A/HRC/17/35 accessible in a variety of forms and available in a language that trafficked persons understand, not only from a linguistic perspective but also cultural and socioeconomic perspectives. Provision of free legal assistance 74. States should provide legal assistance to trafficked persons on a free-of-charge basis as an essential pre-condition for all trafficked persons to exercise their right to an effective remedy. States should ensure that lawyers providing such assistance have received adequate training in the rights of trafficked persons including children, and in effective communications with victims of human rights violations. Regularization of residence status 75. States should provide trafficked persons with temporary residence permits during the duration of any legal proceedings on an unconditional basis. The conditionality of temporary residence permits on cooperation with law enforcement authorities is the antithesis of the human rights-based approach to combating trafficking in persons and should be abolished. 76. States should also provide trafficked persons with temporary or permanent residence permits on social and humanitarian grounds, where a safe return to the country of origin is not guaranteed or a return would not otherwise be in the best interests of the trafficked person for reasons related to his or her personal circumstances, such as the loss of citizenship or cultural and social identity in the country of origin. States should also independently consider trafficked persons’ claims for asylum, giving due consideration to any risks of reprisals and retaliation by traffickers which could constitute persecution within the meaning of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. Special consideration for trafficked children: 77. States should ensure that the best interests of the child are a primary consideration in all decisions or actions that affect trafficked children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies. 78. States should develop child-sensitive court procedures which effectively protect the rights and interests of children in order to enable them to exercise their right to an effective remedy in a meaningful manner. To this end, States should implement specific protective measures, such as a witness protection programme to preclude direct contact between the accused and the child, alternatives to direct testimony, and a multi-disciplinary team equipped with social workers to support the child throughout the court proceedings. 79. States should ensure that trafficked children are equipped with information on all matters affecting their interests, including their situation, legal options, entitlements and services available to them, and processes of family reunification or repatriation. States should encourage trafficked children to express their views and give them due consideration in accordance with their age and maturity. 80. States should ensure that trafficked children are provided with legal, interpretative and other assistance necessary in order for them to seek remedies. States should ensure that professionals providing such assistance are adequately trained in children’s rights and the issues of child trafficking. 19