PART 2.3 Outside of treaty law, the principle of noncriminalization for status-related offences finds support in a number of United Nations resolutions264 and reports of the SecretaryGeneral265 as well regional soft-law instruments266 and other policy documents.267 It has also been See, for example, General Assembly resolution 63/156, para. 12, which “Urges Governments to take all appropriate measures to ensure that victims of trafficking are not penalized for being trafficked and that they do not suffer from revictimization as a result of actions taken by government authorities, and encourages Governments to prevent, within their legal framework and in accordance with national policies, victims of trafficking in persons from being prosecuted for their illegal entry or residence”. For previous General Assembly references to this issue, see its resolutions 61/144 (para. 18), 59/166 (paras. 8 and 18), 57/176 (para. 8), 55/67 (paras. 6 and 13), 52/98 (para. 4) and 51/66 (para. 7). The Human Rights Council and its predecessor, the Commission on Human Rights, have also addressed this issue. See, for example, Human Rights Council resolution 11/3, paragraph 3 (urging States to “take all appropriate measures to ensure that victims of trafficking are not penalized for being trafficked and that they do not suffer from revictimization as a result of actions taken by Government authorities, bearing in mind that they are victims of exploitation”, as well as Commission on Human Rights resolutions 2004/45 (para. 6) and 1998/30 (para. 3). 264 See, for example, A/63/215, which refers to “the principle of non-punishment” and states that “victims should be protected from re-victimization, including protection from prosecution for illegal migration, labour law violations or other acts” (para. 62). 265 See, for example, the Brussels Declaration, para. 13; Ouagadougou Action Plan; OAS Recommendations on Trafficking in Persons, Section IV(5); Hemispheric efforts to combat trafficking in persons: Conclusions and recommendations of the first meeting of national authorities on trafficking in persons, adopted at the fourth plenary session of the OAS, held on June 6, 2006, AG/RES. 2256 (XXXVI-O/06), IV(7); Cambodia-Thailand MOU, art. 7; OSCE Declaration on Trafficking in Human Beings adopted in Porto, 2002, Section II; OSCE, Vienna Ministerial Council Decision No. 1 (Decision on Enhancing the OSCE’s Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings), MC(8).DEC/1, 2000, para. 9. 266 See, for example, Beijing +5 Outcome Document, para. 70 (c), which states that governments should consider preventing trafficked persons from being prosecuted for illegal entry or residence into the State, “taking into account that they are victims of exploitation”. The Beijing 267 132 repeatedly recognized by the Committee on the Rights of the Child268 and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women269 in issuing their concluding observations on the reports of States parties. It is important to note that the non-criminalization principle reflects basic principles common to Declaration and Platform for Action, para. 124 (l) requires the State to create or strengthen institutional mechanisms so that victims of violence against women can report acts of violence “free from the fear of penalties”. See also the Regional Workshop on Human Trafficking and National Human Rights Institutions: Cooperating to End Impunity for Traffickers and to Secure Justice for Trafficked People: Concluding Statement and Plan of Action, Sydney, 20-23 November, 2005, preamble; the Resolution of European Women Lawyers Association on Trafficking in Human Beings regarding a future European Convention on Trafficking in Human Beings, General Assembly of the European Women Lawyers Association, Helsinki, Finland, 8 June 2003, 3; ASEAN Practitioner Guidelines, Section 1.C.2. See, for example, Committee on the Rights of the Child, concluding observations: Kenya (CRC/C/KEN/CO/2, para. 66); Nepal (CRC/C/15/Add.261, para. 89); Antigua and Barbuda (CRC/C/15/Add.247, para. 65); Armenia (CRC/C/15/Add.225, para. 65). In relation to the Optional Protocol on Sale of Children, the Committee has clearly and consistently maintained the position that child victims of offences covered by the Optional Protocol should not be either criminalized or penalized and that all possible measures should be taken to avoid their stigmatization and social marginalization. See, for example, Committee on the Rights of the Child, concluding observations: Republic of Korea (CRC/C/OPSC/KOR/ CO/1, paras. 40-41); United States of America (CRC/C/ OPSC/USA/CO/1, paras. 36-37); Chile (CRC/C/OPSC/ CHL/CO/1, paras. 29-30); Bangladesh (CRC/C/OPSC/ BGD/CO/1, paras. 32-33); Sudan (CRC/C/OPSC/SDN/ CO/1, paras. 29-30); Iceland (CRC/C/OPSC/ISL/CO/1, paras. 13-14). 268 Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, concluding observations: Lebanon (CEDAW/C/ LBN/CO/3, paras. 28-29); Singapore (CEDAW/C/SGP/ CO/3, paras. 21-22); Cook Islands (CEDAW/C/COK/ CO/1, para. 26); Syrian Arab Republic (CEDAW/C/SYR/ CO/1, paras. 18-19); Pakistan (CEDAW/C/PAK/CO/3, paras. 30-31); Viet Nam (CEDAW/C/VNM/CO/6, paras. 18-19); Uzbekistan (CEDAW/C/UZB/CO/3, para. 25); Malaysia (CEDAW/C/MYS/CO/2, para. 23); Cambodia (CEDAW/C/KHM/CO/3, paras. 19-20). 269 RECOMMENDED PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINES ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING