A/HRC/31/35 I. Introduction 1. In its resolution 29/2, the Human Rights Council requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to submit to the Council before its thirty-first session a study on the situation of migrants in transit, including unaccompanied children and adolescents, as well as women and girls, in consultation with States and other relevant stakeholders, including regional organizations, civil society organizations and national human rights institutions. 2. Accordingly, on 20 October 2015, OHCHR addressed a note verbale to Member States and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations seeking their views and information on the issue. Written submissions were received from States, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and individual experts.1 On 17 June 2015, OHCHR organized an informal expert consultation on “Human rights and migrant smuggling: exploring issues and challenges”. The discussions and outcomes of that consultation have also informed the present study. II. Background 3. Around the world, migrants in transit are in a precarious — even perilous — human rights situation. During 2015, more than 5,000 women, men and children lost their lives along migratory routes across the globe, with an estimated 2,901 people perishing in the central Mediterranean alone.2 Some 500 children died in sea crossings during the same period.3 4. Even as technological advances have made travel faster and safer, for many migrants, the journey could take weeks, months or even years. Some might never reach their intended destination at all. The route, means of transportation and even the intended destination can change at different phases along the migration trajectory and migrants often fall in and out of various legal categories while in transit. 5. There is no authoritative definition of “transit migration”; the term is commonly taken to mean the temporary stay of migrants in one or more countries, with the objective of reaching a further and final destination. Yet, it is important to appreciate that the notion of “temporariness” embodied in the concept of transit is conceptually challenging: how long or short is the transit period? After what length of stay does the transit country become the final destination? 6. Notwithstanding such conceptual difficulties, it is apparent that transit is an important phenomenon in contemporary migration, with critical human rights implications. In accordance with a human rights-based approach, the present study will seek foremost to 1 2 3 Submissions were received from Argentina, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Qatar, the Russian Federation, Sweden and Turkey — many of which highlighted good practices —, as well as from United Nations agencies and non-governmental sources. The text of most of the submissions received can be found on the Migration page of the OHCHR website at www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/ Migration/Pages/Studymigrantsintransit.aspx. International Organization for Migration (IOM), “Missing migrants project”. Available at http://missingmigrants.iom.int/en/mediterranean. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), “On the Day of International Migration, UNICEF says children need urgent solutions, solidarity”, 18 December 2015. 3