WUNRN
UNODC – UN Office of Drugs & Crime – Full 90-Page 2014 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT:
https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/glotip/GLOTIP_2014_full_report.pdf
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=49423#.VJXsBPVsB
2014 UNODC TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT – WOMEN & GIRLS 70% OF
VICTIMS WORLDWIDE – 1 IN 3 IS A CHILD
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 – 24 November 2014.
New UN report says trafficking in children on the rise.
Photo: UNODC
“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.