HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL DISCUSSES DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN AND BEGINS DEBATE ON TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

The Human Rights Council at its midday meeting held an interactive dialogue with Alda Facio, Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on discrimination against women in law and practice, and began an interactive dialogue with Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children.

In the presentation of the Working Group’s reports, Ms. Facio said that although significant progress in legal and policy frameworks for women’s rights had been made in the past decades, the Working Group was gravely concerned by the alarming level of backlash against women’s human rights gains. Discriminatory laws persisted in many parts of the world. Identifying good practices in ending discrimination against women was, thus, particularly poignant at the current historical juncture. Naming a “good practice” was a complex process whose purpose was to build collective knowledge of the steps that States had to take to fulfil their obligations. That exploration process had examined ways and means through which States could promote substantive equality, recognizing that progress was not always linear and that de facto change required multiple strategies, effective responses to lessons learned from mistakes made, context-specific interventions and sustained resources. The law was an essential mechanism for women’s enjoyment of human rights and the Working Group maintained that a good law usually became a good practice in conjunction with other factors. She spoke of the Working Group’s Missions to Hungary and Kuwait.

Hungary and Kuwait spoke as concerned countries.

In the ensuing discussion, speakers shared concern about the level of backlash against women’s human rights gains, underlining that no law, no tradition and no religion could ever justify gender discrimination. States could not just stand by; they should seek to educate and inform the general public. Legislative changes had to go hand in hand with good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women. Economic empowerment, and access to education, health and information on sexual and reproductive health were prerequisites for the elimination of discrimination against women. It was necessary to eliminate all types of stereotypes that blocked women’s access to political and social life. The exchange of good practices would help States fulfil their obligations on the issue of gender equity.

Speaking in the interactive dialogue were Finland on behalf of a group of countries, Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Tunisia on behalf of the African Group, European Union, Jamaica, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Greece, Montenegro, Maldives, Italy, Cuba, Belgium, Spain, United States, Kyrgyzstan, Australia, Mexico, Switzerland, Pakistan, Slovenia, France, Venezuela, Brazil, Namibia, China, Algeria, Jordan, Latvia, Albania, Mali, South Africa, Portugal, Iran, Israel, Tunisia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Iraq, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Myanmar, United Kingdom, Botswana, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Council of Europe, Madagascar, Paraguay, Guinea, and Georgia.

International Development Law Organization and Inter-Parliamentary Union also spoke.

The following civil society organizations also took the floor: Iraqi Development Organization, International Service for Human Rights, Federatie van Nederlandse Verenigingen tot Integratie Van Homoseksualiteit, Centre for Reproductive Rights, International Commission of Jurists, Asian Legal Resource Centre, Association pour l’Intégration et le Développement durable au Burundi, and Conseil International pour le soutien à des procès équitables et aux Droits de l’Homme.

The Council then began an interactive dialogue with Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children.

Presenting her report, Ms. Giammarinaro explained that the report focused on the efforts of multi-stakeholder initiatives and industry coalitions to address trafficking in supply chains through voluntary standards. She clarified that multi-stakeholder initiatives were organizations that had established voluntary sustainability standards, often for a specific commodity or industry sector, such as coffee, cocoa or tourism and electronics. Those standards normally covered a wide range of sustainability concerns, from environmental risks and corruption to working conditions and labour rights. However, voluntary standards alone were not sufficient and States had to guarantee normative frameworks that protected workers from labour exploitation and set out clear expectations for businesses in that regard. There was a need to improve awareness of trafficking in persons and risk practices among the stakeholders, and to embed workers’ voices in the monitoring mechanisms of companies’ performance. She spoke about her missions to Kuwait and the United States.

Kuwait and United States spoke as concerned countries.

Brazil and Armenia spoke in right of reply.

At 3 p.m., the Council will hold a panel discussion on unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents and human rights. It will continue the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, on Monday, 12 June.

Documentation

The Council has before it the Report of the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice (A/HRC/35/29).

