PART 1 between the Governments of Mexico and Guatemala;15 and a 2004 agreement between the Governments of Senegal and Mali.16 The term “soft law” can also be used to refer to principles contained in treaties that do not prescribe precise rights or obligations. A number of the treaty-based rules cited in this Commentary have been formulated as “soft” obligations. States parties to the Trafficking Protocol, for example, are variously required to “consider” certain measures; to “endeavour” to undertake or provide other measures; and to take action “in appropriate cases” or “to the extent possible”. Some of these already vague provisions are qualified even further through reference to measures being taken in accordance with the domestic law of the State party. The European Trafficking Convention also contains obligations that may be considered “soft”. States parties are, for example, required to “promote” a human rights approach; to “aim to promote” gender equality; to “consider adopting” certain measures; and to “take other measures” where appropriate and under conditions provided for by their domestic law. Determining the weight of soft, treaty-based norms is, at least in the area of trafficking, a fairly straightforward process. In the majority of cases, such provisions are not completely devoid of legal substance and it will generally be possible to determine the required behaviour objectively. In the case of the major instruments cited above, and the Organized Crime Convention, such a determination can Memorandum of Understanding for the Protection of Women and Children who are Victims of Human Trafficking and Smuggling on the Border between Mexico and Guatemala, 22 February 2005. 15 Accord de Coopération entre le Gouvernement de la République du Sénégal et le Gouvernement de la République du Mali en Matière de Lutte contre la Traite et le Trafic Transfrontaliers des Enfants, Dakar, 22 July 2004. 16 28 be made with reference to an extensive body of interpretive material that includes travaux préparatoires,17 legislative guides18 and commentaries.19 2.7. HOW DIFFERENT SOURCES OF LAW AND OTHER AUTHORITIES ARE USED IN THIS COMMENTARY The Commentary seeks to explore the different legal and policy aspects of trafficking that are addressed in the Trafficking Principles and Guidelines. One of the objectives of the Commentary is to determine the extent to which certain principles and concepts articulated in the Trafficking Principles and Guidelines have been accepted as law or otherwise incorporated into international or regional policy. The specific questions that are being asked include the following: • Is a particular position taken by the Trafficking Principles and Guidelines supported by international law? • Is a particular position taken by the Trafficking Principles and Guidelines in line with confirmed or emerging international/regional policy on trafficking? For example, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Travaux Préparatoires of the Negotiations for the Elaboration of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols Thereto (2006). 17 For example, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Legislative Guides for the Implementation of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols Thereto (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.05.V.2) [Hereinafter: Legislative Guides to the Organized Crime Convention and its Protocols]. 18 For example, Council of Europe, Explanatory Report on the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, ETS 197, 16.V.2005 (2005) [Hereinafter: Explanatory Report on the European Trafficking Convention]. 19 RECOMMENDED PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINES ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING