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UN
Forum Aims to End Trafficking |
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The first major United Nations
conference on the growing problem of human trafficking has opened in Vienna. More than 1,000 delegates from over 100 countries
are attending the forum to discuss solutions, including techniques to monitor
criminal gangs. There are believed to be millions of
victims of trafficking worldwide - in a multi-billion dollar industry. UN officials say human trafficking is the hidden
crime of globalisation and nothing short of modern day slavery. International celebrities among the
delegates included British actress Emma Thompson, Latin pop star Ricky Martin
and Egypt's First Lady Suzanne Mubarak. The head of the UN Office on Drugs and
Crime, Antonio Maria Costa welcomed their support in tackling a problem that
affects both wealthy and developing countries. He compared the three-day conference, that
ends on Friday, to something between the World Economic Forum at Davos and
the infamous 1960s music festival, Woodstock. "Government statements, expert
discussions, along with music, speeches, videos, films and art to inspire us
all. I hope, by the end of the forum, a roadmap will be developed to guide us
forward," he said. "This is not an inter-governmental
conference, nor is it a talk shop. Think of it more as a rally. We march
together." He said that "200 years after the end
of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, we have the obligation to fight a crime
that has no place in the 21st Century". "Let's call it what it is: modern
slavery," he said. Booming business The UN estimates that about 2.5 million
people are involved in forced labour as a result of trafficking. It says the majority of victims are between
the ages of 18 and 24 years and about 1.2 million children are trafficked
each year. Ursula Plassnik, Austrian Federal Minister
for European and International Affairs, said national action plans and
regional international co-operation was needed. She said human trafficking had become a
"booming organised crime" with annual profits of up to $32bn (21bn
euros; £16bn) on a global scale. "It is thus considered an even more
lucrative business than trafficking of weapons," she said. Protocol Pop star Ricky Martin, who set up the Ricky
Martin Foundation for children, told delegates that when he heard about the
situation, he had to act. "I witnessed the horrors of human
trafficking on a trip to India, where I saved three little girls from the streets
of Calcutta," he said. "You know what was going on and if you
won't do anything, you allow it to happen." Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson told
the forum the story of a Moldovan woman who was trafficked to the UK and
forced to work as a prostitute. The UN Global Initiative to Fight Human
Trafficking was launched by the UN in March 2007. Forum organisers hope more countries will be encouraged to ratify a UN protocol on human trafficking and to develop laws to fight the crime. Other issues on the agenda include finding ways of disrupting internet payments for sex services on the web. |
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