VIENNA, 18 December - This International Migrants Day comes just days after the adoption of the landmark Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
As the United Nations Secretary-General has said, the Compact is people-centred and rooted in human rights, and points the way toward stronger action to address migration challenges, including by cracking down on crimes such as human trafficking and migrant smuggling.
Objectives 9 and 10 of the Compact call for strengthening the transnational response to smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons in the context of international migration, including through the Protocols under the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime joins our UN and other partners in supporting all countries to implement the Global Compact, to stop smugglers from putting lives at risk, increase identification of trafficking victims in flows of migrants and refugees and bring criminals to justice.
2018 was another cruel year for the many thousands of migrants exposed to the predations of organized criminal groups. Working together through the Global Compact, we can improve prevention, stop violence, abuse and exploitation at the hands of criminals and ensure that people on the move have the protection they deserve.
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For further information, please contact:
Sonya
Yee
Speechwriter and Spokesperson, UNODC
Telephone: (+43 1) 26060-4990
Mobile: (+43-699) 1459-4990
Email: sonya.yee[at]un.org
