"On this World Day against Trafficking in Persons, let
us reaffirm our commitment to stop criminals from ruthlessly exploiting people
for profit and to help victims rebuild their lives." -- UN
Secretary-General António Guterres
Human trafficking is a crime that exploits women, children
and men for numerous purposes including forced labour and sex. Since 2003 the
UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has collected information on about 225,000
victims of trafficking detected worldwide. Globally countries are detecting and
reporting more victims, and are convicting more traffickers. This can be the
result of increased capacity to identify victims and/or an increased number of
trafficked victims.
Every country in the world is affected by human trafficking,
whether as a country of origin, transit, or destination for victims.
Traffickers the world over continue to target women and girls. The vast
majority of detected victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation and 35 per
cent of those trafficked for forced labour are female. Conflict further
exacerbates vulnerabilities, with armed groups exploiting civilians and
traffickers targeting forcibly displaced people. Data also shows that trafficking
happens all around us as the share of persons trafficked within their own
country has doubled in recent years to 58 per cent of all detected victims,
according to the 2018 UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons PDF
document.
In 2010, the General Assembly adopted the Global Plan of
Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, urging Governments worldwide to take
coordinated and consistent measures to defeat this scourge. The Plan calls for
integrating the fight against human trafficking into the UN’s broader
programmes in order to boost development and strengthen security worldwide. One
of the crucial provisions in the Plan is the establishment of a UN Voluntary
Trust Fund for victims of trafficking, especially women and children.
The Trust Fund facilitates effective, on-the-ground
assistance and protection to victims of trafficking, through grants to
specialized NGOs. It aims to prioritize victims coming from a context of armed
conflict and those identified among large refugee and migration flows.
In 2013, the General Assembly held a high-level meeting to
appraise the Global Plan of Action. Member States also adopted resolution
A/RES/68/192 and designated July 30 as the World Day against Trafficking in
Persons. This resolution declared that such a day was necessary to “raise
awareness of the situation of victims of human trafficking and for the
promotion and protection of their rights.”
In September 2015, the world adopted the 2030 Sustainable
Development Agenda and embraced goals and targets on trafficking in persons.
These goals call for an end to trafficking and violence against children; as
well as the need for measures against human trafficking, and they strive for
the elimination of all forms of violence against and exploitation of women and
girls.
Another important development is the UN Summit for Refugees
and Migrants, which produced the groundbreaking New York Declaration. Of the
nineteen commitments adopted by countries in the Declaration, three are
dedicated to concrete action against the crimes of human trafficking and
migrant smuggling.
Human Trafficking: call your government to action
Despite many countries having national trafficking laws in
place which are in line with the UN Trafficking in Persons Protocol, people
continue to be trafficked. What is more, in many countries, victims may still
be criminalized while the impunity of traffickers prevails.
Therefore, on the 2019 World Day UNODC is focusing on
highlighting the importance of Government action in the interest of victims of trafficking.
But the call to action is not only to Governments, we encourage everyone to
take action to prevent this heinous crime.
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