Introduction
1. The Global Movement Against Statelessness (GMAS), the Global Campaign for Equal Nationality
Rights (GCENR) and the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI) welcome the opportunity
provided by the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, to
contribute to her report to the 62nd session of the Human Rights Council on child trafficking and
the rights of migrant, refugee, asylum-seeking and stateless children, with a focus on prevention,
protection and accountability.
2. This submission builds on the previous joint submission made in February 2023 on the risks of
trafficking for the Rohingya community who were rendered stateless. Since then and of relevance,
GMAS and ISI have published individual reports and joint submissions regarding ongoing concerns
of violations to the right to nationality and other human rights in Myanmar, the right to education,
access to justice and effective remedies, childhood statelessness, and the rights of the child and
violations of the human rights of children in armed conflicts. This submission primarily focuses on
stateless children and child trafficking in the context of migration. It also addresses child
trafficking in conflict situations affecting stateless children and access to effective remedies for
stateless children. The submission also draws on various UPR and treaty body recommendations
made in this context. We note that independent researcher, Kathy Win, has contributed to this
submission’s section on Rohingya children and the nexus between statelessness, forced
displacement, and trafficking in persons. The direct quotes in this submission are taken from an
interview research project entitled "Citizenship and Inclusion: The Lived Experience of Myanmar
Muslims in Thailand" conducted by Kathy Win as part of her PhD project. The interviews were
conducted in the period of July to November 2025 in Mae Sot, Thailand.
Stateless children and child trafficking in the context of migration:
Prevention, protection and accountability
3. In the context of migration, children may be faced with compounded vulnerabilities as a result of
falling within one of the multiple legal and social labels: stateless, refugee, asylum-seeker,
undocumented, unaccompanied minor, and more. The compounded vulnerabilities place children
at a heightened risk of being trafficked. Statelessness, in particular, is a root cause of child
trafficking as it increases the chances of a child being exploited before, during, and after migration,
while also undermining access to protection measures and remedies.
I.
Prevention: Addressing statelessness as a root cause of child
trafficking
i.
Statelessness as a structural form of exclusion increasing vulnerability to child
trafficking
4. Statelessness is a root cause and structural driver of child trafficking. Stateless children are
ignored by legal and administrative systems, making them prime targets for exploitation by
human traffickers. They lack vital identity and birth documentation, and are often denied the right
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