World Day against Trafficking in Persons Statements (2020)

 

Executive Director, UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Ghada Waly:
Message UNODC Executive Director on World Day Against Trafficking in Persons - 30 July 2020

Every day, in every country in the world, human traffickers exploit people for profit. The poor and the vulnerable are most at risk. Over 70 per cent of detected trafficking victims are women and girls, while nearly one third are children.

COVID-19 has amplified trafficking dangers. Loss of jobs, growing poverty, school closures and a rise in online interactions are increasing vulnerabilities and opening up opportunities for organized crime groups.

The crisis has overwhelmed social and public services, impacted the work of law enforcement and criminal justice systems, and made it harder for victims to seek help.

And yet in these difficult times, we see the best of humanity: frontline heroes, men and women risking their lives and going above and beyond to provide essential support for human trafficking victims.

The theme of this year’s World Day Against Trafficking in Persons focuses on the first responders- the social workers, labour inspectors, law enforcement officers and prosecutors, health workers and NGO staff who identify victims, help them on their path to justice and with rebuilding their lives.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime supports the first responders’ mission by channelling funding to help victims; providing protective equipment to anti-trafficking units and shelters; and assisting Member States to mitigate the pandemic’s impact on anti-trafficking responses.

UNODC also manages the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, which supports NGOs to provide direct assistance to 3,500 victims a year in more than 40 countries.

I invite governments and the private sector to donate to the Trust Fund, and I call on all people to show their support by joining UNODC’s Blue Heart campaign against human trafficking.

On the 2020 World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, and in the COVID response and recovery, I salute and support the first responders who provide a lifeline to trafficking victims. By reaffirming the rights and dignity of all people, we can recover better, more inclusively and more sustainably.

 

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The Secretary-General
Message on World Day Against Trafficking in Persons - 30 July 2020

This year’s World Day Against Trafficking in Persons honours the first responders helping to end the crime of human trafficking: law enforcement officers, social workers, healthcare professionals, NGO staff and many others working around the world to protect the vulnerable.

Like the frontline heroes saving lives and sustaining our societies in the COVID-19 pandemic, these providers are keeping vital services going throughout the crisis -- identifying victims, ensuring their access to justice, health, social assistance and protection, and preventing further abuse and exploitation.

I thank these first responders and urge all governments and societies to join their cause, including through the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated many global inequalities, created new obstacles on the path to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and left millions of people at greater risk of being trafficked for sexual exploitation, forced labour, forced marriage and other crimes.

Women and girls already account for more than 70 per cent of detected human trafficking victims, and today are among the hardest hit by the pandemic. With previous downturns showing that women face a harder time getting paid jobs back in the aftermath of crisis, vigilance is especially important at this time.

If the world is to put human dignity and human rights at the centre of the COVID-19 response and recovery, we need to do more to protect trafficking victims and prevent vulnerable people from being exploited by criminals. On this World Day against Trafficking in Persons, let us pledge to work for inclusive societies and economies that leave no one behind.

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Executive Director, UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Yury Fedotov:
Statement of the UNODC Executive Director on World Day against Trafficking in Persons - 30 July 2019

VIENNA, 30 July (UN Information Service) - Human trafficking is a crime and violation that should have no place in our world. Yet 225,000 trafficking victims were detected between 2003 and 2016, and there are many, many more hidden victims who need our help.

Human trafficking happens in every country. It thrives in situations where the rule of law is weak and people lack opportunities. Humanitarian crises and conflicts create an environment in which traffickers easily prey upon the vulnerable. According to the latest Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, nearly three quarters of all detected trafficking victims worldwide are female. Thirty per cent are children.

This year's World Day against Trafficking in Persons is an opportunity to call governments to action, to protect victims and their rights, and hold perpetrators accountable.

The international community has made some headway. The Palermo Convention's Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children has been in force for more than 15 years. It has helped drive legislative action enabling improved detection of trafficking victims, more effective criminal justice responses, better prospects for prosecution and enhanced victim protection measures. More and more victims are being identified worldwide, and the number of countries reporting trafficking convictions continues to grow. But we must press on.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) supports countries to prevent and counter human trafficking through implementation of the Trafficking in Persons Protocol. The Office coordinates the Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons and manages the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking. And through UNODC's Blue Heart Campaign, governments, but also the private sector and concerned citizens, can get involved in helping victims become survivors.

Tackling human trafficking brings us closer to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, which call for eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls, combatting organized crime and eradicating forced labour, abuse, exploitation and violence against children. Fighting this global scourge means building a society that leaves no-one behind.

On World Day against Trafficking in Persons, let us call upon our governments to step up responses and give victims the support and justice they deserve.

 

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The Secretary-General
Message on World Day Against Trafficking in Persons - 30 July 2019

Human trafficking is a heinous crime that affects every region of the world. Some 72 per cent of detected victims are women and girls, and the percentage of child victims has more than doubled from 2004 to 2016, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Most detected victims are trafficked for sexual exploitation; victims are also trafficked for forced labour, recruitment as child soldiers and other forms of exploitation and abuse.

Traffickers and terrorist groups prey on the vulnerable, from people in poverty to those caught up in war or who face discrimination. Nadia Murad, the first trafficking victim to serve as a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, was justly co-awarded the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for galvanizing international action to stop trafficking and sexual violence in conflict.

Armed conflict, displacement, climate change, natural disasters and poverty exacerbate the vulnerabilities and desperation that enable trafficking to flourish. Migrants are being targeted. Thousands of people have died at sea, in deserts and in detention centres, at the hands of traffickers and migrant smugglers plying their monstrous, merciless trades.

But everyday indifference to abuse and exploitation around us also takes a heavy toll. Indeed, from construction to food production to consumer goods, countless businesses and enterprises benefit from the misery.

Multilateral action has generated progress, including through the Palermo Convention and its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. Most countries have the necessary laws in place, and some countries recently recorded their first trafficking convictions. But more needs to be done to bring transnational trafficking networks to justice and, most of all, to ensure that victims are identified and can access the protection and services they need.

The Sustainable Development Goals include clear targets to prevent abuse and exploitation, to eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls, and to eradicate forced labour and child labour. 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.

 

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Previous Statements

Statement of the UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov
on United Nations World Day against Trafficking in Persons - 30 July 2018

This year's World Day against Trafficking in Persons highlights the urgent need to step up responses to the trafficking of children and young people.

Protecting the most vulnerable among us has become ever more important, as humanitarian crises and armed conflict have left children and young people at greater risk of being trafficked. The perils are compounded further still when children and young people are on the move, often separated from their families.

At the same time, human traffickers are misusing the Internet and new technologies to broaden their reach, using apps and chat rooms to exploit and abuse young people, who represent some of our most connected and most engaged online citizens.

Effective anti-trafficking responses, which take to heart the best interests of children and young people, require coordination and cooperation.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is helping governments implement such action through our comprehensive support to countries toimplement the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.

Nearly every country in the world has pledged to put the Protocol against human trafficking into action, and it represents our best and most effective means to protect children and young people by ending impunity for traffickers, and ensuring that criminal justice responses safeguard the interests of children at every stage.

Through the Blue Heart Campaign, UNODC is raising public awareness of these issues and the plight of trafficking victims, almost a third of whom are children. UNODC is also helping to ensure that child victims become survivors through the UN Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking.

UNODC serves as Coordinator of ICAT, the Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons, which brings together 23 UN and other international and regional partners to harmonize and reinforce anti-trafficking responses.

We are also working with private sector and civil society partners to clamp down on cybercrime, to prevent and counter trafficking, abuse and exploitation of children through the Internet. By building cross-border cooperation and law enforcement capacities, we are helping tech be part of the solution to keep children and young people safe online.

Let us take this opportunity on World Day against Trafficking in Persons to further strengthen partnerships and seek solutions. All of us have a responsibility to prevent and stop human trafficking, and protect the health, well-being and potential of all children, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.