The Council has before it an addendum to the Report of the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice - mission to Hungary (A/HRC/35/29/Add.1).

The Council has before it an addendum to the Report of the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice - mission to Kuwait (A/HRC/35/29/Add.2).

The Council has before it an addendum to the Report of the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice – comments by Kuwait (A/HRC/35/29/Add.3).

The Council has before it an addendum to the Report of the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice – comments by Hungary (A/HRC/35/29/Add.4).

Presentation of Reports by the Chair of the Working Group on Discrimination against Women in Law and in Practice

ALDA FACIO, Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on discrimination against women in law and in practice, reminded that the Council had requested the Working Group to develop a compendium of good practices. The question on how to identify good practices in ending discrimination against women was particularly poignant at the current historical juncture, where a profound backlash was ongoing against hard-won progress in all spheres. The continuing rise of fundamentalism of all kinds and openly misogynistic, racist, xenophobic and populist voices was of grave concern to the Working Group. Naming a “good practice” was a complex process whose purpose was to build collective knowledge of the steps that States had to take to fulfil their obligations. That exploration process had examined ways and means through which States could promote substantive equality, recognizing that progress was not always linear and that de facto change required multiple strategies, effective responses to lessons learned from mistakes made, context-specific interventions, and sustained resources. The law was an essential mechanism for women’s enjoyment of human rights and the Working Group maintained that a good law usually became a good practice in conjunction with other factors.

Significant progress in legal and policy frameworks for women’s rights had been made in the past decades. However, discriminatory laws persisted in many parts of the world. Severely discriminatory laws and practices also remained, particularly in contested areas, such as sexual and reproductive rights and equal rights in the family. No matter how strongly the law was drafted, it was filtered through the attitudes and biases of the individuals and institutions, public and private, responsible for grounding it in reality, compounded by a social environment that disadvantaged women through the perpetuation of historical discrimination, the patriarchal construction of gender, and the perpetuation of stereotypes and prejudices. Expressing grave concern at the alarming level of backlash against women’s human rights gains, the Working Group wished to stress the importance of maintaining the autonomy of local and national movements and other civil society actors as an essential means of protecting and sustaining good practices.

Turning to the Working Group’s visit to Hungary, Ms. Facio appreciated the Government’s policy priority on the reconciliation of work and family life. Nevertheless, it was concerned that other goals of the National Strategy for the Promotion of Gender Equality had not been adequately addressed, such as increasing the participation of women in political and economic decision-making, eliminating gender stereotypes, achieving full economic opportunity for women, and fully addressing women’s health needs. There were no female cabinet members and the representation of women in Parliament at 10 per cent was one of the lowest in the European Union and globally. Underlying that situation was the pervasive and flagrant stereotyping of women as unsuited to political power and the insistence on a woman’s role as primarily a wife and a mother. That was aggravated by multiple forms of discrimination against Roma women, who were virtually invisible in the political system.

Speaking of the visit to Kuwait, Ms. Facio said the Working Group appreciated the open and frank exchange regarding both good practices and gaps in women’s enjoyment of their human rights. In the past decades, Kuwait had made significant progress in introducing laws promoting the rights of women. Nonetheless, discriminatory legislation remained, particularly in family and nationality laws and in the Penal Code, along with a substantial gap in legislation combatting gender-based violence. Kuwait should go beyond piecemeal changes in its discriminatory legal provisions and take concrete and immediate action on a comprehensive review of the laws, in order to achieve full equality between men and women, as guaranteed by the Constitution and in accordance with international human rights standards. While generous State services existed for all citizens and residents, differential treatment in practice was common, especially for women, including migrant and Bidoon women.

Statements by Concerned Countries

Hungary, speaking as a concerned country, said that Hungary was firmly devoted to the full implementation of the obligations deriving from the norms of the majority of international and European human rights conventions, to which the country was a State party. There were legal and factual inaccuracies in the report of the Working Group. The Government of Hungary attached great importance to the family as a “natural and fundamental” unit of society, and Hungary’s legal system supported the objective of non-discrimination of women in the labour market. Regarding the right to health, women’s access to reproductive health services was not limited.

