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Walk against human trafficking in Panama

Panama, 16 September 2019. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for Central America and the Caribbean (UNODC ROPAN) participated in the walk organized as part of the Blue Heart campaign against human trafficking.

The Blue Heart against Trafficking in Persons campaign is a global United Nations campaign launched in Vienna, Austria, in 2008. Countries join and implement it through the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Panama adopted this campaign in 2014 through the National Commission against Trafficking in Persons.
The aim of this global movement is to raise awareness of this crime and its impact on society.
September is the designated month against human trafficking and the walk was also attended by state bodies such as the security agencies and the Ministry of Public Security, whose members carried banners alluding to the fight against human trafficking.
Prior to the walk, participants signed a poster as a sign of commitment to the fight against human trafficking.

The emblem that represents the Blue Heart campaign symbolizes the sadness of those who are victims of trafficking, the cold heart of traffickers and is the color of the United Nations.
According to the 2018 World Report on Trafficking in Persons, 94% of the victims of this crime are trafficked for sexual exploitation and are women, both adults and girls.
More than half of the victims of trafficking for forced labour are adult men. The document states that social and economic problems make people more vulnerable to the deceptive promises of traffickers.


In Central America and the Caribbean more than 50% of the victims of this crime are girls.