 

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Statement of the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres
on United Nations World Day against Trafficking in Persons - 30 July 2018

Trafficking in persons is a vile crime that feeds on inequalities, instability and conflict. Human traffickers profit from peoples' hopes and despair. They prey on the vulnerable and rob them of their fundamental rights.

Children and young people, migrants and refugees are especially susceptible.

Women and girls are targeted again and again. We see brutal sexual exploitation, including involuntary prostitution, forced marriage and sexual slavery. We see the appalling trade in human organs.

Human trafficking takes many forms and knows no borders. Human traffickers too often operate with impunity, with their crimes receiving not nearly enough attention. This must change.

The United Nations is committed to advancing action to bring traffickers to justice while protecting and supporting their victims. The rights of victims must come first - be they the victims of traffickers, smugglers, or of modern forms of slavery or exploitation.

In their proposed Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration to be adopted in December, Member States have also demonstrated resolve to prevent, combat and eradicate trafficking in persons in the context of international migration.

On this World Day against Trafficking in Persons, let us come together around the key issues of prevention, protection and prosecution to build a future where this crime cannot exist.

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Statement of the UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov
on United Nations World Day against Trafficking in Persons - 30 July 2017

Today is the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. UNODC's theme is "Let's act now to protect and assist trafficking victims". This is especially important because of the links between conflict and trafficking and migrant smuggling.

Criminal groups feed off the world's conflicts and the instability and insecurity they create. Conflict is a breeding ground for criminal activity; people forced from their homes are falling prey to human traffickers as they try desperately to escape the violence.

The UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons shows that, before 2011, Syrians were less likely to become victims of this cruel crime. Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis, however, an increasing number of countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East have detected trafficking victims from this country.

As evidence grows of conflict's ability to nourish crime, the international community is increasingly recognizing the need to confront people's vulnerability to trafficking during conflicts. The UN Security Council has passed its first ever resolution on this issue and last year's New York Declaration calls for the need to vigorously combat human trafficking and migrant smuggling, as well as provide support and assistance under the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

The Declaration also calls for nations, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, to enter a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration. In preparation, the UN General Assembly will hold a session in Vienna, Austria, on 4-5 September 2017 to discuss these issues, particularly the protection and assistance needed in connection to trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants.

In line with this year's theme, UNODC is also working hard to promote the Trust Fund for trafficking victims, as well as the Blue Heart Campaign, which is being adopted across the world. Resources, well-supported advocacy, cooperation under international law, and action on the ground are the starting points for tackling this dehumanizing crime that shames everyone.

On the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, let's act now to help and protect the victims and to end this crime forever.

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Statement of the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
on United Nations World Day against Trafficking in Persons - 30 July 2016

All over the world, tens of millions of people are desperately seeking refuge, many of them far from home and even farther from safety. Migrants and refugees face imposing physical obstacles and bureaucratic barriers. Sadly, they are also vulnerable to human rights violations and exploitation by human traffickers.

Human traffickers prey on the most desperate and vulnerable. To end this inhumane practice, we must do more to shield migrants and refugees -- and particularly young people, women and children -- from those who would exploit their yearnings for a better, safer and more dignified future. We must govern migration in a safe and rights-based way, create sufficient and accessible pathways for the entry of migrants and refugees, and ultimately tackle the root causes of the conflicts -- extreme poverty, environmental degradation and other crises which force people across borders, seas and deserts.

These issues will be central to the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants, to be held in New York on 19 September 2016. This meeting aims amongst other goals to win renewed commitment for intensified efforts to combat human trafficking and smuggling of migrants and refugees, ensure protection and assistance for the victims of trafficking and of abusive smuggling, as well as all those who suffer human rights violations and abuse in the course of large movements, and promote respect for international law, standards and frameworks.

I call on every nation -- whether country of origin, transit or destination -- to recognize our shared responsibility. As a first step, we need a strong legal basis for action. I encourage all States to adopt and implement the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocol on human trafficking as well as all core international human rights instruments.

On this World Day against Trafficking in Persons, I urge everyone to recommit to protect, respect and fulfil the human rights of all migrants and refugees. Creating and supporting well-governed, safe and human rights-based migration and asylum procedures will be an important step towards ending the abhorrent practice of profiting from human despair and misery.

