Trafficking in children on the rise, says new UN report
24 November 2014 – One in three known victims of human trafficking is a child, and girls and women are particularly
targeted and forced into “modern slavery,” according to the 2014 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, released today
by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna.
“Unfortunately, the report shows there is no place in the world where children, women and men are safe from human
trafficking,” said UNODC Executive Director, Yury Fedotov.
“Official data reported to UNODC by national authorities represent only what has been detected. It is very clear that
the scale of modern-day slavery is far worse,” he added.
The situation is particularly bad for girls and women. According to the report report, girls make up 2 out of every 3 child victims. And together with women, they account for 70 per cent of overall
trafficking victims worldwide.
In some regions – such as Africa and the Middle East – child trafficking is a major concern, with children constituting
62 per cent of victims.
Trafficking for forced labour – including in the manufacturing and construction sectors, domestic work and textile
production – has also increased steadily in the past five years. About 35 per cent of the detected victims of
trafficking for forced labour are female.
However, no country is immune – there are at least 152 countries of origin and 124 countries of destination affected by
trafficking in persons, and over 510 trafficking flows criss-crossing the world.
“This needs to change,” Mr. Fedotov stressed.
“Every country needs to adopt the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and the protocol and commit
themselves to the full implementation of their provisions,” he added.
Often times, however, trafficking mostly occurs within national borders or within the same region, with transcontinental
trafficking mainly affecting rich countries.
“Even if most countries criminalize trafficking, many people live in countries with laws which are not in compliance
with international standards that would afford them full protection, such as the Trafficking in Persons Protocol.” Mr.
Fedotov said.
There are, however, regional variations as to why people are trafficked in the first place. For example, victims in
Europe and Central Asia are mostly trafficked for sexual exploitation, whereas in East Asia and the Pacific forced
labour drives the market. In the Americas, the two types are detected in almost equal measure.
The report found that most trafficking flows are interregional, and more than 6 out of 10 victims have been trafficked
across at least one national border. The vast majority of convicted traffickers – 72 per cent – are male and citizens of
the country in which they operate.
The report also highlighted that impunity remains a serious problem: 40 per cent of countries recorded few or no
convictions, and over the past 10 years there has been no discernible increase in the global criminal justice response
to this crime, leaving a significant portion of the population vulnerable to offenders.
ENDS