E/CN.4/2003/85/Add.4 page 14 42. The Philippines has ratified the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the Convention. However, there is no national legislation on the crime of trafficking. At the time of the visit, there was a bill before the joint Senate Committees on Youth and on Women and Family on an Anti-Trafficking Act that had already been approved by the House of Representatives.6 43. The Special Rapporteur noted with concern that women migrants are particularly vulnerable to trafficking and smuggling. The lack of information on national legislation on migration and on the conditions of work in countries abroad, the lack of awareness of the risks of irregular migration, the difficult economic conditions, the existence of a net of unscrupulous illegal recruiters, the high demand for sex workers and widespread impunity are all factors that increase the vulnerability of Filipino migrant women to victimization by trafficking and smuggling criminal networks. 44. The Special Rapporteur learned about a number of interesting programmes and initiatives implemented both by government agencies and NGOs aimed at tackling the above-mentioned issues. These include information campaigns on the risk of illegal recruitment and raising awareness of legal migration channels and procedures and legal redress for violations and abuses suffered. The Special Rapporteur repeatedly stressed that consular protection abroad should include physical and mental health assistance, especially for women victims of trafficking and smuggling, and noted with appreciation that initiatives had been undertaken in this regard. 45. The Special Rapporteur learned with appreciation that bilateral and multilateral agreements are being sought so that victims of human trafficking and smuggling are not treated as offenders. A high-level governmental Working Group on Human Trafficking was established to develop a national strategy against trafficking and smuggling of persons. Other interesting programmes and projects brought to the attention of the Special Rapporteur were the Philippines-Belgium project on trafficking which aims to educate and train the public in preventive actions and provide social and legal assistance to victims. The Special Rapporteur visited PCTC and was informed that the Centre has the task of formulating and implementing a concerted programme of action of all law enforcement, intelligence and other government agencies for the prevention and control of, inter alia, trafficking in women and children, particularly through improved coordination, research and the collection and centralization of data. D. Services 46. RA 8042 also provides for the following services: travel advice/information by all embassies and consular offices; repatriation of workers by the recruiting agency/emergency reparation fund; mandatory repatriation of under-age OFWs; establishment of “Replacement and Monitoring Centres”; establishment of “OFWs and other Filipinos Resource Centres” under the jurisdiction of the embassies; establishment of a “Shared Government Information System for Migration”; and a “Migrant Workers Loan Guarantee Fund”. Travel advice is provided