Kuwait, speaking as a concerned country, thanked the Working Group for recognizing the achievements made. The Government had sent an invitation to the Working Group because it wished to improve the human rights of women in the country. Kuwait had cooperated with the Working Group with a sincere desire to combat discrimination against women in law and in practice. Kuwait encouraged other States to invite the Working Group and cooperate with its members and wished the Group every success in its humanitarian mission.

Interactive Dialogue

Finland, speaking on behalf of a group of countries, expressed concern about the backlash against the rights of women, in particular against women human rights defenders. It inquired about possible joint activities of the Working Group and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women. Pakistan, speaking on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, stated that the Organization had been actively working to promote the rights of women, including on gender equality and female participation in economic and social life, and on preventing gender-based violence. The achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in that respect required wider international corporation. Tunisia, speaking on behalf of the African Group, reminded that despite the progress made, the problem of discrimination against women remained. Illiteracy was a fertile ground for violence and discrimination against women, and education was key in addressing the empowerment of women. European Union supported the notion that the promotion of women’s equality and their empowerment in economic and social life began with measures that supported equal opportunity, accommodation to gender-specific needs, and equal enjoyment of benefits. Jamaica observed that there was a growing tendency to reduce the national assessment of the participation of women in public life to the number of elected representatives. How could the United Nations system adopt a more holistic approach to assessing countries like Jamaica in that context? United Arab Emirates stated that discrimination against women led to immediate negative repercussions, evident in the wage gap in many countries. The discrimination took root in national legislation, in addition to other factors. Laws alone were not sufficient; comprehensive policies were needed.

Malaysia detailed domestic programmes it had undertaken to ensure the application of gender equality and non-discrimination against women, and asked how the use of xenophobic fear tactics for political gains had disproportionately affected women. Greece said a certain backlash had been witnessed against women’s rights, and the priorities of the Greek Government were reflected in national plans. Montenegro said the country had created three institutional mechanisms to combat violence against women and promote the economic empowerment of women and their political participation. Maldives said it gave high importance to the promotion of gender equality and had enacted legislation on sexual harassment, domestic violence and sexual offences. The Gender Equality Act enacted in 2016 was a landmark piece of legislation and ensured the rights of women by providing equal opportunities for both women and men. Italy said it had put in place constitutional, legal and administrative measures to achieve gender equality, but remained aware of persistent implementation gaps. What steps could be taken to eliminate disempowering stereotypes and misogyny in the public and private spheres? Cuba expressed concern about the tendency to adopt regressive policies regarding gender equality in a number of countries as it undermined the progress made in recent years. What could the international community do to counteract the effect of such practices?

Belgium shared concern about the level of backlash against women’s human rights gains, underlining that no law, no tradition and no religion could ever justify gender discrimination. The State should not stand by, but seek to educate and inform the general public. Spain agreed with the Working Group that legislative changes had to go hand in hand with good practices. Economic empowerment, and access to education, health and information on sexual and reproductive health were prerequisites for the elimination of discrimination against women. United States welcomed the Working Group’s report and work, and inquired about best practices to improve the dialogue with civil society on women’s rights. Kyrgyzstan stated that it had adopted a national strategy for gender equality, identifying priority areas, such as the role of women in economy, education, access to justice and political equality. Traditional discrimination and patriarchal views on gender issues continued to persist in rural areas. Australia noted that legal frameworks were important instruments in driving changes needed to achieve gender equality. The implementation of laws was also critical to making a real difference to the lives of both men and women. Mexico said that access to health and sexual and reproductive rights was fundamental for gender equality and for guaranteeing the physical autonomy of women and men. It was necessary to eliminate all types of stereotypes that blocked women’s access to political life.

