<h4 id="story-headline">On World Day, UN urges stronger action to shield millions from human trafficking</h4><div id="PhotoHolder3"><a rel="gallery-default" href="http://static.un.org/News/dh/photos/large/2014/March/03-21-2014Asylum_Se... id="PhotoCrop" class="lightbox" title="Young girls attending a school at the Shagarab Refugee camp in eastern Sudan where thousands of asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants are at risk of being trafficked every year. Photo: UNHCR"><img style="margin-top: -19px;" src="http://static.un.org/News/dh/photos/large/2014/March/03-21-2014Asylum_Se... title="Young girls attending a school at the Shagarab Refugee camp in eastern Sudan where thousands of asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants are at risk of being trafficked every year. Photo: UNHCR" border="1"></a><p class="phtocaption">Young
girls attending a school at the Shagarab Refugee camp in eastern Sudan
where thousands of asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants are at risk of
being trafficked every year. Photo: UNHCR</p></div>
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<p> <a href="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=54591#">Source:UN News<br></a></p>
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29 July 2016 – The international community must do more to end the
inhumane practice of human trafficking and protect migrants and refugees
– particularly young people, women and children – from those who
attempt to exploit their opportunity for a better future, United Nations
<a href="http://www.un.org/sg/">Secretary-General</a> Ban Ki-moon said today, urging all nations to recognize their responsibility in combating the global scourge. </p>

<p>“All over the world, tens of millions of people are desperately
seeking refuge, many of them far from home and even farther from safety.
Migrants and refugees face imposing physical obstacles and bureaucratic
barriers. Sadly, they are also vulnerable to human rights violations
and exploitation by human traffickers,” said Mr. Ban in a <a href="http://www.un.org/en/events/humantrafficking/2016/sgmessage.shtml">messa... to mark the World Day against Trafficking in Persons. </p>

<p>“We must govern migration in a safe and rights-based way, create
sufficient and accessible pathways for the entry of migrants and
refugees, and ultimately tackle the root causes of the conflicts –
extreme poverty, environmental degradation and other crises which force
people across borders, seas and deserts,” he added. </p>

<p>Mr. Ban noted that such issues will be central to the UN Summit on <a href="http://refugeesmigrants.un.org/">refugees and migrants</a>,
to be held in New York on 19 September. The meeting aims, among other
goals, to win renewed commitment for intensified efforts to combat human
trafficking and smuggling of migrants and refugees, ensure protection
and assistance for the victims of trafficking and of abusive smuggling,
as well as for all those who suffer human rights violations and abuse in
the course of large movements, and also to promote respect for
international law, standards and frameworks. </p>

<p>“I call on every nation – whether country of origin, transit or
destination – to recognize our shared responsibility. As a first step,
we need a strong legal basis for action. I encourage all States to adopt
and implement the <a href="https://www.unodc.org/unodc/treaties/CTOC/">UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime</a> and its protocol on human trafficking as well as all core international human rights instruments,” the Secretary-General said. </p>

<p>In 2013, the UN General Assembly designated July 30 as the <a href="http://www.un.org/en/events/humantrafficking/index.shtml">World Day</a> to “raise awareness of the situation of victims of human trafficking and for the promotion and protection of their rights.” </p>

<p>“On this World Day against Human Trafficking, I urge everyone to
recommit to protect, respect and fulfil the human rights of all migrants
and refugees. Creating and supporting well-governed, safe and human
rights-based migration and asylum procedures will be an important step
towards ending the abhorrent practice of profiting from human despair
and misery,” the UN chief said in his message. </p>

<div class="carousel-inner" style="margin-bottom:1.5em;">
<div class="item"> <a rel="gallery-default" href="http://www.un.org/News/dh/photos/large/2015/March/Bengali-woman_Fishing-... class="lightbox" title="A young woman from a fishing community in West Bengal in eastern India. She comes from a village that is known for high levels of trafficking of women and girls to other major cities. Photo: UN Women/Anindit Roy-Chowdhury"><img src="http://www.un.org/News/dh/photos/large/2015/March/Bengali-woman_Fishing-... alt=""></a>
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<p>A young woman from a fishing community in West Bengal in
eastern India. She comes from a village that is known for high levels of
trafficking of women and girls to other major cities. Photo: UN
Women/Anindit Roy-Chowdhury</p>
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<p>“Human traffickers prey on the most desperate and vulnerable. To end
this inhumane practice, we must do more to shield migrants and refugees –
and particularly young people, women and children – from those who
would exploit their yearnings for a better, safer and more dignified
future,” he added. </p>

<p>In another message on the Day, Yury Fedotov, the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (<a href="http://www.unodc.org/unodc/">UNODC</a>),
highlighted that while the international community struggles with what
Mr. Ban has called the biggest refugee and migration crisis since World
War II, human traffickers and migrant smugglers are taking advantage of
misery to turn a profit. </p>

<p>“Criminals prey on people in need and without support, and they see
migrants, especially children, as easy targets for exploitation,
violence and abuse,” <a href="http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/press/releases/2016/July/statement-on-worl... Mr. Fedotov. </p>

<p>“Armed conflicts and humanitarian crises expose those caught in the
crossfire to increased risk of being trafficked for sexual exploitation,
forced labour, organ removal, servitude and other forms of
exploitation,” he added. </p>

<p>The Executive Director noted that while not all migrants are
vulnerable to being trafficking, the forthcoming UNODC Global Report on
Trafficking in Persons 2016 identified a clear pattern linking
undocumented migration to trafficking in persons. </p>

<p>Certain migration flows appear particularly vulnerable to trafficking
in persons. For example, citizens from Honduras, Guatemala and El
Salvador represent about 20 per cent of the victims detected in the
United States, while the legal migration flows from these countries
represent about 5 per cent of the total, he said. </p>

<p>Similar patterns are found in Western Europe, where citizens from
South Eastern Europe comprise a large share of detected victims. </p>

<p>The UNODC report, which will be released later this year, further
highlights the links between human trafficking and refugee flows from
countries including Syria and Eritrea, and involving Rohingya refugees
from Myanmar and Bangladesh. </p>

<p>“We clearly need to do more to stop human traffickers as part of
coordinated and comprehensive responses to the refugee crisis and
continuing migration challenges we are facing around the world,” Mr.
Fedotov said, calling on governments to ratify and effectively implement
the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its
Protocols on trafficking and migrant smuggling, to assist and protect
victims and the rights of smuggled migrants, and promote the
international cooperation needed to bring criminals to justice. </p>

<p>“By strengthening action under the Protocols, we can reinforce
protection for vulnerable children, women, and men, and help promote the
safety and dignity of refugees and migrants at all stages of their
journey,” he emphasized. <br></p><p>Copyright mediaforfreedom.com<br></p>

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