A/HRC/36/43 slavery who migrate irregularly or become irregular once in the destination country. 27 That situation makes victims fear the authorities, increases control of perpetrators over them and makes it unlikely that they will complain to the authorities. 2. Lack of identification of victims 33. The non-identification of victims of contemporary forms of slavery by law enforcement agencies, labour inspectors, border management forces and other relevant competent authorities is a significant obstacle for victims in gaining accessing to justice, since identification constitutes the first step that leads to protection and to initiating the process whereby access to justice and remedy can be obtained. The reasons for the failure to identify victims include: a lack of specialized knowledge on the part of the authorities in identifying, or insufficient training about, contemporary forms of slavery, or a lack of capacity to distinguish between such practices and those that constitute less serious forms of abuse; insufficient financial resources allocated to the identification of victims; a lack of awareness among authorities and the public; and in some countries a systematic refusal by the authorities to identify, acknowledge or respond to cases of contemporary forms of slavery. The focus on the immigration status in cases of undocumented migrants subjected to contemporary forms of slavery can also lead to the misidentification of victims by the authorities.28 Furthermore, the fact that persons subjected to contemporary forms of slavery often do not identify themselves as victims poses challenges to their identification. There are particular difficulties in identifying children who are enslaved or subjected to forced labour or servitudes, which makes it more important for law enforcement authorities to be adequately trained. 3. Lack of investigation, prosecution and punishment of perpetrators 34. Many of the countries where contemporary forms of slavery occur have limited capacity to investigate and prosecute such crimes.29 The enforcement of laws criminalizing contemporary forms of slavery often remains ineffective owing to institutional weaknesses that are manifested in the failure of the police, prosecutors and the judiciary to respond adequately to reported cases of exploitation, from identifying and investigating to prosecuting and punishing perpetrators. Those weaknesses can be the result of a lack of training and capacity of the authorities responsible for the enforcement of legislation; a lack of political will on the part of the authorities to make victims protection a priority; susceptibility to corruption; and discrimination within the justice system against minorities. During the initial phase of the justice chain, 30 access to justice can be obstructed by weaknesses in the actions of the police, prosecutors and other authorities encountered by victims of contemporary forms of slavery. Those weaknesses are reflected in poor investigation and gathering of evidence. At the level of the administrative authorities and the police, there are often limited efforts to seek out victims, investigate cases that are brought to their attention or refer cases to prosecutors. Furthermore, at the prosecutorial level, there is often a failure to conduct criminal investigations with due diligence, and 27 28 29 30 See Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women, “Enabling Access to Justice: A CSO Perspective on the Challenges of Realising the Rights of South Asian Migrants in the Middle East” (Bangkok, 2017). Available from www.gaatw.org/publications/GAATW_Enabling%20Access%20to%20Justice_2017.pdf. See La Strada International and Anti-Slavery International, “European Action for Compensation for Trafficked Persons: Findings and Results of the European Action for Compensation for Trafficked Persons” (2012). Available from http://lastradainternational.org/lsidocs/Findings%20and%20results%20of%20Comp.Act.pdf. See D. Tolbert and L. A. Smith, “Complementarity and the Investigation and Prosecution of Slavery Crimes” in Journal of International Criminal Justice, Vol. 14, Iss. 2 (2016). The justice chain is the series of steps that a person has to make to gain access to justice through the formal justice system or to claim their rights. See United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), Progress of the World’s Women 2011-2012: in Pursuit of Justice (2011), available from www.unwomen.org//media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2011/progressoftheworldswomen2011-en.pdf?vs=2835. 11