V.C.L. and A.N. v. The United Kingdom (applications nos. 77587/12 and 74603/12)
The Court held that once the authorities had become aware of a credible suspicion that an individual had been trafficked, he or she should be assessed by a qualified person. Any decision to prosecute should follow such an assessment, and while the decision would not necessarily be binding on a prosecutor, the prosecutor would need to have clear reasons for reaching a different conclusion. In the case of both V.C.L. and A.N., the Court found that despite the existence of credible suspicion that they had been trafficked, neither the police nor the prosecution service had referred them to a competent authority for assessment; although both cases were subsequently reviewed by the prosecution service, it disagreed with the conclusion of the competent authority without giving clear reasons capable of undermining the competent authority’s conclusions; and the Court of Appeal limited itself to addressing whether the decision to prosecute had been an abuse of process. The Court therefore found that there had been a violation of Article 4 in both applicants’ cases. The Court found that, although the authorities had made some accommodations to the applicants after their guilty verdicts, the lack of any assessment of whether the applicants had been victims of trafficking may have prevented them from securing important evidence capable of helping their defence. As such the proceedings had not been fair, leading to a violation of Article 6 § 1. 16 February 2021 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Document type: Case Law | Legal Instrument: 1950 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) | Topic(s): Survivors of trafficking / Persons at risk of trafficking - Trafficking in persons | Countries: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - Viet Nam |
An Introductory Guide to Anti-Trafficking Action in Internal Displacement Contexts, 2020
26 November 2020 | Publisher: Global Protection Cluster (GPC) | Document type: Training Manuals |
General recommendation No. 38 (2020) on trafficking in women and girls in the context of global migration
20 November 2020 | Publisher: UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) | Document type: General Comments/Recommendations |
Seychelles: UNHCR Submission for the Universal Periodic Review - Seychelles - UPR 38th Session (2021)
October 2020 | Publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) | Document type: Country Reports |
Singapore: UNHCR Submission for the Universal Periodic Review - Singapore - UPR 38th Session (2021)
October 2020 | Publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) | Document type: Country Reports |
Loi no 2020-017 relative à la prévention et la répression de la traite des personnes et la protection des victimes
6 August 2020 | Publisher: National Legislative Bodies / National Authorities | Document type: National Legislation |
Guidance Note on the entitlement of victims of trafficking, and persons at risk of being trafficked, to international protection
19 June 2020 | Publisher: Council of Europe: Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings | Document type: Thematic Guidelines |
IOM-UNHCR Framework document on developing standard operating procedures to facilitate the identification and protection of victims of trafficking
June 2020 | Publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) | Document type: Thematic Guidelines |
UNHCR Submission for the Universal Periodic Review – Maldives – UPR 36th Session (2019)
October 2019 | Publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) | Document type: Country Reports |
UNHCR Submission for the Universal Periodic Review – Panama – UPR 36th Session (2019)
October 2019 | Publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) | Document type: Country Reports |