A/HRC/41/46/Add.1 very limited. However, after the visit, the Special Rapporteur was informed that, with support from the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, IOM, in collaboration with the Federal Government of Nigeria, recently commenced a project aimed at providing rehabilitation and reintegration assistance to returnees. 56. The Special Rapporteur commends government efforts to deal with the challenges related to return and reintegration; however, more concerted efforts should be dedicated to protection and referral to the appropriate services. 57. In addition, attention should be paid to providing returnees with valuable job opportunities in the long term, over and above life-skill or vocational training in the short term. For instance, while visiting shelters, the Special Rapporteur noted that women returnees were often offered very limited options for work, mainly in occupations traditionally associated with women’s role in society, such as sewing, tailoring and hairdressing. In order to ensure the effective economic empowerment of returnees and prevent further retrafficking, partnerships with the private sector may represent promising experiences, which could be replicated on a larger scale. 58. For instance, the Special Rapporteur was informed that IOM, in partnership with the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry and following sensitization sessions with relevant private sector stakeholders, will organize a job fair, where returnees will have the opportunity to meet leaders of the private sector in Nigeria and search for job opportunities to match their skills. 59. The Special Rapporteur also commends the IOM community-based reintegration programmes, implemented by civil society organizations, such as the Committee for the Support of the Dignity of Women and the Society for the Empowerment of Young People, in areas largely affected by returns, whereby, in consultation with the community, a mapping of the business opportunities available is conducted and community businesses, such as pineapple and fruit juice producers and palm oil, vegetable oil and cassava processors are being set up in Edo and Delta States. Such projects, each of which is currently expected to create employment opportunities for up to 40 individuals, are mainly targeting returnees from the central Mediterranean route, including Libya, and unemployed youth. Those initiatives are likely to reduce the stigma associated with returns by enriching entire communities at risk and providing socioeconomic reintegration opportunities. 60. The Special Rapporteur also encourages projects, such as the youth resource centre of the local NGO, Idia Renaissance, in Benin City, which provides not only skill acquisition programmes but also health and social counselling, including in relation to HIV/AIDS, in safe and confidential settings, as well as facilities such as indoor games. The innovative aspect of such projects is that they function on the basis of mixed groups of young people composed of both returnees, including victims of trafficking, and those who are willing to migrate and could become potential victims. The aim is to boost youth economic empowerment but also prevention and awareness-raising, by avoiding stigma and discrimination through peer-to-peer sharing of experiences. 61. The Special Rapporteur also appreciates the work of the Edo State task force in receiving and welcoming returnees and assisting their reintegration into society. She particularly commends the decision by the Governor to pay three months’ salary to 3,211 returnees from Libya, following a monitoring and evaluation phase aimed at assessing the progress of returnee resettlement, in collaboration with the Edo State task force. She looks forward to the implementation of that decision and encourages more such initiatives by other states and the Federal Government. E. Investigation, prosecution and access to justice 62. In terms of prosecution, the Special Rapporteur notes with appreciation that since 2004, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons has obtained 362 convictions of individuals, of which 21 were in 2018. However, considering the magnitude of the phenomenon, investigation and prosecution need serious and robust improvement. 12