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Statement of the UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov
on United Nations World Day against Trafficking in Persons - 30 July 2016

Human trafficking is a parasitic crime that feeds on vulnerability, thrives in times of uncertainty, and profits from inaction.

While the international community struggles with what UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called the biggest refugee and migration crisis since World War II, human traffickers and migrant smugglers are taking advantage of misery to turn a profit.

Criminals prey on people in need and without support, and they see migrants, especially children, as easy targets for exploitation, violence and abuse.

Armed conflicts and humanitarian crises expose those caught in the crossfire to increased risk of being trafficked for sexual exploitation, forced labour, organ removal, servitude and other forms of exploitation.

While not all migrants are vulnerable to being trafficked, the forthcoming UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2016 identifies a clear pattern linking undocumented migration to trafficking in persons.

Certain migration flows appear particularly vulnerable to trafficking in persons. Citizens from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador represent about 20 per cent of the victims detected in the United States, while the legal migration flows from these countries represent about five per cent of the total. Similar patterns are found in Western Europe, where citizens from South Eastern Europe comprise a large share of detected victims.

The UNODC report, which will be released later this year, further highlights the links between human trafficking and refugee flows from countries including Syria and Eritrea, and involving Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh.

We clearly need to do more to stop human traffickers as part of coordinated and comprehensive responses to the refugee crisis and continuing migration challenges we are facing around the world.

I call on governments to ratify and effectively implement the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocols on trafficking and migrant smuggling, to assist and protect victims and the rights of smuggled migrants, and promote the international cooperation needed to bring criminals to justice.

By strengthening action under the Protocols, we can reinforce protection for vulnerable children, women and men, and help promote the safety and dignity of refugees and migrants at all stages of their journey.

Furthermore, I urge governments, companies and individuals to support the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons: www.unodc.org/humantraffickingfund.

The Trust Fund is financed solely through your donations. The Fund works with NGO partners across the globe to assist trafficking victims, providing shelter and vocational training and schooling, as well as access to health, psychosocial, legal and economic services.

Finally, I encourage everyone - voters and community leaders, business owners and employees, teachers and students, consumers and tourists - to educate themselves and the people around them, and help raise awareness of this terrible crime.

On this United Nations World Day against Trafficking in Persons, let us pledge to work together to give victims, as well as the many children, women and men on the move who remain far too vulnerable to trafficking, a much-needed voice and a helping hand.

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JOINT STATEMENT - Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT)
on United Nations World Day against Trafficking in Persons - 30 July 2016

 

This year has been another deadly year for migrants and refugees, with thousands killed across the world - many of whom were seeking to escape conflict and chaos.

Migrants and refugees are in situations of vulnerability throughout their search for sanctuary and safety. The absence of sufficient legal and safe pathways can lead migrants to undertake perilous journeys. Every stop, every journey on train, boat or truck, risks the possibility of abuse, violence and exploitation at the hands of those who scorn internationally agreed laws and standards. Those preyed upon are rights-holders, regardless of their immigration status, and they are entitled to our assistance and protection.

Amongst these people are many victims of human trafficking. After risking their lives in arduous journeys, instead of home and rescue, people find themselves subjected to abuse and exploitation in transit and destination countries.

The often precarious legal status of displaced persons and refugees, a lack of legal employment opportunities and income, limited access to social services and support structures, minimal protection schemes and gender inequality make many women, men and children, especially unaccompanied children, more vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking in persons.

Trafficking in persons is a global problem that affects virtually every country in every region of the world and yet, it remains an invisible phenomenon to the eyes of many people. Victims of trafficking are building our homes, cleaning our houses, processing our food and tailoring our clothes.

Trafficking is present in the sex industry where women and young girls are held in debt bondage; in the construction sector, where thousands of workers are abused and deceived; in farms and fisheries, where victims, including children, are isolated and exploited without being paid the wages they were led to expect; and in the houses and apartments of wealthy people where maids are not allowed outside.

