Director General/Executive Director
17 October 2016
Excellencies,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a pleasure to address this side event on countering human trafficking as a contribution to the Global Compact on Migration.
We currently face large scale movements of migrants and refugees globally who are vulnerable to exploitation, violence and abuse at the hands of traffickers.
This reinforces the need for the international community to examine how it can comprehensively tackle the challenge of trafficking in persons within these susceptible groups.
UNODC's Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, to be released later this year, confirms that human trafficking flows, in general, follow the overall migratory movements.
The majority of trafficking victims detected in all regions are foreigners in the country of detection, and many of them are migrants.
Based on our analysis, 79 per cent of the victims detected are women and children.
Our goal must be to stop women, children and men from becoming victims, and to end the impunity of the criminals involved in human trafficking.
As I stressed in my speech at the UNGA Summit on Refugees and Migrants in September, our actions must be driven by respect: Respect for human life, respect for the rule of law.
The New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, adopted at the summit, contains the commitments of Member States to implement UNTOC, and its protocols on trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling.
Of the 19 commitments made by countries under the New York Declaration that apply to both refugees and migrants, three are dedicated to concrete action against these crimes.
But the declaration goes even further. It successfully launched the negotiations for a global compact that promises safe, orderly and regular migration, while also addressing trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling.
As the Palermo Convention's guardian, UNODC is dedicated to contributing to this process, and to ensuring that the standards and requirements within the protocols are safeguarded.
UNTOC can assist Member States to draft new laws and develop comprehensive national strategies; effectively investigate and prosecute cases, including the identification of trafficking victims among migrants and refugees; and support international cooperation, especially in the field of financial investigations.
Thankfully, most countries have now adopted the Palermo convention and its protocols, but there are significant challenges regarding the full implementation of the provisions.
I urge every country to do so within the shortest possible timeframe, and by doing so, join the world in the fight against the traffickers and smugglers.
There also needs to be a fundamental change in the way resources are allocated. Funds should be shifted towards strategic goals such as targeting the criminal networks and their financial flows.
Let me also assure you that the Declaration's implementation will continue to be a high priority across the UN system, including for UNODC.
We will work intensively with our UN partners, Member States, and all other stakeholders to keep this issue firmly on the political agenda and to ensure it receives the response it so desperately deserves.
Allow me to thank countries and international organizations for the anti-trafficking efforts they have already undertaken.
I would like to specifically thank the US State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons for their institutional support and their funding of UNODC's anti-trafficking training and technical assistance work, as well as our research and analysis.
I also thank the European Union. The EU has been a staunch supporter of UNODC's GLO.ACT, which assists 13 countries globally to develop extensive national counter-trafficking and counter smuggling responses.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The New York declaration offers a new collective starting point for the international community's work against trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling.
This means turning the declaration's words into bold and committed action.
In doing so, we must be driven by the governing principle that, for justice to be truly for all, we need to work together, share responsibility and acknowledge that we can and must do more to stop human suffering. Thank you.
