Policy document 9 July 2004

NATO Guidelines on combating trafficking in human beings for military forces and civilian personnel deployed in NATO-led operations Official texts NATO Policy On Combating Trafficking In Human Beings Introduction and scope 1. The present guidance is intended for the use of military and civil elements that, while not being NATO staff, participate in operations under NATO command and control. Its aim is twofold: to define the basic standards of behaviour to which NATO-led forces must adhere in the course of their work; and to define the parameters within which NATO deployed forces can, within their competence and respective mandate, provide support to responsible authorities in the host country in their efforts to combat trafficking in human beings. 2. This guidance is aimed at highlighting the general principles and activities that participating nations are expected to request from their nationals. It is not exhaustive and will require, as appropriate, specific implementing actions by individual nations and forces to be fully effective. This includes, where necessary, ratifying/acceding to/approving the “UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime” and implementing its requirements, as well as ensuring implementation of the present guidelines. General Principles 3. Forces conducting operations under NATO command and control are prohibited from engaging in trafficking in human beings or facilitating it. This prohibition also applies to any civilian element accompanying such forces, including contractors. 4. Forces conducting PSO under NATO command and control, will support, within their competence and mandate, the efforts of responsible authorities in the host country in combating trafficking in human beings. Definitions 5. With reference to the definition of trafficking in human beings, Allies reaffirm their adherence to and compliance with the provisions of Article 3 of the “UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime”. 6. In particular, trafficking in human beings means the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat of 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 purposes 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. Implementing Guidelines 7. The implementation of the principles at Paragraphs 3 and 4, above, can only be successful if appropriate implementing measures are taken by NATO Authorities and Troop Contributing Nations. 8. For NATO Authorities this includes as a standing requirement: the development of specific policy provisions, within existing PSO doctrine, for the role of NATO-led forces in supporting, within their competence and mandate, the efforts of responsible authorities in the host country to combat trafficking in human beings; the establishment, at NATO educational institutions (NS, NDC), of specific training modules devoted to raising the awareness of the issues connected to the trafficking in human beings and of the means to combat it. These modules will be designed and implemented with the advice of anti-trafficking experts, including intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations with expertise in this area; and the development of an evaluation mechanism to analyse progress on combating trafficking, as well as of a confidential and transparent NATO internal reporting mechanism on violations of the present policy. 9. In the planning and conduct of PSO, NATO Authorities will: include in the relevant portions of the Operational Plan (OPLAN), specific measures, within their competence and mandate, to support the effort of responsible authorities in the host country in combating the trafficking in human beings; include, in the pre-deployment phase, specific training on issues related to trafficking in human beings; assess the conformity of contributing forces to the principles defined in this document; and identify within the Area of Operations, local and international organisations with capacity for protecting and housing adult and child victims of trafficking and the establishment of appropriate liaison arrangements with such organisations. 10. As a standing requirement, troop contributing nations will organise specific training modules preparing their forces and accompanying civilian elements and contractors for PSO. Such modules may include training on the issue of trafficking in human beings and legal consequences stemming from the violation of anti-trafficking laws, as well as training on the means to support, within their competence and mandate, the efforts of responsible authorities in the host nation to combat trafficking in human beings. Similar modules may also be developed by PfP Training Centres and included, as appropriate, in their training curricula. 11. As a standing requirement, it is recommended that troop contributing nations: review, if necessary their existing criminal legislation, including the enforcement of such legislation, to ensure that members of the forces – as well as civilian elements – who engage in trafficking in human beings, or facilitate it, are liable to appropriate prosecution and punishment; provide details of their national legislation and national efforts to combat trafficking; 12. In the planning and conduct of a NATO-led PSO, it is recommended that troop contributing nations: conduct specific pre-deployment training on criminal issues including those related to trafficking in human beings and the means to combat it; conduct timely investigation and prosecution of cases of misconduct by members of their forces or civilian elements, including contractors; develop specific mechanisms for reporting crimes , including those related to trafficking in human beings; in accordance with national legislation, create and disseminate policies explicitly protecting whistleblowers who come forward with evidence of crimes, including trafficking in human beings, and in accordance with national legislation, retain records of misconduct by individuals, including, those related to trafficking in human beings, for use in recruitment, vetting and deployment. Tel: Fax: +32 (0)2 707 50 41 +32 (0)2 707 50 57 B-1110 Brussels/Bruxelles http://www.nato.int press@hq.nato.int