A better understanding of the circumstances that increase people's vulnerabilities to trafficking in persons can enhance public awareness that human trafficking occurs around us or can even be related to our own actions, involving, for example, exploitation in our own societies. Informed understanding can also guide national responses to mitigate the risks of becoming a victim of human trafficking and to prompt victims' identification.

In contrast, failing to acknowledge the vulnerabilities to human trafficking enhanced, for example, by irregular migration contributes to people never being identified and/or assisted as trafficking victims throughout their trafficking experience. As a consequence, victims do not access their fundamental rights and the assistance and protection measures they are entitled to, including physical and mental health support, witness protection and remedies.

A High-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on 19 September 2016 will address the issue of large movement of migrants and refugees. It is hoped the outcome of this Summit will include a renewed commitment from Member States to intensify efforts to combat human trafficking, to ensure protection and assistance to victims of trafficking and to better implement the relevant international instruments.

Through the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals adopted last year, the international community has committed itself to the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, to the provision of access to justice for all and to the building of effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels (SDG 16). In doing so, we have collectively committed to combat all forms of organized crime (16.4), including trafficking in persons. We have further to this, specifically promised to take immediate and effective measures to eradicate human trafficking (8.7) and end the abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children (16.2); eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation (5.2); and to facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration (10.7).

Assistance to victims and those who may become victims continues to be urgently needed, and existing international mechanisms like the IOM Global Assistance Fund and the United Nations Voluntary Trust Funds on Contemporary Forms of Slavery and for Victims of Human Trafficking can be used to provide direct and/or immediate relief for victims of trafficking.

Conflicts and natural disaster have led millions of people to leave their homes and seek refuge in neighbouring countries and beyond, in turn placing stress on existing national systems and resources. Criminal networks engaging in trafficking in persons thrive in contexts of conflict, instability and other circumstances that increase people's vulnerability. If justice and human rights are to prevail, human traffickers must be stopped from abusing and exploiting the hopes of migrants and refugees. But to do this, the world needs to act together to tackle the root causes of conflict and irregular migration, as well as addressing the exploitation and victimization that many migrants suffer.

In its third year, the World Day provides an opportunity to reflect on our shared responsibility and show solidarity with those victimized. Human trafficking is a parasitic crime that feeds on vulnerability, thrives in times of uncertainty, and profits from inaction. With greater understanding and by working together, we can give trafficking victims, as well as the many children, women and men on the move vulnerable to human trafficking, a much-needed voice and a helping hand.

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United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:
Message on World Day against Trafficking in Persons, 30 July 2015

Around the world, criminals are selling people for profit. Vulnerable women and girls form the majority of human trafficking victims, including those driven into degrading sexual exploitation.

Trafficked persons are often tricked into servitude with the false promise of a well-paid job. Migrants crossing deadly seas and burning deserts to escape conflict, poverty and persecution are also at risk of being trafficked. Individuals can find themselves alone in a foreign land where they have been stripped of their passports, forced into debt and exploited for labour. Children and young people can find their lives stolen, their education blocked and their dreams dashed. It is an assault on their most basic human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Criminal trafficking networks thrive in countries where the rule of law is weak and international cooperation is difficult. I call on all countries to fight money laundering and sign and ratify the UN Conventions against corruption and transnational organized crime, including the latter's human trafficking protocol.

We must also provide meaningful assistance to those in need, including protection and access to justice and remedies I applaud the donors who have enabled the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons Fund to assist thousands of people. At the same time, I urge greater contributions to help the many million other victims of this crime move forward with their lives.

Every country must join together to overcome this transnational threat by supporting and protecting victims while pursuing and prosecuting the criminals. On the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, let us resolve to act as one in the name of justice and dignity for all.

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United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Executive Director Yury Fedotov:
Message on World Day against Trafficking in Persons, 30 July 2015

Many millions of vulnerable women, men and children are being cruelly exploited - coerced into working in factories, fields and brothels or begging on the street; pushed into armed combat or forced marriages; trafficked so their organs can be harvested and sold.

