should be conducted to determine whether family reunification is in the best interests of the child.53 In conducting risk assessments, the EU Group of Experts recommends that the following factors be addressed: 54 • The risk of reprisals by the traffickers against the trafficked person and/or her/his family;55 • The risk of being harassed, arrested, detained or prosecuted by the authorities;56 • The social position of the trafficked person on return;57 and • The availability of and actual access to social assistance programmes, including safe accommodation, medical, legal and psychological aid.58 In addition, ICMPD has elaborated Standard Operating Procedures for developing transnational referral mechanisms in EU countries that offer similar guidance in conducting risk assessments.59 Civil society practitioners have identified two layers of risks that need to be considered when carrying out a risk assessment: first, the acute risks affecting the trafficked person on return, including physical security and health risks; and, second, the social context that can lead to the trafficking victim’s marginalization and stigmatization in 53  UNHCR Trafficking Guidelines, para. 24. According to the UNHCR, the best interest determination is “a formal process with specific procedural safeguards and documentation requirements that is conducted for certain children […], whereby a decision-maker is required to weigh and balance all the relevant factors of a particular case, giving appropriate weight to the rights and obligations recognized in the CRC and other human rights instruments, so that a comprehensive decision can be made that best protects the rights of children.” See also UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), CRC General Comment No. 14 (2013) on the right of the child to have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration (art. 3, para. 1), 29 May 2013 (hereafter: CRC General Comment No. 14). 54  Report of the EU Group of Experts, rec. 114, and the Explanatory Paper 13 thereto, pp. 200-202. 55  Issues include, for example, whether family members/friends or associates in the country of origin have been contacted and/or threatened by (associates) of the trafficker/trafficking network (note that, while in a number of cases, it is the country of origin that will conduct a risk assessment, in cases where stateless persons are concerns, the place of habitual residence would be responsible for conducting the risk assessment. In certain instances under the Dublin Regulations, for example, the person may also be returned to a transit country); whether the trafficked person her/himself has been threatened during her/his stay in the country of destination or during legal proceedings; whether the place of residence of the trafficked person and/or her/his family is known to (associates of) the trafficker/trafficking network; and whether the trafficker made up part of the social circle of the trafficked person in the country of origin. For a full list of considerations, see ibid., p. 200. 56  Issues include, for example, whether the trafficked person runs the risk of being arrested, detained or prosecuted by the authorities in the country of origin for offences related to her/his situation as a victim of trafficking, such as prostitution, the use or possession of false documents or illegal exit. For a full list of considerations, see ibid., p. 201. 57  Questions include the following: is the situation of the trafficked person known to her/his social environment? Will the trafficked person be able to talk about her/his experience with her/his family or friends? Will the trafficked person be accepted and supported by her/his social environment; including family, friends and the community in which the trafficked person lived before departure? For a full list of questions, see ibid., p. 201. 58  This includes whether the trafficked person has access to immediate and long-term assistance services, such as safe accommodation and medical, legal and psychological aid. For a full list of considerations, see ibid., p. 202. 59  ICMPD TRM Guidelines, pp. 81-82. Part 2: Explanatory Report to the Principles 41