A/HRC/29/38 contribute to exploitative activities that occur as a result of trafficking in places of origin, transit and destination (A/HRC/26/37/Add.2, para. 46). This is particularly prevalent in some sectors in countries of destination that have a rapidly growing demand for low-cost, low-skilled migrant labour, and that are thus prone to labour exploitation. 13. Moreover, increasingly restrictive and exclusionary immigration policies, including criminalization and detention of irregular migrants, insufficient channels for regular migration and family reunification, and lack of regular access to the labour market for asylum seekers, refugees and migrants, while rarely achieving their purpose, further contribute to an increase in the exploitation of migrants, including through trafficking (A/HRC/26/37/Add.2, para. 46). C. Trafficking and conflicts 14. Violent conflicts and humanitarian crises fuel trafficking in persons. Situations such as the persecution of minorities, arbitrary detention, torture, rape, kidnapping and enforced disappearance, the destruction of homes, increased food prices and progressively scarce access to water and sanitation, which increase the risk of illness and starvation, lead to forced internal and international displacement of the population and forced migration. In their search for a safer and better life, many fall prey to traffickers and exploiters. 15. Trafficking is a feature of armed conflict as well as of post-conflict situations5 and usually has a strong gender dimension. For instance, men and boys are trafficked for the purpose of supplying combatants to supplement fighting forces. Armed conflicts also increase the risk of women and girls being sexually exploited, which includes being abducted and forced into sexual slavery and/or forced prostitution.6 Those victims may be transported across international borders before being sold and trafficked to other regions or countries.7 They can also be trafficked for the purposes of forced labour for armies and armed groups. In addition, arranged marriages or false promises of domestic work abroad that are expected to provide children with a better life often render them vulnerable to trafficking for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labour, including domestic servitude. Furthermore, paramilitary groups can wreak havoc on communities during armed conflicts, often forcing children to become soldiers and workers, including in the illegal drug trade. 16. Recent trends show that people fleeing conflict and emergency situations to seek asylum increasingly risk their lives in unsafe travel conditions at sea and on land. Those who survive the perilous journey are at a higher risk of trafficking because of their desperation and lack of viable options. They face continued uncertainty, physical, emotional and psychological insecurity, financial strain and lack of legal and/or social inclusion in their host communities. That lack of inclusion means they have little access to education, health care and housing. It also means they face significant barriers in accessing jobs in the formal labour market and can often only find work in the informal economy. By its very nature, the informal sector is unregulated, making it an ideal environment for unscrupulous employers and/or intermediaries to exploit and traffic workers. With the 5 6 7 Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Human Rights and Human Trafficking, Fact sheet No. 36, p. 43. See In-depth study on all forms of violence against women: report of the Secretary-General (A/61/122/Add.1), para. 143. See the report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Violence against women perpetrated and/or condoned by the State during times of armed conflict (1997–2000) (E/CN.4/2001/73), para. 53. 7