A/HRC/38/45 European Union and are used by traffickers and smugglers at peak times when the pressure at passport control is the highest.17 As such, they have benefited from several initiatives, training and campaigns aimed at the transport sector. 24. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the International Civil Aviation Organization have developed guidelines for airlines to train cabin crew members to identify and report on trafficked individuals. 18 In addition, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) initiative #BeAwareOfTheSigns, implemented in Mexico, has empowered personnel in contact with the airline sector, including senior management, airline staff, airport managers, baggage handlers, information employees, flight crew, migration and customs officials, duty-free sales people and travellers in general, by providing information and indicators to detect possible situations of human trafficking. 19 Moreover, the UNODC Blue Heart and #AQUIESTOY campaign promotes the detection and prevention of trafficking in partnership with the leading airline in Mexico. Another example of training is the VEGA Handbook on children at airports, developed by FRONTEX. In Nigeria, airport officials in Abuja together with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons identified 14 potential victims of trafficking on their way to Saudi Arabia and had their traffickers arrested. 20 25. However, concerns remain in relation to the need to strengthen the institutional framework for identifying victims of trafficking, especially in relation to unaccompanied and separated children, as noted by UNODC while monitoring immigration points during visits to border territories with high rates of migration, including in El Dorado international airport in Bogota. The lack of a clearly articulated response in relation to cases of unaccompanied minors and victims of trafficking, and the lack of registration of such cases and of technical expertise, have been identified as the main challenges. 21 Another factor limiting border officials’ capacity to identify potential victims is the pressure to keep queues at airports and other ports of entry moving. 22 In addition, the increased use of electronic passport gates at airports means that many passengers do not come into direct contact with border officials. 4. Identification at land border control 26. Many challenges have been identified at land border control, including: invisible and porous borders; language and cultural barriers; a lack of education; fear of reporting to relevant authorities; economic difficulties; lack of adequate settings to conduct interviews; lack of resources and logistics, for instance transport and child support; the presence of armed groups and other criminal organizations; and a lack of standardized procedures and expertise from relevant authorities. 27. For example, the porous nature of the borders between Colombia and Brazil, Ecuador and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, together with the lack of coordination among the relevant administrative authorities, hinders the identification and assistance of unaccompanied and separated children at risk of sexual or labour exploitation, an increasing concern in the region. Cases of trafficking of children from Colombia to Brazil and Peru for sexual exploitation have also been reported, and identification concerns have been raised regarding issues such as the cultural acceptance of child marriage among some communities and professional prejudices or lack of response from competent authorities in child protection.23 Along Central American migratory routes and at land borders, similar concerns have been raised regarding the early detection of such cases owing to the invisibility of borders, a lack of coordination between different countries’ border control officials or the high rotation among border control staff, which contribute to the difficulties 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 8 FRONTEX, VEGA Handbook: Children at Airports, p. 23. Available at https://euagenda.eu/publications/vega-handbook-children-at-airports. See www.icao.int/safety/airnavigation/OPS/CabinSafety/Documents/Cir.352.alltext.en.pdf Submission of UNODC. See www.today.ng/news/nigeria/79507/human-trafficking-naptip-rescues-14-victims-abuja-airport. Submission of UNODC. Submission of FLEX. Submission of UNODC.