About the mandate

On 9 October 2025, in resolution 60/25, the Human Rights Council decided to combine the mandates on contemporary forms of slavery and on trafficking in persons into a single mandate, under the title of Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery and trafficking in persons. The new mandate will operate from 1 May 2026, for an initial period of three years.

The decision reflects the Council’s recognition of the interconnected nature of slavery, trafficking in persons and other forms of exploitation, and aims to enhance coherence, effectiveness and impact in addressing these human rights violations. In accordance with resolution 60/25, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery and trafficking in persons will examine and report on all contemporary forms of slavery and trafficking in persons as related yet distinct matters, as guided by Human Rights Council resolutions on the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery and on the mandate of Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children.

The mandate covers contemporary forms of slavery and trafficking in persons, including their causes and consequences.  This includes, inter alia:

• Traditional and contemporary forms of slavery, including forced labour, debt bondage, serfdom, child slavery, domestic servitude, sexual slavery and slavery‑like practices;
• Trafficking in persons, especially women and children, for purposes of exploitation, including, but not limited, sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs;
• Structural and root causes of slavery and trafficking in persons, such as poverty, discrimination, inequality, lack of access to safe, regular pathways to migration, conflict and humanitarian emergencies, climate change, weak labour regulation and impunity;
• Emerging and cross‑cutting issues, including exploitation in supply chains, informal economies, digital environments and transnational contexts.

The Special Rapporteur has been mandated through Human Rights Council resolutions 51/15, 53/9 and 60/25 to, inter alia:

• Promote the effective application of relevant international norms and standards on slavery and trafficking in persons;
• Request, receive and exchange information on contemporary forms of slavery and trafficking in persons from Governments, treaty bodies, special procedures, specialized agencies, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and other relevant sources, including on slavery and trafficking in persons practices and, as appropriate and in line with the current practice, respond effectively to reliable information on alleged human rights violations with a view to protecting the human rights of victims of slavery and trafficking in persons and preventing violations;
• Recommend action and measures applicable at the national, regional and international levels to eliminate slavery and trafficking in persons practices wherever they occur, including remedies that address the causes and consequences of contemporary forms of slavery and of trafficking in persons, such as poverty, discrimination and conflict, and the existence of demand factors and relevant measures to strengthen international cooperation;
• Focus principally on aspects of contemporary forms of slavery that are not covered by existing mandates of the Human Rights Council;
• Integrate a gender and age perspective throughout the work of his or her mandate through, inter alia, the identification of gender- and age-specific vulnerabilities in relation to the issue of trafficking in persons and contemporary forms of slavery;
• Identify, share and promote good practices in order to uphold and protect the human rights of victims of trafficking in persons and contemporary forms of slavery and to identify protection gaps in this regard, including with regard to the identification of victims of trafficking in persons and contemporary forms of slavery;
• Examine the impact of national, regional and international anti-trafficking and anti-slavery measures on the human rights of victims of trafficking in persons and contemporary forms of slavery with a view to proposing adequate responses to challenges arising in this regard and to avoid re-victimization of victims.