• Can international law help to identify the substantive content of norms or principles set out in the Trafficking Principles and Guidelines? • Can secondary rules of international law (most particularly, those rules that govern the issue of State responsibility for violations of international law) assist in identifying the responsibility of States in this area? In considering these questions, the Commentary generally follows the hierarchy of sources identified above. Treaties are usually considered first, with the Trafficking Protocol receiving the most attention because of its position as the most significant, current, universal and widely ratified specialist trafficking treaty. The European Trafficking Convention, which post-dates the Trafficking Principles and Guidelines, is also considered in depth throughout the Commentary. While a regional treaty, this Convention is important because of the potential breadth of its coverage (over 40 major countries of destination, transit and origin) and its very strong human rights focus, which is particularly in tune with the direction and spirit of the Trafficking Principles and Guidelines and, in some respects, actually goes beyond them. The SAARC Convention receives relatively less attention because of its narrow focus on the trafficking of women and children for prostitution, the small number of States parties and its minimal impact on regional or international legal discourse around trafficking since its adoption in 2002. Other specialist treaties that consider trafficking within the context of a broader issue such as transnational organized crime (Organized Crime Convention) or international criminal law (Rome Statute) are also regularly referred to throughout the Commentary. International human rights treaties are also an important resource in seeking to respond to the questions set out above. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child are cited most often because they alone contain trafficking-specific provisions and because they provide a legal framework of protection for two groups identified as particularly vulnerable to the human rights violations associated with trafficking. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights prohibits a number of practices directly related to trafficking, including slavery, the slave trade, servitude and forced labour. Freedom of movement and the prohibition on arbitrary detention (particularly relevant in relation to the detention of victims of trafficking) are additional, relevant provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is the major instrument for the economic and social entitlements of victims of trafficking and includes the important right to work that is freely chosen and accepted. The Migrant Workers Convention, considered further under Principle 1 and related guidelines, is also relevant. However, it is important to note that this Convention is yet to attract the widespread ratification that would confirm general acceptance of its extensive protections for migrant workers and their families. The Commentary also highlights the extent to which more specialist human rights provisions, such as those contained in the Refugee Convention, are of direct relevance in this area. Customary international law is cited regularly throughout the Commentary. In this area, however, as in most others, the relative importance of custom as a source of law has diminished as a direct consequence of growing treaty regimes, such as that which governs human rights, and the recently established regime governing transnational organized crime. Decisions of international courts and tribunals remain an important source of insight and authority. A large number of such decisions COMMENTARY 29