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A number of key principles guide ICMPD’s work in combating trafficking. First, that a comprehensive human rights and victim-centred approach should underlie all anti-trafficking activities. Second, that all relevant actors including civil society should be involved in designing and implementing anti-trafficking responses both at the national as well as on the regional level - we call it multi-agency approach. The third principle is a strong government ownership of anti-trafficking activities. Fourth, anti-trafficking activities must be sustainable.
According to the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Trans-national Organized Crime (2000):
“Trafficking in persons” shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs (art. 3 (a)).
The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation shall be considered “trafficking persons” even if this does not involve any of the means set forth in subparagraph (a) of this article (art. 3 (c));
“Child” shall mean any person under eighteen years of age (art. 3 (d)).
In order to counter human trafficking, all actors concerned should take co-ordinated action in the areas of prevention, support and protection of victims and victim witnesses, and investigation and prosecution of trafficking.