Latin America and Caribbean to discuss human trafficking at UN meeting

Latin American and Caribbean countries will discuss how to combat the practice of trafficking in people later this week during a three-day conference organized by the United Nations.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has arranged the summit, to be held in Bogotá from Wednesday, through its country offices in Colombia and Ecuador as it fights the disturbing rise in human trafficking in the region.

The conference is expected to focus on finding ways to strengthen regional collaboration and developing agreements for better international judicial and police cooperation, according to a statement issued today by the UN Information Service in Vienna.

UNODC says indicators show that international organized crime, especially drug trafficking, arms trafficking and money laundering, is closely linked to trafficking in people. The reasons for trafficking can vary from forced labour to sexual exploitation.

The summit will be attended by experts and government officials from across Latin America and the Caribbean, as well government officials from Sweden and the Czech Republic, UNODC officials from Africa and Asia, the International Organization for Migration and academics in the field.