Timeframe and Scope of Projects

Regional Action

Regional projects may be a way of creating synergies as countries can learn from each other on an equal peer basis. Both UNIAP and SACTAP are regional projects and both evaluation reports emphasize the value of a regional approach in building cross-country frameworks of cooperation and action. Regional projects can also promote best practices as well as international standards.

COMMIT, the sub-regional coordination mechanism for human trafficking involving six

countries in the Mekong sub-region, is considered a unique and remarkable achievement. All six governments have signed Memoranda of Understanding, developed national action plans which are being implemented and participate in regional coordination processes and mechanisms.

SACTAP was also designed to have outreach to the other countries of the region with a base in South Africa. However, the evaluation found that SACTAP remained largely a South African program in its first phase, although it is encouraged to implement the regional aspects in phase II.

Other evaluations point out that projects need to develop a genuine regional vision and strategy to avoid the pitfall that projects become a collection of national action plans without a coherent and consistent regional whole.

Long-Term Perspective

One of the most important findings in this review is the need for a long-term perspective due to the highly complex nature of the human trafficking phenomenon and the time it takes to

adequately address the problem and achieve results. This is a consistent finding across the different stakeholders, partners and other informants in BiH and Macedonia and is confirmed in other reports. Trafficking in human beings is often hidden, unknown, unrecognized, downplayed and some of its forms may be taboo in local communities. In addressing the issue, one is

confronted with a complex set of issues related to prevention, protection, prosecution and policy.

This implies the need for raising awareness, changing attitudes, changing behavior, changing structures and systems at different levels. All these aspects imply a relatively long-term process over several years. Long-term funding and commitment by the donors are essential, points emphasized by most of the key informants. Short-term funding of one-year cycles has been common among donors including the MFA, although currently the MFA and the Norwegian embassies more frequently fund three-year cycles. Three-year funding should be the minimum and with possibilities built-in to extend beyond three years.

9. Conclusion and Recommendations

This review confirms that trafficking in human beings is a multidimensional and transnational problem which demands holistic and long-term responses. The national government plays a key role in changing policies and implementing projects. Other partners, including both international and NGOs as well as people in the local communities, in particular children and youth, are important participants in addressing this serious form of human rights abuse. Although women and girls often constitute the majority of the victims, it is important to integrate gender analysis into the situation analysis at the basis of any programming. A great deal of flexibility of programming will allow for the appropriate target groups, new issues and gaps to be identified and included as the trafficking trends change. A multidimensional approach to programming creates synergies when the different components and levels are linked, as found in several of the projects reviewed here.

Although a whole range of results are documented and indications of impact can be observed, there is a lack of systematic monitoring and reporting on the long-term effects. There is clearly a lack of research and knowledge, especially on the magnitude of the problem and identifying victims. However, it may also be a problem of collecting and disseminating existing studies and data which are already out there. In addition, there is clearly a need for more research into causal factors and profiling of victims.

The findings of this third part of the overall review largely confirm the main observations and summaries of parts one and two. Based on the findings, the following recommendations are made for future support to combat trafficking in human beings.

Aspects of Programming

 Projects selected should be based on the ‘Palermo Protocol’ definition of trafficking in persons, but adapted to the local reality.

 Programs selected for support should include baseline and indicators for systematic monitoring and reporting on impact.

 UNODC, IOM, UNICEF, ILO and other agencies should be supported in the collection and standardization of data and statistics.

 One should ensure that projects selected for support are based on evidence in the form of research, needs assessments, situation analyses and the like. Furthermore, they should be based on participatory planning and implementation.

 Due to the rapidly changing nature of the trafficking phenomenon and migratory flows in general, projects need to adopt flexible responses to the magnitude of the problem as well as to the type of trafficking.

 The projects supported need to integrate different sectors, actors and activities to ensure sustainability and maximum effect.

 Supported projects should explicitly apply a human rights based approach (HRBA) in line with Norwegian development cooperation and humanitarian policy.

 Support to projects that focus on livelihoods is of strategic value as this also addresses other aspects of poverty and human rights abuses, not only prevention of exposure to trafficking.

 Capacity-building is a key to any project on anti-trafficking. However, projects

supported should include indicators for measuring the impact of capacity-building efforts.

 Regional programs and projects are strategically important to support as trafficking is a trans-national phenomenon that requires regional and sub-regional action.

 New issues that need addressing in the future include studies on best practices on

reintegration and rehabilitation of victims, studies on causal factors, profiling of victims, organized begging and other forms of forced labor.

Project Beneficiaries and Participants

 Children are both key rights-holders as well as key change agents in any society and projects should either focus specifically on children/youth or include children/youth as project participants or take the effects on children into consideration.

 Projects should incorporate a gender analysis of victims, perpetrators, and users/abusers as a means to reach all those who need to be targeted either for prevention, protection or prosecution.

 Supported projects should either focus on vulnerable and marginalized groups or design ways of reaching these individuals and groups within the project beneficiary population.

Government as a Key Partner

 The government should always be involved, either as implementing partner or stakeholder.

 Support should go to the social sector as social sector institutions are key actors in many of the activities involved in combating trafficking in human beings, both for prevention and protection.

Partners and Partnerships

 Local NGOs should be involved where possible if they can perform important advocacy and service provision functions.

 Support to international agencies should be considered against the available local capacities and the value added of these agencies.

 The Norwegian MFA with the embassies should explore and develop the possibility of influencing policy related to the projects supported not only through financial means but also by taking part in working groups, committees and other public bodies which donors are invited to by host governments.

 Media should be involved in project implementation both as stakeholder and target group.

 The nature of anti-trafficking efforts demands a long-term perspective. The MFA should therefore provide funding for a minimum of three years with a possibility for extension when projects require more time to achieve results and make an impact.