World Trafficking Day: Internet use now part of traffickers' business model - UN

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) says traffickers are now using the internet to easily gain access to customers, especially sex buyers.

The global agency cited its 2020 Global Trafficking in Persons Report, which it says confirms that internet use has been integrated into the business model of traffickers.

It was then that UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the use of "sophisticated technologies" by human traffickers to identify and exploit their victims.

These positions have been contained in separate messages to mark this year's edition of the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, which is celebrated annually on July 30.

The 2022 theme, “Use and Abuse of Technology,” emphasizes the role of technology as a tool that can enable and stop human trafficking.

Mr. Guterres lists COVID-19, other challenges

According to the UN Secretary-General, online platforms now allow traffickers to deceive and recruit people with false promises.

He said, "Human trafficking is a horrific crime and a total assault on the rights, safety and dignity of people.

"Tragically, it is also a worsening problem, particularly for women and girls, who represent the majority of detected trafficking victims worldwide."

In his address, the UN chief also highlighted that conflict, forced displacement, climate change, inequality and poverty have left millions of people in the world destitute, isolated and vulnerable.

He added that human traffickers are taking advantage of the negative effects of COVID-19 to exploit their victims.

He said: "The COVID-19 pandemic has separated children and young people from their friends and peers, forcing them to spend more time alone and online.

“Human traffickers take advantage of these vulnerabilities, using sophisticated technology to identify, track, control and exploit victims.

"Online platforms allow them to deceive and recruit people with false promises. The dark web allows them to conceal their identities while spreading their vile content, including that which sexually exploits children.

"And technology gives consumers the ability to anonymously demand increasingly dangerous and degrading content that fuels human trafficking."

Mr. Guterres also called for good governance in the digital space through a proposed Global Digital Compact.

He also encouraged investment in policies and technological solutions to support victims and locate perpetrators.

He said: "We need governments, regulators, businesses and civil society to join forces to invest in policies, laws and technological solutions that can identify and support victims, locate and punish perpetrators, and ensure a safe, open, and secure internet for all.

"As part of the 2023 Future Summit, I proposed a Global Digital Compact to rally the world around the need to bring good governance to the digital space.

"On this important day, I call on the world to give this issue the attention and action it deserves and to work to end the scourge of human trafficking once and for all."

Under the coordination of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), UNODC and its partners organized a 5-day training camp for national task forces on human trafficking. human beings.

The partners are the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Expertise France, the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policy (FIIAPP) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. man (OHCHR).< /p>

UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly in her message highlighted how traffickers use technology due to the borderless nature of information and communications technology which she says allows traffickers to expand their reach and profits with even greater impunity.

She noted that the goal was to improve cross-fertilization of information between state working groups and between NAPTIP and state working groups on collaborative efforts to combat human trafficking in the state and community level.

Speaking at the event, UNODC Country Representative Oliver Stolpe stressed the need for cooperation...