is not an official UN summary.
Australia is a destination country for victims of trafficking. Available information indicates that identified victims of trafficking are mainly women from South-East Asia, in particular from Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and the Republic of Korea. Recent data indicates a growing number of victims from other parts of Asia, including India and China. In the large majority of cases, victims were found to be working in the sex industry. However, a growing number of cases of other forms of trafficking, including for forced and exploitative labour, are emerging. The Special Rapporteur notes that there is a lack of data on child trafficking within Australia. Strict immigration and other controls certainly mean it is difficult for children to be brought into the country without their parents or legal guardians. Two high-profile cases, however, suggest that child trafficking has indeed taken place within Australia and may be a potential issue of concern. Trafficking of children via marriage also occurs if brides are below 18 years old.
Australia has demonstrated strong leadership in combating trafficking in persons regionally and domestically, as well as a willingness to learn from experience and adapt its approach accordingly. However, there are some weaknesses that prevent Australia from realising a genuinely human rights- and victim-based response. At the national level, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government ensures that the national legislation fully meets the international legal obligations of Australia and provides a strong and workable foundation for the country’s response. She also recommends that the Government develops a comprehensive national plan of action, appoints a national coordinator to oversee the national response to trafficking, identifies new ways of working that will ensure that it is able to reach its goals of information sharing, coordination and policy development and monitors the implementation of anti-trafficking legislation at the federal and state/territory levels. With respect to identifying victims of trafficking, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government improves existing procedures and practices for identification of victims and supports further collaborative research, with independent research institutions and civil society organisations to strengthen the collection of reliable, relevant data and to ascertain alternative methods for timely and accurate identification of victims. The Special Rapporteur also insists that there should be greater support offered to victims of trafficking in terms of administrative procedures, funding assistance and the criminal justice capacity to identify and confiscate proceeds and assets derived from trafficking-related crimes. The Government is also encouraged to increase the provision of training and capacity-building to individuals and agencies involved in anti-trafficking efforts and to expand prevention mechanisms without stigmatising or stereotyping victims of trafficking.
With respect to children in particular, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government ensures that specialist services are available for any child identified as, or suspected of, having been trafficked. In this regard, the Government is reminded to ensure that these services fully reflect and advance the principle of the best interests of the child. The Government is further encouraged to appoint an independent guardian for any child identified as, or suspected of, having been trafficked to safeguard the rights of the child and to ensure that that person is presumed to be a child and is accorded the rights of a child unless and until another determination is formally made. At the international level, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government considers ratifying the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and International Labour Organisation Convention No. 189 (2011) concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers, continues to support stronger criminal justice responses to trafficking in South-East Asia and increases development assistance aimed at supporting less developed economies in tackling the root causes of human trafficking. The Government is also encouraged to leverage the leadership role of Australia in the Bali Process to ensure that trafficking in persons is fully integrated into all aspects of the Process. The Special Rapporteur’s final recommendation is that the Government considers appointing an ambassador for human trafficking to further strengthen the country’s already high and positive international profile on this issue.
