Human trafficking and migrant smuggling are multi-billion-dollar businesses that have changed dramatically in recent years, driven by global challenges such as war, large migration and refugee flows, cybercrime, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Against this backdrop, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is launching a global Action against Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling.
“Over the past two decades, there was relative optimism that we could win the fight against trafficking and smuggling globally,” said Ilias Chatzis, Chief of the UNODC Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Section. “Then things changed drastically. Progress achieved is today under threat.”
The involvement of organized crime and the rapid evolution of digital technologies have exacerbated the situation. Online technologies are regularly abused to exploit trafficking victims or advertise migrant smuggling services.