United Nations Protocol

Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish
Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, supplementing
the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime

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Text in PDF Format

Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and
accession by General Assembly resolution 55/25
of 15 November
2000

Preamble

The States Parties to this Protocol,

Declaring that effective action to prevent and combat trafficking
in persons, especially women and children, requires a comprehensive
international approach in the countries of origin, transit and
destination that includes measures to prevent such trafficking, to
punish the traffickers and to protect the victims of such
trafficking, including by protecting their internationally
recognized human rights,

Taking into account the fact that, despite the existence of a
variety of international instruments containing rules and practical
measures to combat the exploitation of persons, especially women and
children, there is no universal instrument that addresses all
aspects of trafficking in persons,

Concerned that, in the absence of such an instrument, persons who
are vulnerable to trafficking will not be sufficiently protected,

Recalling General Assembly resolution 53/111 of 9 December 1998,
in which the Assembly decided to establish an open-ended
intergovernmental ad hoc committee for the purpose of elaborating a
comprehensive international convention against transnational
organized crime and of discussing the elaboration of, inter alia, an
international instrument addressing trafficking in women and
children,

Convinced that supplementing the United Nations Convention
against Transnational Organized Crime with an international
instrument for the prevention, suppression and punishment of
trafficking in persons, especially women and children, will be
useful in preventing and combating that crime,

Have agreed as follows :

I. General provisions

Article 1

Relation with the United Nations Convention against Transnational
Organized Crime

1. This Protocol supplements the United Nations Convention
against Transnational Organized Crime. It shall be interpreted
together with the Convention.

2. The provisions of the Convention shall apply, mutatis
mutandis, to this Protocol unless otherwise provided herein.

3. The offences established in accordance with article 5 of
this Protocol shall be regarded as offences established in
accordance with the Convention.

Article 2

Statement of purpose

The purposes of this Protocol are:

( a ) To prevent and combat trafficking in persons, paying
particular attention to women and children;

( b ) To protect and assist the victims of such trafficking,
with full respect for their human rights; and

( c ) To promote cooperation among States Parties in order
to meet those objectives.

Article 3

Use of terms

For the purposes of this Protocol:

( a ) “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;

( b ) The consent of a victim of trafficking in persons to
the intended exploitation set forth in subparagraph ( a ) of this
article shall be irrelevant where any of the means set forth in
subparagraph ( a ) have been used;

( c ) The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring
or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation shall be
considered “trafficking in persons” even if this does not involve
any of the means set forth in subparagraph ( a ) of this article;

( d ) “Child” shall mean any person under eighteen years of
age.

Article 4

Scope of application

This Protocol shall apply, except as otherwise stated herein, to
the prevention, investigation and prosecution of the offences
established in accordance with article 5 of this Protocol,
where those offences are transnational in nature and involve an
organized criminal group, as well as to the protection of victims of
such offences.

Article 5

Criminalization

1. Each State Party shall adopt such legislative and other
measures as may be necessary to establish as criminal offences the
conduct set forth in article 3 of this Protocol, when committed
intentionally.

2. Each State Party shall also adopt such legislative and
other measures as may be necessary to establish as criminal
offences:

( a ) Subject to the basic concepts of its legal system,
attempting to commit an offence established in accordance with
paragraph 1 of this article;

( b ) Participating as an accomplice in an offence
established in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article; and

( c ) Organizing or directing other persons to commit an
offence established in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article.

II. Protection of victims of trafficking in
persons

Article 6

Assistance to and protection of victims of trafficking in persons

1. In appropriate cases and to the extent possible under its
domestic law, each State Party shall protect the privacy and
identity of victims of trafficking in persons, including, inter
alia, by making legal proceedings relating to such trafficking
confidential.

2. Each State Party shall ensure that its domestic legal or
administrative system contains measures that provide to victims of
trafficking in persons, in appropriate cases:

( a ) Information on relevant court and administrative
proceedings;

( b ) Assistance to enable their views and concerns to be
presented and considered at appropriate stages of criminal
proceedings against offenders, in a manner not prejudicial to the
rights of the defence.