Switzerland shared the view that gender equality was particularly important today when the progress attained was being threatened with rejection in many domains. What could be done to repeal particularly discriminatory laws and practices, for example in the areas of family law, sexual and reproductive health, and property and inheritance rights? Pakistan said that the provision of good quality education was the most important enabler for the participation of women and enhancing their roles in all sectors. Slovenia stressed that it was unacceptable that women still faced multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and shared concerns about backlash on already achieved gains in the area of gender equality. How could the sustainability of political will and activities for gender equality be ensured? France shared concern about threats to women’s rights by patriarchal cultures still dominant in some countries. The empowerment of women and their equal participation in all spheres of political, public and economic life was crucial for the realization of all human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals. Venezuela spoke about domestic efforts to guarantee gender equality and equity, noting that the empowerment of women was essential for the eradication of patriarchal attitudes and stereotypes. Violence against women, their political and public participation, access to health and other issues must be adequately addressed by the 2030 Agenda. Brazil was committed to the adoption of effective policies to eliminate discrimination against women. In the context of the 2030 Agenda, empowering women and girls was the most effective way to address structural challenges related to the promotion and protection of all human rights in a way that left no one behind.

Namibia appreciated the Working Group’s focus on good practices and agreed with most of the Group’s recommendations. It called on all States to protect women’s rights in all areas of life, both in law and practice. Women occupied some of the highest ranking positions of Government in Namibia. China stated that the elimination of discrimination against women and the economic empowerment of women were general international commitments. The international community should take practical measures to ensure gender equality, with a focus on poverty elimination. Algeria said that it had adopted a law on violence against women, as well as a national strategy for gender equality. There was also a provision that guaranteed 30 per cent of seats across all elected bodies. The business sector had also seen improvements in access for women. Jordan stated that it ensured that its international obligations in terms of women’s rights were upheld. Legislative reforms had been undertaken to further promote the protection of women’s rights, namely in access to justice and political and social life.

Latvia welcomed the proposals to improve the representation of women in elected offices, as empowered women could contribute to the persistent challenges such as those affecting sexual and reproductive health, equal rights in the family, feminization of poverty, and education of girls. How could teachers’ training and school curricula be improved to promote the elimination of gender stereotypes. Albania stressed the importance of the role of the judiciary in protecting women from violence and discrimination and said that Albania had increased efforts to challenge gender patriarchal stereotypes which subjugated women to male dominance. Issues of discrimination against women were a major concern for the Government of Mali whose national gender policy was aligned with the 2030 Agenda and the Agenda 2063 of the African Union, and focused on women’s political participation and leadership, economic empowerment and combatting violence against women. South Africa concurred that the cultivation of a culture of human rights was necessary for social change and said that the implementation of gender quotas went a long way in changing social attitudes. Once the proverbial glass ceiling was broken, what could be done to ensure that another one was not created? Portugal stressed the importance of not using cultural diversity and relativism to justify the non-implementation of the global commitments made under the Agenda 2030. How could the Council contribute to reversing the trend of the backlash against women’s human rights? Iran urged the Working Group to provide space for discussions and reflection on the detrimental consequences of unilateral coercive measures on the promotion and protection of human rights, and in particular the rights of women and girls.

Israel noted that the exchange of good practices would help States fulfil their obligations on the issue of gender equity. Whenever women were victims of domestic violence, trafficking, or sexual harassment, they were entitled to free legal assistance both in criminal and civil procedures. Tunisia said that women’s rights had been well anchored in Tunisian identity since its independence. In 2011, women had contributed to the continuation of the revolution. It was not enough to adopt laws related to gender equity, it was necessary to put them into practice. In this purpose, Tunisia had adopted an approach based on equal footing for women in politics. Ecuador said women and girls represented half of the world population and were particularly affected by poverty, climate change and the low quality of sanitation. Several measures had been adopted to eradicate all types of violence and discrimination based on gender. Bolivia outlined that important efforts remained to be achieved in order to change patriarchal attitudes. An electoral law had been adopted in 2017, increasing women’s representation in parliament to 53 per cent. Iraq reported that a series of national plans had allowed the Government to fill gaps in terms of gender inequalities in rights and obligations for women. A national strategy had been adopted to combat violence against women and ensure progress for women. Iraq highlighted that the presence of Daesh on its territory remained a major hindrance to the realisation of equality between men and women. New Zealand recalled that the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women determined that States had the obligation to fulfil women’s rights to non-discrimination. Last year, the Government of New Zealand announced funding of 46 million dollars to better support victims and to prevent sexual violence.

