A/HRC/17/35 reflection and recovery period.41 Further, a study on the application of the right to residence found that a reflection and recovery period is often confused with temporary residence status.42 This confusion is highly problematic, as temporary residence status is often tied to the willingness of trafficked persons to cooperate with law enforcement and testify against traffickers, which defeats the very purpose of a reflection and recovery period. 51. Following a reflection and recovery period, trafficked persons should be provided with temporary or permanent residence status on certain grounds. Firstly, trafficked persons should be entitled to remain in the country where remedies are being sought for the duration of any criminal, civil or administrative proceedings.43 In this regard, article 7 of the Palermo Protocol should be read in conjunction with the mandatory requirements under article 6, paragraphs 2(b) and 6. As it would be almost impossible for trafficked persons to seek compensation through legal proceedings if they are unable to lawfully remain in the country, article 7 should be interpreted to encourage States to provide trafficked persons with temporary residence status for the purpose of seeking remedies. Secondly, trafficked persons should be granted temporary or permanent residence status on social or humanitarian grounds. Such grounds may include, for instance, the inability to guarantee a safe and secure return, the fears of reprisals and retaliation by traffickers, the risk of being re-trafficked, or the return is otherwise not in the best interests of the trafficked person. Another factor that should be taken into account is the obligation of States not to return trafficked persons to States where they have a well-founded fear of persecution. Some victims or potential victims of trafficking may fall within the definition of a refugee contained in article 1(A)(2) of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and may therefore be entitled to international refugee protection.44 In these circumstances, temporary or permanent residence status may in itself become a substantial form of remedy. 52. In many States, the grant of residence permits is exclusively tied to the willingness of trafficked persons to cooperate with law enforcement to investigate and prosecute traffickers. It has been observed that trafficked persons are rarely seen as the holders of rights, but as “instruments” in investigations or prosecution.45 In the Special Rapporteur’s view, the conditionality of residence permits on cooperation with law enforcement authorities may not only compromise trafficked persons’ rights to full recovery, but may also be counterproductive from law enforcement perspectives. The requirement to cooperate with law enforcement authorities is of concern, particularly in the absence of a reflection and recovery period in many States, as such cooperation may result in retraumatization of trafficked persons by forcing them to recount highly traumatic events when their psychological well-being has not yet been recovered. Further, this concern is heightened in view of the lack of definition as to what “cooperation” is expected from trafficked persons and the reports that it may, in some cases, entail direct contact with traffickers, which could be highly traumatizing for trafficked persons.46 It is doubtful whether information obtained without respecting the right of trafficked persons to full 41 42 43 44 45 46 14 See UNODC, Human Trafficking in the Baltic Sea Region: State and Civil Society Cooperation on Victims’ Assistance and Protection (New York, 2010). S. Craggs and R. Martens, “Rights, residence, rehabilitation: Findings of a comparative study assessing residence options for trafficked persons” (2010), p. 9. Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, para. 9 and guideline 9, para. 3. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, “Guidelines on international protection: the application of Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Convention and/or 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees to victims of trafficking and persons at risk of being trafficked”, UNHCR document HCR/GIP/06/07 (7 April 2006), paras. 17-18. Craggs and Martens, “Rights”, p. 49. Ibid., p. 81.