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.

4. Each State Party shall take into account, in applying the
provisions of this article, the age, gender and special needs of
victims of trafficking in persons, in particular the special needs
of children, including appropriate housing, education and care.

5. Each State Party shall endeavour to provide for the
physical safety of victims of trafficking in persons while they are
within its territory.

6. Each State Party shall ensure that its domestic legal
system contains measures that offer victims of trafficking in
persons the possibility of obtaining compensation for damage
suffered.

Article 7

Status of victims of trafficking in persons in receiving States

1. In addition to taking measures pursuant to article 6 of
this Protocol, each State Party shall consider adopting legislative
or other appropriate measures that permit victims of trafficking in
persons to remain in its territory, temporarily or permanently, in
appropriate cases.

2. In implementing the provision contained in paragraph 1 of
this article, each State Party shall give appropriate consideration
to humanitarian and compassionate factors.

Article 8

Repatriation of victims of trafficking in persons

1. The State Party of which a victim of trafficking in
persons is a national or in which the person had the right of
permanent residence at the time of entry into the territory of the
receiving State Party shall facilitate and accept, with due regard
for the safety of that person, the return of that person without
undue or unreasonable delay.

2. When a State Party returns a victim of trafficking in
persons to a State Party of which that person is a national or in
which he or she had, at the time of entry into the territory of the
receiving State Party, the right of permanent residence, such return
shall be with due regard for the safety of that person and for the
status of any legal proceedings related to the fact that the person
is a victim of trafficking and shall preferably be voluntary.

3. At the request of a receiving State Party, a requested
State Party shall, without undue or unreasonable delay, verify
whether a person who is a victim of trafficking in persons is its
national or had the right of permanent residence in its territory at
the time of entry into the territory of the receiving State Party.

4. In order to facilitate the return of a victim of
trafficking in persons who is without proper documentation, the
State Party of which that person is a national or in which he or she
had the right of permanent residence at the time of entry into the
territory of the receiving State Party shall agree to issue, at the
request of the receiving State Party, such travel documents or other
authorization as may be necessary to enable the person to travel to
and re-enter its territory.

5. This article shall be without prejudice to any right
afforded to victims of trafficking in persons by any domestic law of
the receiving State Party.

6. This article shall be without prejudice to any applicable
bilateral or multilateral agreement or arrangement that governs, in
whole or in part, the return of victims of trafficking in persons.

III. Prevention, cooperation and other
measures

Article 9

Prevention of trafficking in persons

1. States Parties shall establish comprehensive policies,
programmes and other measures:

( a ) To prevent and combat trafficking in persons; and

( b ) To protect victims of trafficking in persons,
especially women and children, from revictimization.

2. States Parties shall endeavour to undertake measures such
as research, information and mass media campaigns and social and
economic initiatives to prevent and combat trafficking in persons.

3. Policies, programmes and other measures established in
accordance with this article shall, as appropriate, include
cooperation with non-governmental organizations, other relevant
organizations and other elements of civil society.

4. States Parties shall take or strengthen measures,
including through bilateral or multilateral cooperation, to
alleviate the factors that make persons, especially women and
children, vulnerable to trafficking, such as poverty,
underdevelopment and lack of equal opportunity.

5. States Parties shall adopt or strengthen legislative or
other measures, such as educational, social or cultural measures,
including through bilateral and multilateral cooperation, to
discourage the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation of
persons, especially women and children, that leads to trafficking.

Article 10

Information exchange and training

1. Law enforcement, immigration or other relevant
authorities of States Parties shall, as appropriate, cooperate with
one another by exchanging information, in accordance with their
domestic law, to enable them to determine:

( a ) Whether individuals crossing or attempting to cross an
international border with travel documents belonging to other
persons or without travel documents are perpetrators or victims of
trafficking in persons;

( b ) The types of travel document that individuals have
used or attempted to use to cross an international border for the
purpose of trafficking in persons; and

( c ) The means and methods used by organized criminal
groups for the purpose of trafficking in persons, including the
recruitment and transportation of victims, routes and links between
and among individuals and groups engaged in such rafficking, and
possible measures for detecting them.

