2. State Responsibility and Due Diligence
Many human rights treaties impose a duty on States Parties to try and
prevent human rights abuses inherent in the trafficking of persons.43 This
obligation is measured with a "due diligence" standard. 44 Coomaraswamy
explains: "[t]hese duties combine to constitute the State's duty to act with due
diligence to 'prevent, investigate and punish any violation of the rights
recognized by the Convention and, moreover, if possible attempt to restore the
right violated and provide compensation as warranted by the damages resulting
from the violation'." 45
Coomaraswamy highlighted that States must act in good faith to effectively
prevent violence against women.46 She emphasized that the due diligence
standard is not met with the mere enactment of formal legal provisions.47 Dr.
Yakin Erturk, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women from 2003-2009,
notes: "[a]s such, the concept of due diligence provides a yardstick to determine
whether a State has met or failed to meet its obligations in combating violence
against women. However, there remains a lack of clarity concerning its scope
and content." 48
It is generally recognized that States have a duty to prevent violence against
women, regardless of whether those acts are perpetrated by a State or by private
persons.49 The extent of this duty is not entirely clear, and is contained mostly in
soft law.50 The responsibility to discharge due diligence obligations to prevent
violence against women, including trafficking, has generally been discharged by
the adoption of specific legislation, the development of awareness-raising
campaigns and the provision of training for specified professional groups. 5