First Global Forum on Human Trafficking to Launch United Campaign to Fight the Crime
UNITED NATIONS INFORMATION SERVICE VIENNA (UNIS)
For information only - not an official document
UNIS/CP/557
12 February 2008
First Global Forum on Human Trafficking to
Launch United Campaign to Fight the Crime
Executive Director, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Antonio Maria
Costa says:
"The blood, sweat and tears of trafficking victims are on the hands of
consumers all over the world"
VIENNA, 12 February (UN Information Service) – The first-ever global
Forum to fight human trafficking will take place in Vienna from 13-15
February 2008. Bringing together 1,200 experts, legislators, law
enforcement teams, business leaders, NGO representatives and trafficking
victims from 116 countries, the Forum will provide the platform for a new
campaign of co-ordinated action to tackle the crime.
In a rallying call to raise international awareness on the eve of the
Forum, Executive Director, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC) Antonio Maria Costa, said that the crime is so widespread within
the global economic system that we have all become complicit in it: "The
blood, sweat and tears of trafficking victims are on the hands of consumers
all over the world. This is a crime that shames us all."
Thus far, lack of information and a disjointed response have enabled
human trafficking to flourish in our midst. Mr. Costa described the problem
as "a monster whose shape, size and ferocity we can only guess." It takes
many forms, always in collusion with other unlawful activities like illegal
migration, forced labour, paedophilia, child exploitation, civil conflicts
and organized prostitution. "It's time for the world to open its eyes to
this form of modern slavery", said Mr. Costa.
Forum participants will discuss practical measures to increase the
effectiveness of preventing human trafficking and bringing the perpetrators
to justice. "Moral outrage is not going to stop the traffickers"
Mr. Costa. "We need high impact law enforcement measures to make human
trafficking a riskier business."
Among the measures to be discussed are: tracking and blocking
Internet payments for human trafficking transactions; innovative technology
to pinpoint frequently used trafficking routes; help-lines to report
suspected child prostitution or sex slavery; codes of conduct to curb sex
tourism; improved controls on supply chain management; and, ways to stop
the forced removal and trade of human organs.
"If law enforcement, the private sector, NGOs, the media, and the
general public work together, we can fight back", said Mr. Costa. "Massive
campaigns have been waged against the trade in blood diamonds, fur, and
illegal timber. Efforts to stop the trade in people lag behind."
The Vienna Forum to Fight Human Trafficking will focus on the three
key elements of human trafficking – its root causes, its social and
economic impact, and the actions needed to eradicate it:
Root causes: the Forum will analyse the "push and pull" factors which
make people vulnerable to human trafficking, like poverty, gender-based
violence, ethnic, racial and religious marginalization, conflict
situations, and discrimination.
Impact: the Forum will explore the impact of human trafficking on the
lives of individuals and their communities including the violence to which
they are often subjected, threats to health such as HIV/AIDS, psychological
and emotional trauma and social stigmatization.
Actions to eradicate human trafficking: the Forum will push for the
universal ratification of the UN anti-trafficking Protocol that entered
into force in December 2005. This will include working to make sure that
the necessary laws are in place, that law enforcement officials are aware
of their responsibilities to prosecute traffickers, and that the punishment
fits the crime.
The Vienna Forum is being convened by the United Nations Global
Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT) which was established in
recognition of the fact that human trafficking takes many forms and that a
coordinated and united approach is required. UN.GIFT was launched in March
2007 by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) together with
the International Labour Organization (ILO); the International Organization
for Migration (IOM); the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF); the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) and the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Celebrities and public figures from across the world – including
Suzanne Mubarak, the First Lady of Egypt; Emma Thompson, the Oscar-winning
British actress; and Ricky Martin, Grammy Award-winning Puerto Rican pop
star - will be participating in the Forum.
Artists against trafficking
A unique art installation that maps the journey of a victim of human
trafficking will be unveiled in Vienna at the start of the Forum. "The
Journey", which is being championed by Emma Thompson, will use seven
transport containers to illustrate the brutal and harrowing experiences of
women sold into the sex trade. A Film Forum on human trafficking, open to
the public, will feature 58 films and documentaries on the theme "Let us
not close our eyes".
A crime that shames us all
The true extent of human trafficking remains unknown, but the
evidence shows that there are millions of victims across every region of
the world, in an industry generating tens of billions of dollars each year.
Human trafficking takes many different forms: boys or girls coerced into
illicit adoption, begging, sexual exploitation or being child soldiers;
women and girls trafficked for exploitation – forced into domestic labour,
marriage or the sex trade; men, trapped by debt, coerced into working in
mines, plantations, or sweatshops.
In many countries, either the necessary laws to tackle human
trafficking are not in place, or they are not properly enforced. There is
widespread ignorance of the crime, lack of policy and capacity to respond,
and limited international cooperation.
* *** *
For further information, including the programme of
the Forum, please
visit www.ungift.org
The latest news releases, images and video content will be available
on this website throughout the Forum.
Information Officers
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
Walter Kemp
Tel.: (+43-1) 260 605629
Email:
walter.kemp@
International Labour Organization
Houtan Homayounpour
Tel.: (+41) 79 593 1558
Email:
g12dcomm@ilo.
International Organization for Migration
Chris Lom
Tel.: (+66) 819 275 215
Tel.:(+43) 650 261 8782 (from 11th Feb)
Email: clom@iom.int
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Yvon Edoumou
Tel.: (+41) 788 263 552
Email:
yedoumou@ohchr.
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Blanca Tapia
Tel.: (+43) 664 859 08 04
Email:
blanca.tapia@
United Nations Children's Fund
Geoff Keele
Tel.: (+1-212) 326 7583
Email:
gkeele@unicef.
United Nations Information Service Vienna (UNIS
Vienna)
P.O.Box 500
1400 Vienna
Austria
Tel.: (+43-1) 26060-4666
Fax: (+43-1) 26060-7-5899
Email:
unis@unvienna.
Website:
http://www.unis.
--
Elisabeth Riedl
WFWP Austria Secretary
WFWPI Europe Secy. Gen.
UN Representative Vienna
www.womenaspeacemak
Last edited: 13.2.2008