human trafficking

Refugee women show their support for UNHCR's anti-trafficking campaign at Wad Sharife camp in east Sudan. (24 July 2018)
© UNHCR/Bahia Egeh

Conflict, climate change among factors that increase ‘desperation that enables human trafficking to flourish’, says UN chief

30 July 2019
Human Rights

To mark the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has stressed that “human trafficking is a heinous crime that affects every region of the world” – especially women and children.

The lean season in South Sudan has left many families with little food and mothers are scrambling to survive, Aweil, South Sudan, January 2018.
FAO/Stefanie Glinski

News in Brief 18 July 2019

18 July 2019
News in Brief
  • UN independent experts urge Italy to stop 'criminalising' migrant rescues 
  • In Myanmar, girls trafficked abroad for sex work, says UN independent expert
Audio -
3’58”
Two girls apply make-up at Kandapara, a brothel in the city of Tangail, Bangladesh. A man offered them to find them jobs, but instead sold them to Kandapara. (2009)
© UNICEF/UNI91025/Noorani

Human trafficking cases hit a 13-year record high, new UN report shows

29 January 2019
Law and Crime Prevention

The latest Global Report On Trafficking In Persons, released on Tuesday by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) at UN headquarters in New York, shows a record-high number of cases detected during 2016, but also the largest recorded conviction rate of traffickers.

Children are frequently the victims of human trafficking.
UNODC/Alessandro Scotti

News in Brief 7 January 2019

7 January 2019
News in Brief
  • Upsurge in human trafficking, says new report
  • UN Refugee Agency to assess Saudi woman in Bangkok
  • ‘Environmentally-displaced’ people becoming a bigger factor
Audio -
3'34"
Sofia, Bulgaria. NGO Animus Crises Center and Shelter for Victims of Human Trafficking and Domestic Violence.
UNODC/Alessandro Scotti

Rising human trafficking takes on ‘horrific dimensions’: almost a third of victims are children

7 January 2019
Human Rights

A new UN report published on Monday shows that human trafficking is on the rise and taking on “horrific dimensions”, with sexual exploitation of victims the main driver. Children now account for 30 per cent of those being trafficked, and far more girls are detected than boys.