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Hollywood actress joins UNODC for briefing on human trafficking in East Asia



Bangkok (Thailand), 30 March 2011
- UNODC Goodwill Ambassador to Combat Human Trafficking, actress Mira Sorvino took time away from filming "Trade of Innocents", a movie about young girls trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation, to learn more about human trafficking in East Asia.

On March 25, Ms. Sorvino visited UNODC Regional Centre in Bangkok and the Child Protection Development Centre (CPDC) in Pattaya.

Members of the Foreign Anti-Narcotics and Crime Community of Thailand's Working Group on Child Sex Offenders and UNODC in-house experts on human trafficking and child sexual exploitation provided Ms. Sorvino with an in-depth situation analysis on trafficking in East Asia.

Speaking at the beginning of the meeting Ms. Sorvino explained that: "I view this briefing as an opportunity for me to learn first hand about the trafficking situation in the region, so that I may be a better advocate for targeted, specific change."

Following the briefing Ms. Sorvino and UNODC staff travelled to Pattaya, a popular beach resort in Thailand, that has over recent years become notorious for its reputation with sex-tourism. There she visited the CPDC where UNODC, with the financial support of the Government of Japan, implements a project that seeks to strengthen the outreach capacity of the centre.



During her visit, she was given a tour of the centre's facilities and received a detailed presentation about children most at risk of exploitation. Ms. Sorvino went on to meet some of the victims and it was the time she spent with the children that moved her the most.

At the end of her visit she said that "it is obvious that with proper care victims have the chance to bloom and thrive. The sheer love flowing around the centre is undeniable."

She concluded her visit with an interview for the Pattaya Mail Television raising awareness about the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking and urged contributions to the Fund.



The Fund has been launched to provide humanitarian, legal and financial aid to victims of trafficking in persons through established channels of assistance such as governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations.

For more information about the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking and its Small Grants Facility for 2011 please click here