A/HRC/32/41 55. Special legal situation of trafficking involving peacekeeping forces. With regard to criminal accountability of peacekeepers, the core instrument is the status of forces agreement (A/45/594) that the United Nations concludes with countries that contribute troops to its peacekeeping and peacebuilding operations. Under these agreements, contributing countries retain exclusive responsibility for disciplining and criminally sanctioning their military contingents. In addition, recent reports to the Secretary-General, as well as resolutions of the General Assembly and Security Council continually address gaps in addressing human rights violations committed by peacekeeping forces. 41 In relation to other personnel (e.g., civilian advisers) over whom the contributing country does not have exclusive jurisdiction, the United Nations will generally refer the case to the contributing country.42 56. Rights of victims of trafficking in armed conflict. Victims of trafficking are entitled to the same rights, due diligence protection and prevention against trafficking in persons by States whether in times of conflict or otherwise. These rights include: (a) Right to be identified. The recommended principles and guidelines on human rights and human trafficking and the commentary to the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking highlight that failure to correctly identify a trafficked person, or to identify her or him at all, will directly affect the ability of that person to access the rights to which she or he is entitled. States are therefore required to take positive steps to identify victims of trafficking accurately and in a timely manner and to ensure that they are referred to appropriate services. During situations of conflict, the risk of identification failures is very high; (b) Right to protection. International law requires States to ensure that victims of trafficking under their jurisdiction or effective control are protected from further exploitation and harm. To that end, States are required to take reasonable measures, within the scope of their powers, to move the victim out of the place of exploitation to a place of safety; attend to the victim’s immediate medical needs; assess and address the risk of the victim being subject to intimidation or retaliation; and protect the victim’s privacy. However, during conflict, even the most basic and urgent victim protection measures may be difficult or impossible to secure; (c) Right to assistance and support. The State in which a trafficked person is located is required to provide that person with adequate physical and psychological care to meet at least immediate needs. While the substantive content of this obligation is not yet settled, there is general agreement that the right to assistance and support includes provision of appropriate shelter; counselling and information; medical, psychological and material assistance; and employment, educational and training opportunities. Special attention should also be given to the needs of particular groups, including victims who are disabled or otherwise especially vulnerable. In the case of child victims, international law requires that the overarching rule of “the best interests of the child” guide decision-making about support; 41 42 Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), art. 77 (2); Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II), art. 4 (3) (c); and Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, art. 8 (2) (b) (xxvi) and (e) (vii). See A/70/95-S/2015/446, A/70/357-S/2015/682, S/2015/716, A/70/729 and “Taking action on sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers”, report of an independent review on sexual exploitation and abuse by international peacekeeping forces in the Central African Republic, December 2015. See ST/SGB/2003/13 and Carla Ferstman, “Criminalizing sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers”, United States Institute of Peace Special Report 335, September 2013. 15