A/HRC/20/18 platforms are sometimes described as safe havens because they do not enforce their own laws. B. Non-criminalization of trafficked persons 23. Trafficked persons are often arrested, detained, charged and even prosecuted for such unlawful activities as entering illegally, working illegally or engaging in prostitution. The vulnerability of trafficked persons to such treatment is often directly linked to their situation: their identity documents may be forged or have been taken away from them, and the exploitative activities in which they are or have been engaged, such as prostitution, soliciting or begging, may be illegal in the State of destination. Criminalization is also possible in countries of origin, where returned victims of trafficking may be penalized for unlawful or unauthorized departure. 24. In many cases, criminalization is tied to a failure of the State to identify the victim correctly; trafficked persons arrested, detained and charged not as victims of trafficking, but as smuggled or undocumented workers. The Special Rapporteur notes that efforts to identify trafficked persons as victims deserving of protections are often complicated by the problem of “imperfect” victims. 24 Some victims may have committed crimes, whether willingly or as a result of force, fraud or coercion, prior to becoming or in conjunction with becoming a trafficking victim, thereby making it hard to distinguish victims from perpetrators. 25. While trafficked persons are not entitled to wholesale immunity from crimes they commit, the Special Rapporteur observes that the increasingly recognized standard is that they should not be prosecuted for offences relating to their status as trafficking victims. 25 Indeed, criminalization and/or detention of victims of trafficking is incompatible with a rights-based approach to trafficking because it inevitably compounds the harm already experienced by trafficked persons and denies them the rights to which they are entitled. 26. There are further severe consequences of criminalizing victims. Victims who develop a criminal record may have difficulties in recovery and reintegration. 26 In addition, the criminalization of victims is counterproductive to prosecutions because it destroys trust, retraumatizes victims and reinforces what traffickers may have told victims about law enforcement authorities. 27. International bodies, including the Open-ended Interim Working Group on Trafficking in Persons, have confirmed non-prosecution of trafficked persons as the relevant international legal standard. 27 The Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking also provide that trafficked persons “are not to be prosecuted for violations of immigration laws or for the activities they are involved in as a 24 25 25 26 27 Jayashri Srikantiah, “Perfect Victims and Real Survivors: The Iconic Victim in Domestic Human Trafficking Law”, Boston University Law Review, vol. 87, 2007, p. 157. See Recommended Principles and Guidelines: Commentary (see footnote 6), pp. 131, 133; UNODC Toolkit to Combat Trafficking in Persons, Tool 6.1; Council of Europe Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, chap. IV, art. 26; and E/2002/68/Add.1. Submission by Sweden, p. 4. “NY State Senate passes legislation allowing survivors of sex trafficking to clear prostitution convictions”, Urban Justice Center, press release, 16 June 2010. Available from www.sexworkersproject.org/press/releases/swp-press-release-20100616.html. See CTOC/COP/WG.4/2009/2, para. 12. 7