A/HRC/15/27 had a right to be protected against further harm. The situation of child victims required special attention to their vulnerabilities and their special rights. 48. In relation to criminal justice responses to trafficking, the Special Rapporteur highlighted the increasing acceptance of a fundamental link between criminal justice responses to trafficking and victim protection. There was no “single” approach to that issue: each one reinforced each other and a response to trafficking that prioritized one approach over another was unlikely to be effective. Criminal justice responses to trafficking should be aimed at both ending the impunity of traffickers and securing justice for victims. States must take care to ensure that victim involvement in the investigation and prosecution of their exploiters is safe and does not cause further harm. That required active support, respect for privacy and special attention to the needs of child victims who are also witnesses. 49. In relation to prevention, the Special Rapporteur noted that prevention cut across many areas of anti-trafficking work. States were under an international legal obligation to prevent trafficking and that required them to consider and deal with the many factors that contributed to the vulnerability that underlined much trafficking. Seminar participants had canvassed a wide range of such factors, including: unjust migration regimes; global trade policies that exacerbated inequalities within and between countries; discrimination against vulnerable groups, including women, children, migrants and minorities; and demand for the goods and services produced through trafficking. Measures such as ensuring the financial empowerment of women, providing job opportunities, raising awareness, working with business and training of officials were all important strategies to prevent trafficking and related exploitation. Prevention also required the consideration of entrenched issues such as corruption. 50. The Special Rapporteur concluded by affirming the legitimacy and value of a human rights approach to trafficking: an approach where “the trafficked person is the centre of law, policy and action”. She pointed out that prioritizing human rights did not mean that other objectives or approaches were to be considered unimportant or invalid. For example, States remained entitled to develop strong criminal justice responses to trafficking. In fact, the Principles and Guidelines identified a number of specific obligations in that regard. States also remained free, within constraints imposed by international law, to develop migration strategies that seek to address trafficking. However, at each step of every response, the human rights impact of that step and of the overall response must be considered and monitored. The ultimate objective of responses to trafficking should be to protect individuals from traffickingrelated violations of their human rights and to provide assistance when such violations are not, or cannot, be prevented. The Principles and Guidelines were an authoritative statement of the human rights approach to trafficking, showing how it could work in practice. Over the past eight years understanding in that area had grown considerably. However, despite important progress, many challenges remained. Keeping human rights at the forefront of the thinking about trafficking would help ensure that those challenges could be met and overcome. Participants agreed that the international human rights system, including the Human Rights Council and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, had an important role to play in encouraging and directing further development in that area. 51. In closing the seminar, the Chair underlined that the level of discussion and engagement during the seminar had been particularly high. The Chair thanked panellists, experts and participants, including the many Member States in attendance. Civil society representatives had been extremely generous in sharing their experiences, thereby contributing to the identification of good practices and opportunities. The Chair referred to the events on trafficking that would take place 14