Traffic in Human Beings and the International Exploitation of Prostitution

HAVING IN MIND the United Nations Convention on the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others of 2nd December 1949,

RECALLING the terms of Report AGN/34/RAP No. 9 submitted to the General Assembly at its 34th session (Rio de Janeiro, 1965) entitled "International traffic in women under the cover of employment exposing them to prostitution", and the recommendation made to the NCBs to pay particular attention to such traffic with a view to identifying and dismantling organized networks and their intermediaries in each country,

DEEMING that activities which favour or exploit prostitution at interna-tional level should be combated internationally as a top priority,

HAVING IN MIND the fact that the exploitation of prostitution often stems from or gives rise to other criminal activities,

NOTING a definite increase in the activities of international organized networks involved in traffic in human beings, as well as in illegal activities relating to the exploitation of prostitution, including the sexual exploitation of children, and believing that the dismantling of those networks is a priority for international co-operation,

The ICPO-Interpol General Assembly, meeting in Antalya from 23rd to 29th October 1996 at its 65th session:

ASKS the Interpol National Central Bureaus to step up their sharing of information about people likely to be directly or indirectly involved in inter-na-tional networks engaged in the exploitation of prostitution or in traffic in human beings, in order to improve the quality and increase the volume of infor-mation exchanged;

RECOMMENDS that member countries co-ordinate the multidisciplinary activities carried on by all the authorities dealing with such matters: for example, such co-ordination could include – at national or regional level where appropriate – government departments, police forces, judicial authorities specializing in such offences, as well as any public bodies involved;

RECOMMENDS that member countries step up the bilateral and multilateral sharing of information about illegal activities favouring the exploitation of prostitution, such information to include material identifying individuals suspected of participating in, for example, marriages of convenience or illegal marriages, the establishment of illegal immigration networks and the production of forged identity documents;

ASKS the General Secretariat to increase co-operation with the appropriate organs of the United Nations and the European Union, with a view to conducting joint campaigns against traffic in human beings and the exploitation of prosti-tution; these projects could include publication of a manual listing the appro-priate authorities, contact points and departments with specialized knowledge and expertise in such matters, as well as a study of the timeliness and feasi-bility of centralizing data on DNA and the criminal analysis of such data, taking account of the ethical and legal constraints involved;

ABROGATES the following resolutions:

AGN/29/RES/6 – (1960) – Exploitation of prostitution
AGN/34/RES/1 – (1965) – Particular forms of traffic in women
AGN/43/RES/4 – (1974) – Exploitation of prostitution at international level
AGN/57/RES/19 – (1988) – Traffic in human beings.