Director-General/Executive Director
Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a pleasure to join you today.
“When you are trafficked, whether as a child, for sex or labour exploitation, you become objectified. You are a commodity for others who benefit from you financially.”
Those are the words of Kendall Alaimo, an American trafficking survivor who lost her childhood to sex trafficking and a decade of her young adulthood.
It is not an exaggeration to say that the risks of human trafficking are growing every day.
Political instability, economic turmoil, and misuse of technology constantly create new challenges, meaning we must work harder to stay ahead of the perpetrators and protect vulnerable people.
We are here today to examine how we can coordinate our efforts so that the message to human traffickers is loud and clear: No Future for Trafficking.
The Vienna Conference on Combatting Human Trafficking, which is held annually in tandem with the EU’s Anti-Trafficking Day, is testimony to the steadfast commitment of the Austrian authorities to tackle this global scorge.
As digital technology becomes more sophisticated and widespread, traffickers are using social media platforms to identify and attract their victims. In a sample of cases reviewed by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in 2020, more than 50 percent of victims identified had been trafficked through social media channels.
We need to raise awareness among social media users.
We need to equip responders with the knowledge, skills, and software to tackle the threat posed by cyber-enabled trafficking.
The private sector -- especially social media platforms, internet service providers, and technology companies -- must do more.
At UNODC we know that in the wake of sudden disasters or conflicts, syndicates of traffickers and smugglers thrive.
Our job is to help protect people in such areas.
Victims may be enticed into undertaking long and hazardous journeys, or pressured into signing contracts from which there is no escape. They are exploited sexually and as labourers, or forced into begging.
We see this most notably in Afghanistan, Syria and the Sahel.
UNODC is still present in Afghanistan. We have an expanding programme in Iraq. And we work in Jordan and Lebanon to identify and protect victims of trafficking among Syrian refugees.
We are also engaged with partners at the national and international levels to address the threats to Ukrainian refugees.
Today, the world is experiencing the highest number of violent conflicts since 1945. Recent research shows that human trafficking was present in 90 percent of the 171 global wars and conflicts that broke out between 1989 and 2016.
UNODC supports countries to develop national action plans, strategies and legislation to counter trafficking based on prevention, prosecution and protection.
This includes training people working in the criminal justice sector, from police officers to Judges.
Despite COVID restrictions, last year we were able to reach more than 60 countries and support their efforts to counter human trafficking and migrant smuggling.
In the early days of the pandemic, UNODC warned that lockdowns exposed victims of trafficking to further exploitation. Children were particularly vulnerable and there were fears that online trafficking increased.
UNODC will publish its global report on trafficking in persons at the end of this year. The report indicates that our fears were real.
Equally important is to hit the traffickers hard and where it hurts most – their finances.
For example, UNODC is currently working on a regional study to expose how financial flows are linked with trafficked people and smuggled migrants coming from Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Females represent half of all trafficking victims globally. Seventy percent of trafficked women, and 25 percent of girls, are sexually exploited.
I strongly believe in the importance of providing education and life skills for girls, to protect and empower them throughout their lives.
I also believe in the role of civil society to support trafficking victims, not only with shelter and food but also education, skills development and reintegration.
We support victims around the world through the ‘United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking Persons, Especially Women and Children”.
To this day the Fund has reached over 45,000 victims in more than 60 countries with over 150 grants implemented by NGO and grassroots organizations.
And our Blue Heart Campaign helps us to raise global awareness about human trafficking and its impact on people and society.
We also strive to provide platforms at the highest level of the United Nations, to give survivors like Kendal Alaimo a voice, and the opportunity to influence policy.
As the world picks itself up from the many restrictions imposed by the COVID pandemic and attention is diverted by financial uncertainty, and political and environmental emergencies, the situation is ripe for exploitation.
To be effective, anti-trafficking stakeholders must work together in cooperation and coordination, building on all that has been learnt in the past, so that future efforts may have greater, more lasting impact.
This conference is an important step along that road. I wish it every success.
Thank you.