A/HRC/32/41 and after conflict. Furthermore, conflict tends to fuel impunity, the breakdown of law and order and the destruction of institutions and communities, which foster the conditions within which trafficking will flourish, often past the point at which hostilities cease. 15. In order to provide a description and to establish the nature and scope of the problem, the Special Rapporteur will consider trafficking in conflict from three perspectives: trafficking of persons fleeing conflict; trafficking during conflict; and trafficking in post-conflict situations.4 In practice, overlapping between these aspects is common. However, it is possible to identify particular features or issues of trafficking associated with each to understand how different situations and vulnerabilities arise and how they can be addressed. Because of a dearth of information, the Special Rapporteur addresses the most common forms of trafficking in conflict and post-conflict situations. C. Trafficking of persons fleeing conflict 16. Individuals fleeing anticipated or actual conflict, or the aftermath of conflict, are vulnerable to trafficking. The pressure to move is often urgent and intense, leading people to take risks that would be unacceptable under normal circumstances. Conflict weakens State structures, removes protections and enables criminal networks to operate more freely, including across borders. Sometimes trafficking will occur within the conflict zone or in another part of the affected country to which the victims have been displaced. Increasingly, persons who have escaped conflict in another country as part of a larger, mixed migration process become victims of trafficking at some point in their journey or at their intended destination. Trafficking of persons internally displaced by conflict 17. Internal displacement due to conflict and persecution affects almost 40 million people.5 Most of the world’s internally displaced persons live outside camps, in urban areas and with host communities, and remain invisible because they have not registered as internally displaced persons or wish to remain anonymous. These persons face greater risk of trafficking and exploitation. 18. Forced displacement can increase the risk of trafficking by weakening or destroying family support structures, community bonds and self-protection mechanisms that might otherwise serve as a buffer against human trafficking. Because internally displaced persons often lack documentation and have limited access to education, resources and self-reliance opportunities, they may be particularly vulnerable to traffickers who appear to offer lifesaving access to employment and other opportunities. Internally displaced persons who fear for their lives and wish to seek protection abroad can also fall prey to traffickers who claim to offer a route to safety. Traffickers specifically target impoverished communities, including the internally displaced, in order to exploit their vulnerability. Poor and displaced families may entrust the care of their children to traffickers who promise to provide them with education or skills training, but ultimately exploit them for the purposes of prostitution, forced labour or irregular adoption. 6 Internally displaced women and girls are 4 5 6 The division of conflict into these three stages has been used for the purposes of the present report, taking into consideration that in practice, not all conflicts can be so clearly divided and that overlapping may occur. UNHCR, World at War. UNHCR, Handbook for the Protection of Internally Displaced Persons, Action Sheet No.7, “Human trafficking” (n.d.). 5