We are living in an era of many crises and troubles, as United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned. Record numbers of people are fleeing war and persecution, and the international community is grappling with acute migration challenges in the Mediterranean, the Balkans, in the Andaman Sea, Latin America and Africa.

For human traffickers, these hardships represent business opportunities.

The world is facing many grave challenges, and our resources are strained. But we cannot allow unscrupulous criminals to exploit these crises and take advantage of desperation and suffering.

No place in the world is safe: the latest Global Report on Trafficking in Persons by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime found that the trafficking victims identified in 124 states were citizens of 152 different countries.

More and more detected victims of trafficking are children, especially girls under the age of 18.

Over the past decade there has been no significant improvement in the overall criminal justice response to this crime. In the period covered by the Global Report, some 40 per cent of countries reported less than ten convictions per year. Some 15 per cent did not record a single conviction.

This illustrates a level of impunity which is unacceptable and highlights the fact that, at the moment, the traffickers are getting away with their crimes.

30 July is United Nations World Day against Trafficking in Persons, established to raise awareness of the plight of human trafficking victims, and promote and protect their rights.

Let us take this opportunity to give hope to trafficking victims, pledge to do our part and help end this terrible crime.

The first step to taking action is taking this crime seriously.

Governments must ratify and effectively implement the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocol on trafficking, to protect trafficking victims, promote cooperation between countries and ensure that criminal traffickers, wherever they are, are brought to justice.

I encourage everyone to educate themselves and help others become aware of the problem.

As consumers, employees and business owners, ordinary citizens can advocate for measures to prevent the use of forced labour in operations and supply chains, and eliminate abusive and fraudulent recruitment practices that may lead to trafficking.

Finally, I urge governments, companies and individuals to support the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons: www.unodc.org/humantraffickingfund.

Financed solely through voluntary contributions, the Trust Fund works with NGO partners across the globe to identify women, children and men who have been exploited by traffickers, and give them the assistance, protection and support they need.

Since 2011, the Trust Fund has helped some 2,000 victims annually, providing shelter, basic health services, vocational training and schooling, as well as psychosocial, legal and economic support.

Join the #igivehope campaign today and show your solidarity with victims of human trafficking: www.unodc.org/endht.

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Statement from the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons, Dr. Benita Ferrero-Waldner:

On the World Day against Trafficking in Persons, we are reminded of the plight of millions of victims that are suffering at the hands of their exploiters. But we are also reminded that there are tangible ways to help these victims. The United Nations established the UN Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons as it recognized the urgent need for the world community to assist those vulnerable members of our society.

There is virtually no place in the world that is safe from trafficking in persons. One in three known victims of this crime is a child, with girls and women accounting for 70 per cent of overall victims worldwide. That being said, men are also targeted, in particular those from low socio-economic backgrounds and those who lack legal status abroad.

So what can we do? All of us can make a difference, through supporting one victim at a time! The United Nations Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons does just that, by selecting projects from NGOs across the globe that provide specialized, effective and long-term assistance to trafficking victims. Through the Trust Fund, we can help survivors of this horrendous crime heal their wounds and take back their lives, in real and practical ways.

Thanks to the tireless work of the 30 NGOs receiving funding through the Trust Fund, around 2,000 victims a year have been assisted since 2011. Last year, the Trust Fund held a second Call for Proposals, which received 113 applications from NGOs across the globe. Regrettably, despite the obvious real needs that exist, there were only enough funds to support 19 of these projects!

The Trust Fund Board was impressed by the high quality of the proposals submitted and their potential in achieving effective assistance to victims. Therefore, it has placed over 50 proposals on a reserve list, hoping for more donor contributions in the next months, in order to provide more grants to selected projects and be able to help many more victims rebuild their lives and receive justice for the crime committed against them.

This second World Day against Trafficking in Persons is another call to action to end this crime and give hope to victims. Yet we cannot be complacent. I encourage you to have a heart for the victims of trafficking in persons and support the Trust Fund in any way you can. Working together is the only way to bring an end to this shameful crime.

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Message UNODC Executive Director on World Day Against Trafficking in Persons