HRC62 - NB8 Statement - ID with the Special Rapporteur on Trafficking

Human Rights Council - 62nd Session
Item 3: Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Trafficking (on the report “Child trafficking in the context of statelessness, migration and forced displacement”)

Statement delivered by Norway on behalf of the Nordic Baltic countries
22 June 2026

President,

The Nordic-Baltic countries thank the Special Rapporteur for her report on child trafficking in the context of statelessness, migration and forced displacement.

The Special Rapporteur points out that globally, one in three trafficked persons is a child. An estimated 4.4 million people are stateless or of undetermined nationality, nearly half of them children. Behind these figures are vulnerable children — girls and boys who are uprooted, invisible and unprotected.

Migrant, forcibly displaced and stateless children are too often left without legal status, without safety, and without a voice, making them particularly vulnerable to exploitation.

Around 800 million people have no form of ID – half of them children. Providing digital identification enhances security for people because it cannot be lost or confiscated like paper-based ID.

We are deeply concerned about the consequences of cuts to humanitarian assistance, which undermine efforts to prevent child trafficking and weaken protection systems.

Safe migration pathways and access to international protection remain critical. We encourage states to act with urgency, guided by the best interests of the child, to continue efforts to ensure accountability and access to justice.

Special rapporteur, what do you see as most important to improve international collaboration, aiming to reduce the risk of child trafficking?

I thank you.