Inter-Parliamentary Union said that women’s political participation remained very low as women represented only 23 per cent of parliamentarians worldwide and that at this rate, it would take another 50 years to reach gender parity in parliaments. The glass ceiling could be broken by adopting legislation on electoral quotas and challenging mindsets and stereotypes that politics were a man’s business. Republic of Korea noted that a good law for equal opportunities might not succeed in the face of public resistance and lack of awareness and stressed the importance of gender sensitive education and strong political will to break gender stereotypes. Myanmar said that the fundamental rights of women, equal opportunities and non-discrimination were guaranteed by the Constitution and there was a zero tolerance policy on all forms of violence against women and girls. United Kingdom said that gender inequality was still prevalent around the world and urged all States to take urgent action to reform discriminatory laws and practices. What strategies could be adopted to address the rise of open misogyny in the acts and words of States and non-State actors? Botswana noted that the Working Group’s report contained a number of recommendations related to laws, policies and social change and said that it would be beneficial to identify best practices that could expedite progress towards gender equality. Azerbaijan spoke of the efforts to promote gender equality which had been carried out against the background of the existing aggression against the country. Azerbaijan strongly condemned all forms of violence against women in situations of armed conflict and stressed the importance of ending impunity and ensuring accountability for perpetrators.

Indonesia said it was promoting initiatives at several levels, and was working to increase the quality of life for all women. Indonesia was working toward a more substantive participation of women at the legislative level. Attitudinal change was crucial, and the Working Group was asked if measures had been identified to change social and cultural norms. Council of Europe said the empowerment of women was linked to the eradication of violence against women, and the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence had become operational and was working toward creating synergies with the United Nations human rights system. Madagascar said it had been taken off the list of 27 countries where women could not transmit their nationality to their children; now, women could transmit their nationality to their children. The media in Madagascar had made a major contribution to changing the law on nationality by raising the awareness of parliamentary members. Paraguay said it was vital to incorporate human rights standards into domestic law, and monitoring and assessment were key when it came to implementing human rights legislation nationally. Legal frameworks needed to be supported by public policies and thus Paraguay’s Ministry for Women had drafted public policies seeking to adhere to defined standards. International Development Law Organization said that despite progress made in many fields, women continued to experience discrimination in law and in practice, and millions of women and girls were in vulnerable and discriminatory situations. The Working Group was asked how an interactive dynamic could be ensured, and how the report would be advanced within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Guinea commended the Working Group for its excellent work, noting that women were a key part of the development process in the society. Actions had been undertaken to reduce the gap between the rights of women in practice and in law. Georgia welcomed the focus of the report, and noted that Georgia had submitted its information to the Working Group’s questionnaire on good practices. Public education and teacher training were a crucial entry point for systemic change, which could be achieved in a long-term perspective.

Iraqi Development Organization stated that women in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were subject to restrictions that actively undermined gender equality. Men exerted control over their wives’ access to medical procedures and care. The kafala sponsorship system forced many female migrant workers into domestic servitude. International Service for Human Rights highlighted that the sphere of the family could be a place of vulnerability for women. The perpetration of patriarchal attitudes by State and non-State actors was particularly worrisome and represented a threat to the effective empowerment of women. Federatie van Nederlandse Verenigingen tot Integratie Van Homoseksualiteit - COC Nederland, in a joint statement with, International Lesbian and Gay Association welcomed that the Working Group on discrimination against women in law and practice regularly included references to sexual orientation and gender identity. The gender wage gap disproportionately affected lesbian and bisexual women. Those women also often lacked the support of their families and did not have access to social security benefits. Centre for Reproductive Rights stated that discriminatory laws and practices remained in many areas of women’s lives, which undermined their human rights, particularly their sexual and reproductive rights. Specific attention needed to be paid to women and girls who faced multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination.

