Drafters should ensure that the administrative and regulatory aspects of the sex trafficking law are addressed through provisions addressing training, public awareness, task forces, data collection, the duties of law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, service providers and advocates; and the appropriation of funds to implement such provisions.
National Action Plans
- National action plans are one component of a comprehensive national anti-trafficking program which should include: (1) a national action plan; (2) a national rapporteur; and (3) a national referral mechanism. A national referral mechanism is a coordinated strategic partnership between government and non-governmental organizations that links trafficking victims with services and ensures that their rights are protected. (See: Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings in the OSCE Area: Co-ordination and Reporting Mechanisms, 2008; National Referral Mechanisms: Joining Efforts to Protect the Rights of Trafficked Persons, A Practical Handbook, 2004. Additional detailed Guidelines for the Development and Implementation of a Comprehensive National Anti-Trafficking Response are available from the International Centre for Migration Policy Development)
- Action plans should utilize a coordinated community response.For more information on a Coordinated Community Response see that section under the Domestic Violence portion of this Module.
- The UN Handbook for National Action Plans on Violence Against Women recommends that national action plans should outline a comprehensive, coherent, and sustained programme of activity that builds evidence and practice over time, including the following elements:
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- Cross-cutting actions to establish governance structures, ensure participation of civil society, strengthen law and policy, build capacity of workforces and organizations, and improve evidence, throughout all aspects of the Plan (see chapter 3.3);
- A coordinated strategy for the primary prevention of violence against women (see chapter 3.4);
- The establishment and ongoing improvement of an integrated service, police and judicial response to violence against women (see chapter 3.5);
- A description of how the Plan will be implemented, including articulation of concrete goals, actions, timelines and implementing entities; links to gender equality machinery and policy; and designated funding sources (see chapter 3.6); and
- Evaluation, monitoring and reporting of the above (see chapter 3.7).
(See: UN Handbook for National Action Plans on Violence Against Women, 2012)
- Many countries have created national action plans to outline the intended approach to anti-trafficking activities. These plans typically address prevention of human trafficking, including a focus on demand, protection of trafficking victims and prosecution of human traffickers. National action plans may be viewed as an expression of a country’s commitment to undertake obligations under international, regional and national law. The action plan may set out goals, objectives and deadlines for activities related to prevention, provision of services, protection and prosecution. (See: China National Plan of Action on Combating Trafficking in Women and Children (2008-2012), 2009; Republic of Moldova National Plan to Prevent and Combat Trafficking in Human Beings, 2005; United Kingdom Action Plan on Tackling Human Trafficking, 2007)
- A United Nations treaty body or a regional human rights treaty body may review a country’s progress in taking appropriate measures to address human trafficking against its own national action plan. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women reviews a country’s compliance with international human rights obligations related to human trafficking and makes recommendations.
- The Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children also documents whether a country has a national action plan when conducting a country visit and report assessing compliance with international human rights standards related to human trafficking. (See: Report of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children: Mission to Bahrain, Oman and Qatar, paragraph 31, 2007)
Promising Practices:
- The government of Myanmar established a national action plan to combat trafficking in persons in 2007. The action plan’s strategies were to prevent trafficking in persons as a national goal and to pay specific attention to women and children. The action plan outlined a variety of activities to prevent and combat trafficking in persons and utilized a coordinated response. Activities and measures identified in the action plan include:
- Coordinating with neighboring states to combat trafficking;
- Creating a task force and other teams to monitor and evaluate trafficking in persons in Myanmar;
- Review of all relevant laws;
- Building public awareness, including activities for specific outreach with vulnerable populations;
- Prevention activities, including increasing access to education for children and other development initiatives;
- Coordinating with NGOs and other relevant stakeholders;
- Services for victims and immigration considerations; and
- Activities directed at child sex tourism and other related regulations.
The Action Plan outlined above was considered so successful in its activities that the government of Myanmar extended it for an additional five years, until 2017. Additional activities were introduced with the renewal, including expanding outreach campaigns, including public awareness campaigns and targeted activities in regions of the country that see higher rates of human trafficking
(See: Myanmar Five Year Plan of Action to Combating Human Trafficking (2007-2011), 2007, available in English and Burmese; Myanmar to Extend Five More Years of Anti-Human Trafficking Program, Xinhuanet, 21 September 2011)
- The United States recently released a draft of the 2013-2017 Victim Services Action Plan entitled, Coordination, Collaboration, Capacity: Federal Strategic Action Plan on Services for Victims of Human Trafficking in the United States. The plan has a primary goal of coordinating the government response to victims of trafficking, engaging NGOs and other relevant actors, and ensuring that a coordinated community response is prioritized. Specific goals of the plan are to: increase coordination and collaboration, increase awareness, expand access to services and improve outcomes. The action plan is based on the premise that all relevant stakeholders need to be engaged, trained and communicating to effectively combat sex trafficking. (See: Coordination, Collaboration, Capacity: Federal Strategic Action Plan on Services for Victims of Human Trafficking in the United States, 2013-2017, 2013)