GA/11219
Sixty-sixth General Assembly
Interactive Thematic Debate
AM & PM Meetings
Voluntary Trust Fund Needs Strong, Continued Support, Assembly President Says as Participants Hear from Experts, Former Victims
Top United Nations officials pressed Governments, the private sector and civil society to take coordinated and consistent measures in combating human trafficking, as they gathered today for a General Assembly interactive dialogue on defeating a scourge that had trapped an estimated 2.4 million people worldwide.
During the one-day dialogue, organized with the Group of Friends against Human Trafficking and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), speakers addressed the challenges of implementing the 2010 Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, and examined prevention efforts. The event featured two panel discussions, on “Protecting the Victims of Trafficking”, and “Assistance to the Victims of Trafficking”.
“We need everyone to win this battle,” said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in opening remarks. National responses must be aligned with international human rights standards, he emphasized. “Where traffickers are using threats and weapons, we must respond with laws and prosecutions,” he said, urging States to adhere to the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.
Further, Governments must take a broad view of the factors that fed trafficking, he said, pointing out that only the most abject poverty could force a family to sell a child. People in such desperate conditions needed social protections, and must be brought into discussions on improving the situation. Labour and migration policies must be coordinated and the gap between commitment and action closed, he said, encouraging all countries to contribute to the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Human Trafficking, which provided legal and financial aid to victims. Such crimes were often described as unthinkable and unspeakable, he noted. “We must make them unprofitable and untenable.”
Echoing that call, General Assembly President Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser (Qatar) said the Fund needed strong and continued support, as the money received thus far was not enough. “Children born today — particularly girls — should not have to face the possibility of being forced into this modern form of slavery,” he stressed, expressing hope that today’s meeting would provide a solid foundation for the review of progress on the Global Plan of Action’s implementation, scheduled for 2013.
“The unfortunate reality is that violence against women and girls continues to be one of the most widespread violations of human rights,” said Deara Percaya ( Indonesia), speaking on behalf of the President of the Economic and Social Council. International and regional legal instruments had clarified States’ obligations to eradicate and punish violence against women, but the problem called for stronger political commitment and greater resources.
Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), noted that criminals were earning $32 billion a year running trafficking operations, and 17 per cent of those trafficked each year had been targeted for forced labour, and 80 per cent for sexual exploitation. Children, women, migrants and refugees were particularly vulnerable, he said, adding that there must be a meaningful response, coordinated at all levels and based on the Palermo Convention on Transnational Organized Crime. Progressive law enforcement must also be balanced with activities to combat the market forces driving trafficking in destination countries, he added.
Rounding out the opening ceremony, Mira Sorvino, United Nations Goodwill Ambassador against Human Trafficking, pointed out that where strong legislation existed, it often was not implemented. There was also a need to harmonize central Government policies with local ones. In the United States, for example, state legislation lagged sorely behind federal law, as evidenced by the fact that only 10 per cent of police stations had any protocol for dealing with trafficking. Globally, confusion abounded over what constituted trafficking, she noted.
During the morning panel discussion, delegates from origin, transit and destination countries outlined national efforts to combat human trafficking, underlining that it was a crime of such magnitude that it could not be tackled solely at the national or regional levels. Governments faced several challenges, including a lack of reliable data and weak State capacity, as well as difficulty in aligning national laws with international legal norms and in creating synergies between States and with international organizations.
Speakers in the afternoon panel focused on the role of Governments, international organizations, the private sector and civil society. Several countries announced new donations to the Trust Fund, including the Russian Federation ($30,000) and Luxembourg ($40,000). Australia’s representative announced an initial grant of $200,000 while reporting on the 2011 visit to his country by the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, during which the Government had learned about areas needing improvement.