A/HRC/17/35 failed to take necessary measures to prevent the effects of the conduct of private parties”.5 Importantly, whether or not such failure is attributed to a State would depend on the existence of relevant international obligations of that State to take such measures. In the context of human rights and trafficking in persons, obligations to prevent and punish acts of private persons clearly exist, as seen in the obligations under the Palermo Protocol to “prevent and combat” trafficking in persons, and under international human rights law to prevent human rights violations by non-State actors. The standard applied in determining a breach of these obligations is that of “due diligence”, so that States may be responsible for providing remedies where they fail to act with due diligence to prevent violations of rights or to investigate and punish acts of such violations.6 An example of the application of these principles at the regional level is the case of Rantsev v. Cyprus and Russia7 in which the European Court of Human Rights ordered Cyprus and Russia respectively to pay compensation to the family of the victim of trafficking for the failure to provide for an appropriate legal and administrative framework to combat trafficking and to properly investigate how and where the victim was recruited, pursuant to article 4 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. 16. In addition to the doctrine of State responsibility, States may have obligations under specific treaties to provide remedies. As trafficking involves multiple violations of human rights, international human rights law is of direct relevance. It is well-grounded in international human rights law that a State has a duty to provide a remedy to victims of human rights violations committed within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction. The right to a remedy is a human rights norm widely recognized in major international and regional human rights instruments.8 While international instruments specifically applicable to the crime of trafficking, namely the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Palermo Protocol, do not expressly guarantee the right to a remedy to trafficked persons, they do require States to establish procedures to provide access to compensation, and to provide for measures that may form part of the right to an effective remedy, as discussed in sections C and D below. Despite this lack of holistic reference to the right of trafficked persons to a remedy under the Palermo Protocol, the international community clearly recognizes that trafficked persons, as victims of human rights violations, have the right to adequate and appropriate remedies, which goes beyond the right to the possibility of obtaining compensation.9 5 6 7 8 9 A/56/10, para. 77 (Draft articles on responsibility of States for internationally wrongful acts, general commentary, part one, chap. II, para. 4). See generally the Velásquez Rodríguez Case, Judgement of 29 July, 1988, Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Ser. C) No. 4 (1988); see the Palermo Protocol, arts. 2 (a) and 9, para. 1 (a). See Rantsev v. Cyprus and Russia, Dec. No. 25965/04 (European Court of Human Rights, 7 January 2010). See also Hadijatou Mani Koraou v. The Republic of Niger (ECOWAS Community of Justice, No. ECW/CCJ/JUD/06/08 of 27 October 2008). Universal Declaration of Human Rights, art. 8; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 2, para. 3; Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, art. 13; International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, art. 6; Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, paras. 4-7; Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law; European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, art. 13; American Convention on Human Rights, art. 25; African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, art. 7, para. 1 (a); Arab Charter on Human Rights, art. 9. See, for example, the United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons (General Assembly resolution 64/293, annex), para. 3; Human Rights Council resolution 11/3, para. 1. 5