July 30, 2017 July 30th was the "World Day against Trafficking in Persons" established by the UN General Assembly in December 2013. The United Nations pointed out that criminal gangs are using the opportunity of conflict and war to cause social unrest, launching activities such as human trafficking and smuggling around the globe. The international community needs to act now to provide further assistance and protection to victims. And strive to forever end such crimes. Please listen to the report from U.S. News Cheng Hao:
Yury Fedotov, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, issued a statement on the 30th “World Day Against Trafficking in Human Beings” on the 30th that the conflict provides a “hotbed” for the growth of criminal activities. People forced to choose to leave their homes in order to escape violence in desperation are becoming “prey” for human traffickers. Take Syria as an example. The latest United Nations Global Trafficking Report shows that before 2011, women and children in the country were rarely trafficked; however, since the crisis began, there have been more and more in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Many countries have discovered large numbers of victims of trafficking from Syria...
Fedotov said that the international community has realized that armed conflicts and humanitarian crises increase the risk of people caught in gunfire being trafficked in and out of the conflict zone. There is a need to target each other for trafficking in human beings, sexual violence in conflict and violent extremism. Associated issues carry out powerful actions. To this end, the United Nations Security Council adopted the first resolution on "human trafficking in conflict situations" last year; the United Nations "High-Level Meeting on the Large-scale Refugees and Migrants" also adopted the "New York Declaration" and pledged to fight against human trafficking. And the smuggling of migrants, while providing support for victims in accordance with the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
Fedotov stressed that it is precisely because of this that the theme of this year’s “Day of Combating Trafficking in Human Beings” has been identified as: Action to protect and assist trafficking in persons (Let's act now to protect and assist trafficking trafficking). The United Nations has called on the public to actively participate in the “Blue Heart Campaign” conducted around the world, provide adequate resources and support for relevant actions on the ground through the Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking Victims, and strengthen the cooperation with Africa. The full cooperation of government organizations.
Trafficking in human beings is a criminal act that uses women, children and men for many purposes including labor exploitation and sexual exploitation. Every country, regardless of whether it is a refugee country of origin, a transit country, or a target country for migration, has the problem of human trafficking. According to statistics of the United Nations, children account for one-third of all human trafficking; among all victims, women and girls account for 71%. In addition, the ILO estimates that 21 million people worldwide are victims of forced labor. This figure includes victims of trafficking in human beings and sexual exploitation. Although it is not known how many such victims were trafficked, the estimate means that there are millions of victims of human trafficking worldwide.
Cheng Hao, reporting from the United Nations headquarters in New York.