International Commission of Jurists voiced concerns about the intense backlash against women’s rights gains in national and international spheres. The International Commission of Jurists was particularly concerned about the levels of discrimination that women continued to face in accessing the justice required to uphold their rights. Asian Legal Resource Centre estimated that 50 per cent of the Asian population were treated as lesser humans. Today in the region, justice institutions were used as a tool for oppressing the rights of the people, particularly women. The Centre requested the Working Group to study closely the justice avenues and frameworks available for women in Asian States. Association pour l’Intégration et le Développement durable au Burundi spoke about Indian women subject to men’s control over their sexuality, particularly in remote regions of India. Access to justice and medical facilities should be improved.
Conseil International pour le soutien à des procès équitables et aux Droits de l’Homme said sexual discrimination was widespread and in Saudi Arabia it was seen daily, in spite of legal instruments which prohibited discrimination against women. The world was surprised that Saudi Arabia was a member of the Commission on the Status of Women.

Concluding Remarks

ALDA FACIO, Chairperson of the Working Group on discrimination against women in law and in practice, said that she felt satisfied with the interaction, as the majority of the delegations speaking had agreed with the Working Group that there had been a step back when it came to women’s rights, and that something needed to be done. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women now needed to be properly implemented. Women suffered from discrimination in different ways across the world, women were not equal and the first lesson to be learnt was that it was important to seek laws to eradicate discrimination against women, and to seek diversity to ensure that all groups were covered. Discrimination against women could not be eliminated if focus was just on one area. Changes could only be achieved if there were improvements in the political situation of women. Women ‘s health was also an important issue. The international community needed to focus on the elimination of discrimination against women in a holistic manner. Women carried out different work from men, so work of equal value had to be remunerated equally. Gender mainstreaming had been discussed, but the roots of that had to be analysed.

Documentation

The Council has before it the Report of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children (A/HRC/35/37).

The Council has before it an addendum to the Report of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children - mission to Kuwait (A/HRC/35/37/Add.1).

The Council has before it the Report of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children - mission to the United States of America (A/HRC/35/37/Add.2).

The Council has before it an addendum to the Report of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children - comments by Kuwait (A/HRC/35/37/Add.3).

Presentation of Reports by the Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children

MARIA GRAZIA GIAMMARINARO, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons especially women and children, said her report focused on the efforts of multi-stakeholder initiatives and industry coalitions to address trafficking in supply chains through voluntary standards. She clarified that multi-stakeholder initiatives were organizations that had established voluntary sustainability standards, often for a specific commodity or industry sector, such as coffee, cocoa or tourism and electronics. Those standards normally covered a wide range of sustainability concerns, from environmental risks and corruption to working conditions and labour rights. The question was: how did those schemes include trafficking in persons within their standards and what were the indicators used to evaluate companies’ risks? Voluntary standards typically included a reference to trafficking in persons or forced labour, and that was normally based on international human rights instruments. However, the reference was often limited to a mere prohibition of the use of forced labour or trafficking in persons, and it did not offer specific indicators to help identify risk practices. The level of sophistication in developing indicators that could effectively account for companies’ risk practices in that area varied from one initiative to another.

Auditing as a way to evaluate the compliance of companies with labour standards had also been criticized for its limits to assess the performance of companies in the long term. Few companies had extended their due diligence efforts throughout the entire value chain, or had included labour supply chains. Companies needed to concentrate resources where they were most needed and a mapping of risks and coordinated action with the rest of the industry were unavoidable steps to succeed. There was a need for improving awareness of trafficking in persons and risk practices among the stakeholders. The embedding of workers’ voices in the monitoring mechanisms of companies’ performance had to be guaranteed. Multi-stakeholder initiatives and businesses had to identify solutions in order to ensure that workers, trade unions and civil society played a central role in standard-setting and monitoring scheme. Finally, voluntary standards alone were not sufficient and States had to guarantee normative frameworks that protected workers from labour exploitation and set out clear expectations for businesses in that regard.

