The United Nations has urged worldwide governments, law enforcement agencies, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders to step up efforts to prevent, identify, and support victims of human trafficking.
The United Nations made the call while honoring the 2023 World Day Against Human Trafficking, stating that global crises, conflicts, and climate emergencies are increasing trafficking threats around the world.
With the subject of this year’s commemoration, ‘Reach every victim of trafficking, leave no one behind,’ the UN stated that displacement and socioeconomic inequality are affecting millions of people globally, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation by traffickers.
According to the world global body, 2023 is aimed at raising awareness of disturbing developments and trends identified by the latest United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Global Report on Trafficking Persons.
According to the report, those who lack legal status live in poverty, have limited access to education, healthcare, or decent work, face discrimination, violence, abuse, or come from marginalised communities, and are often the primary targets of traffickers.
The UN said resilience must be strengthened against exploitation and the underlying socio-economic and cultural issues that are conducive to trafficking.
It noted that everyone must be sensitised to the topic of human trafficking and thus push attention towards those who can make a difference in terms of changing policy and national resource management to strengthen prevention measures, improve identification of victims, increase support of survivors and end impunity.
Globally, national responses, particularly in developing states, appear to be deteriorating.
Detection rates fell by 11% in 2020 and convictions plummeted by 27%, illustrating a worldwide slowdown in the criminal justice response to trafficking.
The COVID-19 pandemic also changed the characteristics of trafficking, pushing it further underground and potentially increasing the dangers to victims by making the crime less likely to come to the attention of the authorities.
Trafficking in persons is a serious crime and a grave violation of human rights.
Every year, thousands of men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers, in their own countries and abroad. Almost every country in the world is affected by trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit or destination for victims.
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