A/HRC/32/41 III. Trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations: protecting victims of trafficking and people at risk of trafficking, especially women and children A. Introduction 8. In her previous report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/29/38), the Special Rapporteur identified the linkage between human trafficking and conflict of interest to her mandate. 9. In the present report she intends to provide information on various ways in which trafficking in persons and conflict interact and intersect. She will first focus on the context and will aim to identify the problem by looking at cases that illustrate different trafficking trends. She will map the legal and policy framework with a view to identifying weaknesses and opportunities. Lastly, she offers recommendations to address trafficking in persons in conflict and post-conflict situations in collaboration with States, civil society and the international community. B. Context and identification of the problem 10. Trafficking in persons violates human rights and continues to pose a serious challenge to humanity, including in conflict situations. 11. Conflict severely affects individuals, families, communities and nations on a global scale. In 2014, 41 active conflicts were identified, with the most acute in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.1 In the same year, conflict and persecution forced a daily average of 42,500 individuals to leave their homes and seek protection, either within their own country or in other countries.2 The number of persons displaced because of conflict and persecution in 2014 stood at an unprecedented 59.5 million, a 40 per cent increase in just three years. 3 12. The features and patterns of modern-day conflict are linked to trafficking in persons, especially women and children. While there have been several large-scale conflicts between States in the past decade, the trend towards internal conflict continues to grow. Indeed, several international armed conflicts in recent times have morphed into complex internal conflicts and often spilled over to fuel internal crises in neighbouring States. 13. Conflict is accompanied by a breakdown in public institutions, violation of human rights, erosion of essential services, heightened tensions within and between communities that previously coexisted in relative peace, inequalities and impoverishment. Conflicts and the resulting increase in displacement affect an already strained international asylum/refugee system. Lack of access to safe and legal migration options forces many persons fleeing conflict to use the services of illegal facilitators, increasing their exposure to exploitation, including trafficking. 14. Human trafficking is an increasingly common feature of modern conflict, whether non-international or international. Existing vulnerabilities to trafficking, from gender-based violence to discrimination to lack of economic opportunity, are exacerbated before, during 1 2 3 4 International Institute for Strategic Studies, Armed Conflict Database, available from https://acd.iiss.org/en/conflicts?tags=D6943ABDB5364229B5A0E3338AC94EA1. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), World at War – Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2014 (Geneva, 2015). Ibid.