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UNODC presents the Blue Heart Campaign to attorneys general in Latin America
24 September, 2011 - Know, Join, Follow and Pact with the Blue Heart. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, Blue Heart global campaign was presented to prosecutors, lawyers and experts attending the Second Ibero-American Summit of Public Ministries against Human Trafficking, held between 21 and 23 September, in Santiago, Chile.
The presentation of the Blue Heart Campaign was made by the UNODC representative for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, Antonio Mazzitelli.
Created to engage and build alliances with governments, private sector and civil society in fighting human trafficking, the Campaign has gained increasing visibility in Mexico.
"In Mexico, UNODC and the Government developed a creative line of awareness, a work plan, and partnerships with educational and private sectors among other actions aimed to prevent trafficking. The strength of the Campaign in Mexico is due in large part to the joining of the three government branches - Executive, Legislative and Judicial - in the three levels of government - Federal, state and municipal - to the Blue Heart," explained Mazzitelli.
Launched in Mexico City in April 2010, more than 20 federal agencies and six Mexican states have already joined the campaign. In addition, more than 15 000 people have signed the "Pact with the Heart" - a symbolic instrument of commitment with 11 precepts that invite citizens to take concrete actions to prevent and fight human trafficking.
To widen the reach of the campaign, the National Institute of Indigenous Languages (INALI) translated the campaign spots into 21 indigenous languages, thus enabling the campaign to reach millions of Mexican citizens with the message "Human beings are not for sale."
Mazzitelli anticipated that soon the hotel sector should also join the Blue Heart Campaign. "We are developing a partnership with the tourism and hospitality industries to promote the campaign due to the relation between sex tourism and human trafficking.
Mazzitelli concluded his presentation by inviting prosecutors in the region to join the Blue Heart. "The Blue Heart is available to all of you and we hope that everyone leaves here with the Blue Heart beating inside your chests," he said.
In Mexico, the "Blue Heart" campaign is part of a regional project aimed at providing technical assistance to Central American states and Mexico in the prevention, investigation and prosecution of human trafficking. The regional project is implemented in partnership with the American Institute of the United Nations for Crime Prevention and Offenders Treatment, ILANUD.
Related Information
United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Air and Sea