A/HRC/10/16 page 13 C. National legal regimes 28. In most countries of the world some forms of trafficking or related activities are considered a serious crime under applicable penal or criminal laws. Responses to the questionnaire sent by the Special Rapporteur demonstrate that most countries criminalize trafficking for prostitution of women and children; few however criminalize trafficking for forced labour or trafficking in men. 29. Although the Palermo Protocol to date has been ratified by 119 States, implementation levels remain low in many countries, including those of origin, due to a lack of comprehensive national legislation, resources to enforce the laws and political will. 30. Article 2 of the Palermo Protocol states that the purposes of the Protocol are to prevent and combat trafficking in persons, to protect and assist the victims, and to promote cooperation in order to meet these goals. 31. Article 9 of the Protocol provides, under “prevention, cooperation and other measures” that: “4. States Parties shall take or strengthen measures, including through bilateral or multilateral cooperation, to alleviate the factors that make persons, especially women and children, vulnerable to trafficking, such as poverty, underdevelopment and lack of equal opportunity. 5. States Parties shall adopt or strengthen legislative or other measures, such as educational, social or cultural measures, including through bilateral and multilateral cooperation, to discourage the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation of persons, especially women and children that leads to trafficking.” 32. The responses of States on the question of national legislative measures to address the trafficking problem show that a significant number of countries,16 especially States parties to the Palermo Protocol, have embarked upon legislative reforms, often by amending existing criminal laws and/or developing new anti-trafficking legislation. While these moves are highly commendable, care must be taken to ensure that the new anti-trafficking legislation is in accordance with international human rights standards and broad enough to cover victim protection, rehabilitation and reintegration. 33. Mere amendments of existing criminal laws are often insufficient because they address trafficking only from the perspective of crime and border control. A comprehensive legislative response requires additional legislation that also addresses other aspects of trafficking in persons and, in particular, the rights of the victims. Encouragingly, according to the replies to the 16 Forty-two out of the 58 States that replied as at 4 December 2008 have either a separate new law on trafficking or have amended their penal and criminal codes to prohibit and punish the crime of trafficking and/or harmonize their legislation with the Palermo Protocol.