UN declares human trafficking a global problem

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime published today its first global report on human trafficking, with the conclusion that this is a global problem leaving virtually no country untouched.
“It is extremely difficult to establish how many victims there are world-wide as the level of reporting varies considerably, but the number certainly runs into millions,” said UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa. “It is difficult to name a country that is not affected in some way.”
The report lists 127 countries of origin, 98 transit countries and 137 destination countries for victims of human trafficking, although some countries will act in more than one role, such as Nigeria which is a destination, transit and origin country, as well as a target for internal trafficking.
The UNODC said that lack of data on the crime was a major problem in developing adequate strategies to fight human trafficking.
“Our experience in compiling this report has been that some countries of destination have great difficulty in acknowledging the level of trafficking within and across their borders,” Mr Costa said.
“Efforts to counter trafficking have so far been uncoordinated and inefficient. The lack of systematic reporting by authorities is a real problem. Governments need to try harder.”
The UNODC challenged governments to reduce demand for trafficked people, to prosecute the traffickers and to protect the victims.