A/HRC/38/45 16. During her thematic visits and through the submissions received, the Special Rapporteur noted a general lack of dedicated procedures to identify and protect trafficking victims and potential victims at disembarkation points and in hotspots. She was particularly concerned about the fact that existing procedures were not primarily aimed at detecting vulnerabilities, including trafficking, but rather at detecting so-called “economic migrants”, who were by consequence excluded from the international protection framework or any other protection scheme. The Special Rapporteur also noted a lack of awareness and understanding of logistical constraints, such as a lack of appropriate venues to carry out confidential interviews. 17. Furthermore, European efforts to reduce migration movements in the Central Mediterranean, and in particular the implementation of European Commission action plan on measures to support Italy, reduce pressure along the Central Mediterranean route and increase solidarity, 8 together with the signature of memorandums of understanding with countries of origin and transit, have had negative consequences on the protection of the rights of migrants and victims of trafficking in persons. The above action plan, which is primarily based on the strengthening of the Libyan coastguard, has proven to be problematic from a human rights perspective. Recent incidents during search and rescue operations involving, inter alia, the Libyan coastguard, have included threats to shoot at NGO vessels if they did not hand over rescued persons, adding to the proof of its inability to carry out such functions in line with international human rights standards. No migrant should, after rescue operations, be forcibly returned to Libya, where gross violations of human rights, including torture, sexual violence, trafficking and slavery, are systematically perpetrated in detention centres and “connection houses”.9 Finally, the Special Rapporteur is alarmed at the increasing tendency to place migration within the law enforcement paradigm, and to present migration-related measures as part of the fight against organized crime, including human trafficking, with little attention to human rights concerns. This is clearly reflected in the role played by FRONTEX through its “Operation Themis”, which has been given an enhanced law enforcement focus and three times the available resources and personnel, although no new staff and resources are dedicated to the protection of fundamental rights and the promotion of a victim-centred approach to human trafficking. 2. Identification in hotspot areas 18. A flagship response to identification challenges at disembarkation or first arrival areas has been the implementation of a hotspot approach, especially in Europe’s southern countries, such as Greece and Italy. This approach, recommended by the European Commission and endorsed by the European Council since May 2015,10 provides locations where undocumented migrants can quickly be identified. However, documented practices have included forced fingerprinting in de facto detention centres — in violation of fundamental rights guarantees — and the subsequent separation of migrants for the purposes of processing asylum applications or to return them to their countries of origin. 11 The repressive nature of such identification, coupled with a screening process performed in 8 9 10 11 6 Available at http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-1882_en.htm. See also the joint communication of the European Commission to the European Parliament, entitled “Migration on the Central Mediterranean route: Managing flows, saving lives”, available at http://www.refworld.org/docid/588ef8764.html. United Nations Support Mission in Libya, “Detained and Dehumanised: Report on Human Rights Abuses against Migrants in Libya” (2016), pp. 14–23, available at www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/LY/DetainedAndDehumanised_en.pdf.; and C. Healy and R. Forin, “What are the protection concerns for migrants and refugees in Libya?”, International Centre for Migration Policy Development policy brief (2017). European Commission, “Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the regions: A European Agenda on Migration” (2015), p. 6. Available at https://ec.europa.eu/antitrafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/communication_on_the_european_agenda_on_migration_en.pdf. Amnesty International, Hotspot Italy: How EU’s flagship approach leads to violations of refugees and migrant rights (2016), p. 5.