A/HRC/29/41 G. Trafficking in persons, including children 29. The Special Rapporteur has been concerned about Eritrean refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, and those whose fate are in the hands of smugglers and traffickers when they escape or are coerced into fleeing from their country. She has consistently raised concerns about their plight (see A/HRC/23/53, paras. 91–94), noting that the primary responsibility of States is to ensure that all border governance measures protect the rights of all persons to leave and enter their own country any time. Irregular migration, human smuggling and trafficking in persons should not adversely affect the dignity of the populations concerned and their enjoyment of human rights. 30. Furthermore, the best interests of the child should take precedence over migration management objectives and other administrative considerations.13 The core obligations of States with respect to the rights of victims of trafficking include the duties to identify victims of trafficking, to provide immediate protection and support and to provide legal assistance, including temporary residency and non-criminalization of victims.14 31. Children can easily fall prey to unscrupulous traffickers. In 2013, the case of two boys, then aged between 12 and 14, who were kidnapped from Guluj, a town in GashBarka, Eritrea, and taken to the Sinai, was brought to the attention of the Special Rapporteur. Her follow-up investigations did not reveal much, until earlier in 2015, when she met with a witness who had also been kidnapped from Eritrea and taken to the Sinai; the latter reported having been held captive with two boys from Guluj who had also been “taken and sold for ransom money”. V. Forced evictions and the right to housing 32. Threats to the right to adequate housing posed by forced evictions have been amplified in Eritrea since the beginning of 2015.15 Forced evictions represent an ongoing practice: the authorities have bulldozed scores of houses, directly affecting hundreds of households. In this section of the report, the Special Rapporteur examines the international, regional and national frameworks on the right to housing, which derives from the right to an adequate standard of living, and their application in the current context of housing demolitions in Eritrea and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. 13 14 15 beheading of Christians by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant in Libya. If that were to be confirmed, the protection needs of unaccompanied minors taking such death-defying journeys to reach the shores of Europe would become a priority. For additional information, see www.ibtimes.co.uk/i-watched-isis-beheading-christians-eritrean-teen-migrant-forced-witness-libyamassacre-1497874. See the recommended principles and guidelines on human rights at international borders prepared by OHCHR. Available from www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Migration/A-69-CRP-1_en.pdf. Ibid. In the present document, forced eviction is understood as involving “the involuntary removal of persons from their homes and land, directly or indirectly attributable to the State”. (OHCHR, Factsheet No. 25: Forced Evictions and Human Rights, p. 4). Forced evictions can, under certain circumstances and subject to specific conditions, be consistent with international human rights standards. Such evictions can be classified as “legal evictions”. This distinction, however, must be interpreted in a very narrow sense, on a case-by-case basis. In all circumstances, the practice of eviction without consultation or adequate alternatives and compensation is illegal under international law. 9