• E4J University Module Series: Trafficking in Persons & Smuggling of Migrants

• Module 10: The Role of Civil Society and the Private Sector in Countering Trafficking in Persons

• Introduction and learning outcomes

• Key issues

• • State cooperation with civil society
  • Civil society actors
  • The private sector
  • The public

• Exercises

• Possible class structure

• Core reading

• Advanced reading

• Other resources

• Student assessment

• Additional teaching tools

 

First published in May 2019; additions related to the private sector published in July 2021

 

 

  This module is a resource for lecturers  

 

State cooperation with civil society

 

The essential role civil society, including non-governmental organizations, play in countering trafficking in persons is recognized in the main legal instruments against trafficking, namely the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (Protocol against Trafficking in Persons) and the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (Council of Europe Convention).

 

The Protocol against Trafficking in Persons

Article 6(3) of the Protocol against Trafficking in Persons states:

3. Each State Party shall consider implementing measures to provide for the physical, psychological and social recovery of victims of trafficking in persons, including, in appropriate cases, in cooperation with non-governmental organizations, other relevant organizations and other elements of civil society, and, in particular, the provision of:

(a) Appropriate housing;

(b) Counselling and information, in particular as regards their legal rights, in a language that the victims of trafficking in persons can understand;

(c) Medical, psychological and material assistance; and

(d) Employment, educational and training opportunities.

Article 9(3) provides:

Policies, programs and other measures established in accordance with this article shall, as appropriate, include cooperation with nongovernmental organizations, other relevant organizations and other elements of civil society.

 

Council of Europe Convention

The Council of Europe Convention also contains a number of provisions requiring States to cooperate with civil society:

Box 1

 

Relationship between civil society and State parties

In order to function effectively, civil society need the support and cooperation of governments. State agencies need to publicly commit to collaborating with civil society and create a framework within which NGOs and other civil society actors can maximize the effectiveness of their work on a sustainable basis. For example, in the United States (US), the National Association of Attorneys General have concluded:

Each country represented in this group has encountered problems with both labour and sex trafficking. We understand that collaborating with NGOs is essential in all facets of addressing the crime of modern-day trafficking, especially in three pivotal ways: Debilitating traffickers by assisting prosecution, protecting victims, and educating citizenry ( National Association of Attorneys General ).

Similarly, the US State Department has expressed the following view regarding the involvement of NGOs in the identification and liberation of trafficking victims:

NGOs can play an essential role in smart raids. They often help law enforcement officers carry out rescues and provide comfort and shelter to victims. They can offer psychosocial counseling skills to help identify trafficking victims, usually after they are removed from trafficking situations.

NGOs and media representatives can also play a valuable role by holding governments accountable to enforce legal standards and deliver victim care. However, NGOs cannot be expected to take the place of government in the commission of a raid or rescue, as they lack authority to perform law enforcement actions. Furthermore, NGOs and the media should avoid any practices harmful to the rights of children or others. While media coverage of raids may be attractive as a public relations tool, it is an invasion of victims' privacy and puts them at risk ( United States Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, 2012).

However, it is also essential that civil society operates independently and without State interference, subject of course to complying with legal requirements (such as registration, regulatory and statutory requirements and duties). This has implications for funding within civil society. Either funding must come from non-government sources, or must be free of inappropriate State influence or control.

Nevertheless, if States rely on the services of civil society to provide services, such as NGOs delivering medical and mental health care and legal assistance to victims, they should insist that personnel are duly trained and have the relevant expertise to do so. Accountability mechanisms should be established to ensure civil society actors are working responsibly and competently, are not endangering the safety or welfare of victims, or impeding law enforcement investigations or prosecution of offenders. Unfortunately, in many cases and countries, few appropriate accountability mechanisms exist. They are largely confined to the following:

• State agencies revoking mandatory registration or licensing that provides NGOs with authority to operate in foreign countries, or revoking tax status which inhibits their efforts to raise funding from the public.
• State agencies revoking visas and work permits for foreign staff and requiring them to leave the country.
• State agencies refusing to work or collaborate with poor performing NGOs.
• Media criticism of civil society behaving badly (see, for example: Jackman 2016; Currier 2017; Gallagher and de Rover 2015).
• In the most serious cases, prosecuting those obstructing police investigations or committing other offences.

Unfortunately, these represent "blunt instruments" to monitor the conduct of civil society and create accountability. Some attempts have been made to publish codes of conduct to encourage appropriate standards. For example, Freedom Collaborative has published a Code of Conduct for Foreign NGOs Investigating Human Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation & Participating in Rescues of Victims , in an attempt to address criticisms directed at this work. More work is required to address this issue.

It is to be borne in mind that the responsibility to enact and enforce appropriate laws, prosecute and punish offenders, and protect and assist victims lies with the State. The fact that a State may "outsource" some of these responsibilities to civil society does not relieve it of its obligations under international law. Indeed, governments must ensure that civil society actors they deal with operate legitimately and competently in fulfilling these responsibilities (Schloenhardt and Hunt-Walshe, 2012, p. 88).

To this end, there is considerable merit in government agencies negotiating formal or semi-formal arrangements with, or promulgating policies and guidelines to, civil society actors providing services in the anti-trafficking sector on behalf of or in collaboration with the State. These might take the form of binding agreements, non-binding memoranda of understanding (MoUs), standard operating procedures (SoPs), or written guidelines or policies. These documents should cover matters such as procedures around the development of annual plans, means for collaboration and communication, a detailed allocation of responsibilities and duties of each party, reporting and accountability mechanisms, complaint and dispute resolution mechanisms, funding sources, confidentiality and restrictions on communication with the media. The purpose is to clearly agree the allocation of responsibilities, optimize and avoid duplication of efforts, protect the rights of victims of trafficking (including their rights to privacy, data protection and safety) and provide them with access to justice. Functioning coordination and collaboration mechanisms are key to the success of such arrangements.

Some examples of collaboration between States and civil society are outlined below. First, Box 2 provides an example of issues to be addressed by States and civil society working together on issues related to trafficking in persons, produced by the Netherland's Government.

Box 2

Boxes 3 and 4 provide examples of cooperation between government and NGOs working collaboratively.

Box 3

Box 4

The US State Department Trafficking in Persons Report 2017 lists examples of achievements through partnerships between governments and NGOs:

• The Government of Angola partnered with an international NGO to provide protective services and facilitate repatriation.
• In Austria, between July 2015 and December 2016, officials and NGOs identified 15 trafficking victims among migrants transiting through or remaining in Austria.
• The Bahamas's Government provided subsidies of 180,000 Bahamian dollars to NGOs that deliver services to trafficking victims, among other vulnerable groups.
• In Switzerland, an NGO, using funding provided by the government during the previous reporting period, established a new shelter that served trafficking victims.
• The Tonga Community Centre served as an intermediary shelter for child trafficked victims before transfer to care facilities managed by NGOs. CROPESDI provided shelter, legal, medical, and social services to child victims up to the age of 14.
• In Tunisia, the Government developed in 2016 a new national victim referral mechanism for officials to refer trafficking victims to government-operated social centres or NGO-run shelters. It began training officials on its implementation at the end of the reporting period.
• A British NGO published a set of trafficking survivor care standards, which were widely disseminated by the Government and included law enforcement training materials.

 

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