Vienna (Austria), 24 July 2023 – As conflicts, climate change and economic downturns continue to dominate the world stage and influence national political agendas, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is urging States not to lose focus of their obligations to combat human trafficking and support the victims of this crime.
"Around the world today, millions of victims of human trafficking are going unnoticed,” said UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly. “Many of them walk among us in everyday life, on street corners and construction sites, or in factories and public venues.“
Traffickers “continue to operate with impunity,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. “Their crimes are receiving not nearly enough attention. This must change.”
UNODC’s latest Global Report on Trafficking in Persons highlights a clear deterioration in many countries’ efforts to prevent, detect and prosecute human trafficking, with a sharp decrease in the numbers of victims detected globally and a severe drop in the number of convictions in trafficking cases, primarily in low and middle-income countries.
“This is why UNODC marks this year’s World Day Against Trafficking in Persons on 30 July by calling on governments, civil society and every one of us to ‘leave no one behind’. Together, we need to do more to end this crime, support survivors and bring traffickers to justice,” said Ilias Chatzis, Head of UNODC’s Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Section.
The UNODC 2023 World Trafficking Day campaign also aims to bring attention to the escalating trafficking risks caused by global crises.
In many parts of the world, wars, forced displacement, the expansion of online crime, climate change, as well as the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic are undermining collective efforts to counter human trafficking.
“People who lack legal status, those that live in poverty, who have limited access to education, healthcare, or decent work, or who come from marginalized communities are usually the primary targets of traffickers,” explained Mr. Chatzis.
He added that States need to address the close links between human trafficking and organized crime, a phenomenon that is also highlighted in the most recent UNODC research.
“Human trafficking rarely occurs in isolation and is usually part of a larger criminal activity. Our latest Global Report shows that between 2012 and 2020, around 70 percent of the traffickers in human trafficking court cases were part of some form of organized crime group.”
Criminal gangs not only exploit their victims sexually or as cheap labour, but they also force them to beg or steal, to transport or sell drugs and other illicit goods, and to commit digital fraud and other online offences.
Ms. Waly underscored that the international community needed to increase its efforts to “reach every trafficking victim by strengthening detection, investigating cases, and prosecuting the criminals involved. We also need to proactively identify, assist, and support survivors of this crime, to truly leave no one behind.
On this World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, let us join forces and commit to reaching every trafficking victim and survivor, to give them hope and support on their journey towards justice and recovery,” she concluded.
Learn more about the World Day against Trafficking in Persons and how you can get involved.
UNODC is the leading entity within the United Nations system to address the criminal elements of human trafficking, a global and widespread crime that involves the exploitation of people for financial or material gain. It supports countries to implement and abide to the UN’s anti-human trafficking protocol and equips relevant authorities to prevent this crime, identify and protect the victims, and prosecute the perpetrators.