2. States Parties shall provide or strengthen training for
law enforcement, immigration and other relevant officials in the
prevention of trafficking in persons. The training should focus on
methods used in preventing such trafficking, prosecuting the
traffickers and protecting the rights of the victims, including
protecting the victims from the traffickers. The training should
also take into account the need to consider human rights and child-
and gender-sensitive issues and it should encourage cooperation with
non-governmental organizations, other relevant organizations and
other elements of civil society.

3. A State Party that receives information shall comply with
any request by the State Party that transmitted the information that
places restrictions on its use.

Article 11

Border measures

1. Without prejudice to international commitments in
relation to the free movement of people, States Parties shall
strengthen, to the extent possible, such border controls as may be
necessary to prevent and detect trafficking in persons.

2. Each State Party shall adopt legislative or other
appropriate measures to prevent, to the extent possible, means of
transport operated by commercial carriers from being used in the
commission of offences established in accordance with article 5 of
this Protocol.

3. Where appropriate, and without prejudice to applicable
international conventions, such measures shall include establishing
the obligation of commercial carriers, including any transportation
company or the owner or operator of any means of transport, to
ascertain that all passengers are in possession of the travel
documents required for entry into the receiving State.

4. Each State Party shall take the necessary measures, in
accordance with its domestic law, to provide for sanctions in cases
of violation of the obligation set forth in paragraph 3 of this
article.

5. Each State Party shall consider taking measures that
permit, in accordance with its domestic law, the denial of entry or
revocation of visas of persons implicated in the commission of
offences established in accordance with this Protocol.

6. Without prejudice to article 27 of the Convention, States
Parties shall consider strengthening cooperation among border
control agencies by, inter alia, establishing and maintaining direct
channels of communication.

Article 12

Security and control of documents

Each State Party shall take such measures as may be necessary,
within available means:

( a ) To ensure that travel or identity documents issued by
it are of such quality that they cannot easily be misused and cannot
readily be falsified or unlawfully altered, replicated or issued;
and

( b ) To ensure the integrity and security of travel or
identity documents issued by or on behalf of the State Party and to
prevent their unlawful creation, issuance and use.

Article 13

Legitimacy and validity of documents

At the request of another State Party, a State Party shall, in
accordance with its domestic law, verify within a reasonable time
the legitimacy and validity of travel or identity documents issued
or purported to have been issued in its name and suspected of being
used for trafficking in persons.

IV. Final provisions

Article 14

Saving clause

1. Nothing in this Protocol shall affect the rights,
obligations and responsibilities of States and individuals under
international law, including international humanitarian law and
international human rights law and, in particular, where applicable,
the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of
Refugees and the principle of non-refoulement as contained therein.

2. The measures set forth in this Protocol shall be
interpreted and applied in a way that is not discriminatory to
persons on the ground that they are victims of trafficking in
persons. The interpretation and application of those measures shall
be consistent with internationally recognized principles of
non-discrimination.

Article 15

Settlement of disputes

l. States Parties shall endeavour to settle disputes
concerning the interpretation or application of this Protocol
through negotiation.

2. Any dispute between two or more States Parties concerning
the interpretation or application of this Protocol that cannot be
settled through negotiation within a reasonable time shall, at the
request of one of those States Parties, be submitted to arbitration.
If, six months after the date of the request for arbitration, those
States Parties are unable to agree on the organization of the
arbitration, any one of those States Parties may refer the dispute
to the International Court of Justice by request in accordance with
the Statute of the Court.

3. Each State Party may, at the time of signature,
ratification, acceptance or approval of or accession to this
Protocol, declare that it does not consider itself bound by
paragraph 2 of this article. The other States Parties shall not be
bound by paragraph 2 of this article with respect to any State Party
that has made such a reservation.

