A/HRC/32/41 as “the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the rights of ownership are exercised”)35 is one of the oldest of all international legal norms, enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and several of the specialist and regional human rights treaties. Slavery and its associated practices are identified in the international legal definition of trafficking as a “purpose” of trafficking. 52. Prohibition of sexual exploitation. Sexual exploitation is one of the purposes of trafficking stipulated in the international legal definition. However, it is not defined in any of the specialist trafficking instruments and has no agreed definition in international law except when it involves children.36 There have nevertheless been various attempts to attach a particular understanding to the term in relation to specific settings. For example, in connection with its policies around sexual exploitation and abuse by United Nations personnel, the Secretary-General has defined sexual exploitation as “any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another”.37 State practice would appear to support an understanding of sexual exploitation in the context of trafficking that includes a broad range of practices such as forced prostitution, forced surrogacy, forced or fraudulent marriage and all forms of commercial and other sexual exploitation of children. 38 53. Prohibition on forced labour: ILO core instruments as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and all regional human rights conventions expressly prohibit “forced or compulsory labour”. The ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) defines this as “all work or service, which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily”. The international legal prohibition on forced labour has been reaffirmed through the adoption of the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention 1930. The purpose of this new instrument is to take a more comprehensive approach to forced labour by focusing specifically on issues of prevention, protection and remedy, and also to work towards the abolition of human trafficking that results in forced labour.39 54. Prohibition on recruitment and use of child soldiers. International law — both human rights law and international humanitarian law in their treaty and customary forms — prohibits, absolutely, the recruitment of children into armed conflict, whether by armed forces or armed groups. This prohibition forms part of a broader rule that children must not be allowed to take part in hostilities. While the definition of “child” in international law encompasses persons up to 18 years of age, most treaty-based prohibitions on the use and recruitment of child soldiers stipulate that the prohibition applies to children under the age of 15.40 35 36 37 38 39 40 14 Article 1 of the Slavery Convention of 1926. Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 34 and Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, arts. 3 (b) and 18-23. See ST/SGB/2003/13, sect.1. The Office of Internal Oversight Services, responsible for investigating misconduct, has stated that “engaging in sex with prostitutes” is an example of sexual exploitation. See https://oios.un.org/page?slug=frequently-asked-questions. See United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, The Concept of “Exploitation” in the Trafficking in Persons Protocol, Issue Paper (Vienna, 2015). International Organisation of Employers (IOE)-ILO Guidance Note on the 2014 Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930. See Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 38 (3); Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, arts. 2 and 3; ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), arts. 1 and 3; Protocol Additional to the Geneva