Speaking of her visit to Kuwait, Ms. Giammarinaro recognized the country’s commitment to combatting trafficking in persons, namely through the establishment of the Anti-Trafficking Unit within the Ministry of the Interior, and the Government shelter for migrant workers. However, there were areas of concerns, notably that the focus was mainly on trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation in domestic work, which was prevalent in Kuwait. Possible trafficking of migrant workers in other sectors, such as sexual exploitation, were mostly overlooked. Other concerns included the lack of a national strategy to combat trafficking, and the placement of victims in shelters where their freedom of movement was restricted.

On her visit to the United States, Ms. Giammarinaro commended the strong and long standing commitment of the United States to fight trafficking in persons, as reflected in its robust federal anti-trafficking legislation and the multidisciplinary approach to anti-trafficking measures. Efforts to raise awareness, as a means of preventing trafficking were also yielding fruits. With regard to areas of concern, the United States limited identification of trafficking for labour exploitation and forms of trafficking other than for sexual exploitation. The absence of “vacatur” and “safe harbour” laws in some states as well as the criminalisation of prostitution also contributed to vulnerabilities to human trafficking. Her recommendations aimed at addressing remaining gaps with regard to prevention, prosecution and victim protection.

Ms. Giammarinaro thanked Cuba for inviting her to undertake a visit, the first by a Special Procedure mandate holder in the past 10 years. She had benefitted from the Government’s cooperation prior and during the visit that she had made from 4 to 10 April 2017, and would be reporting on her findings at the June 2018 session of the Human Rights Council.

Statements by Concerned Countries

Kuwait, speaking as a concerned country, said that the invitation it had sent to the Special Rapporteur on human trafficking in persons represented a proof of its genuine will to actively eradicate and prevent any forms of trafficking in persons, especially women and children. A series of national measures had been adopted in order to provide assistance and protection to all victims of trafficking. The recommendations of the Special Rapporteur were extremely useful tools to further improve prevention and legal mechanisms against human trafficking. Kuwait encouraged other countries to send their invitation to the Special Rapporteur.

United States, speaking as a concerned country, reiterated its commitment to addressing all forms of trafficking. The United States Department of Justice had launched the Labour Trafficking Initiative to strengthen efforts through training and strategic outreach in order to improve the identification of labour trafficking cases. The Federal Government also provided a number of anti-trafficking training programmes and supported anti-trafficking task forces at the federal and state level. The United States called attention to the United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking, which was comprised of 11 survivors of human trafficking with a range of backgrounds and experience.

Right of Reply

Brazil, speaking in a right of reply in response to a non-governmental organization, read out a statement by the Brazilian Foreign Ministry after a press release was issued by a number of Special Rapporteurs regarding indigenous people in Brazil. The assertions by the Special Rapporteurs that there were attacks on the rights of indigenous peoples and environmental rights in Brazil were unfounded. The allegations were made on the basis of bills under discussion, however, the free parliamentary discussion did not express the majority opinion of Congress, the Government, or the society as a whole. Brazil was not seeking to weaken its protection of indigenous peoples. Free debate in the national congress was a pillar of democracy.

Armenia, speaking in a right of reply in response to Azerbaijan, said that the realization of human rights must not be dependent on the status of the territory where people lived. The United Nations covenants on rights were the cornerstones of international humanitarian rights law, and all people might for their own end dispose of their natural wealth and resources. Azerbaijan was trying to deprive the people of Nagorno-Karabakh of their inalienable rights and this was a clear indication that they were facing an existential threat.



For use of the information media; not an official record

HRC17/082E