4. Any State Party that has made a reservation in accordance
with paragraph 3 of this article may at any time withdraw that
reservation by notification to the Secretary-General of the United
Nations.

Article 16

Signature, ratification, acceptance, approval and accession

1. This Protocol shall be open to all States for signature
from 12 to 15 December 2000 in Palermo, Italy, and thereafter
at United Nations Headquarters in New York until 12 December 2002.

2. This Protocol shall also be open for signature by
regional economic integration organizations provided that at least
one member State of such organization has signed this Protocol in
accordance with paragraph 1 of this article.

3. This Protocol is subject to ratification, acceptance or
approval. Instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval shall
be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. A
regional economic integration organization may deposit its
instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval if at least one
of its member States has done likewise. In that instrument of
ratification, acceptance or approval, such organization shall
declare the extent of its competence with respect to the matters
governed by this Protocol. Such organization shall also inform the
depositary of any relevant modification in the extent of its
competence.

4. This Protocol is open for accession by any State or any
regional economic integration organization of which at least one
member State is a Party to this Protocol. Instruments of accession
shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
At the time of its accession, a regional economic integration
organization shall declare the extent of its competence with respect
to matters governed by this Protocol. Such organization shall also
inform the depositary of any relevant modification in the extent of
its competence.

Article 17

Entry into force

1. This Protocol shall enter into force on the ninetieth day
after the date of deposit of the fortieth instrument of
ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, except that it
shall not enter into force before the entry into force of the
Convention. For the purpose of this paragraph, any instrument
deposited by a regional economic integration organization shall not
be counted as additional to those deposited by member States of such
organization.

2. For each State or regional economic integration
organization ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to this
Protocol after the deposit of the fortieth instrument of such
action, this Protocol shall enter into force on the thirtieth day
after the date of deposit by such State or organization of the
relevant instrument or on the date this Protocol enters into force
pursuant to paragraph 1 of this article, whichever is the later.

Article 18

Amendment

1. After the expiry of five years from the entry into force
of this Protocol, a State Party to the Protocol may propose an
amendment and file it with the Secretary-General of the United
Nations, who shall thereupon communicate the proposed amendment to
the States Parties and to the Conference of the Parties to the
Convention for the purpose of considering and deciding on the
proposal. The States Parties to this Protocol meeting at the
Conference of the Parties shall make every effort to achieve
consensus on each amendment. If all efforts at consensus have been
exhausted and no agreement has been reached, the amendment shall, as
a last resort, require for its adoption a two-thirds majority vote
of the States Parties to this Protocol present and voting at the
meeting of the Conference of the Parties.

2. Regional economic integration organizations, in matters
within their competence, shall exercise their right to vote under
this article with a number of votes equal to the number of their
member States that are Parties to this Protocol. Such organizations
shall not exercise their right to vote if their member States
exercise theirs and vice versa.

3. An amendment adopted in accordance with paragraph 1 of
this article is subject to ratification, acceptance or approval by
States Parties.

4. An amendment adopted in accordance with paragraph 1 of
this article shall enter into force in respect of a State Party
ninety days after the date of the deposit with the Secretary-General
of the United Nations of an instrument of ratification, acceptance
or approval of such amendment.

5. When an amendment enters into force, it shall be binding
on those States Parties which have expressed their consent to be
bound by it. Other States Parties shall still be bound by the
provisions of this Protocol and any earlier amendments that they
have ratified, accepted or approved.

Article 19

Denunciation

1. A State Party may denounce this Protocol by written
notification to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Such
denunciation shall become effective one year after the date of
receipt of the notification by the Secretary-General.

2. A regional economic integration organization shall cease
to be a Party to this Protocol when all of its member States have
denounced it.

Article 20

Depositary and languages

1. The Secretary-General of the United Nations is designated
depositary of this Protocol.

2. The original of this Protocol, of which the Arabic,
Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts are equally
authentic, shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the
United Nations.

In witness whereof, the undersigned plenipotentiaries, being duly
authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have signed this
Protocol.