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Leave No Child Behind in the Fight Against Human Trafficking

Globally, one in three victims of human trafficking is a child, and the majority of these trafficked children are girls.

According to the by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (), children are twice as likely as adults to face violence during trafficking.

The proliferation of online platforms poses additional risks, as children often connect to these sites without adequate safeguards.

Children are subjected to various forms of trafficking, including forced labour, crime, begging, illegal adoption, sexual abuse and the online dissemination of abusive images, and some are also recruited into armed groups.

The reasons for child trafficking are also numerous. Some of the most prominent are: poverty, insufficient support for unaccompanied minors in the face of increasing migration and refugee flows, armed conflicts, dysfunctional families, and lack of parental care.

To date, the fight against child trafficking has not been effective. There is an urgent need to take comprehensive measures to protect vulnerable groups and help child victims. This requires joint efforts at national and international level.

States must prioritize the protection of children, strengthen laws, improve law enforcement and provide more resources to combat child trafficking.

Preventive measures should focus on addressing root causes such as poverty and inequality. Particular attention should be paid to the trafficking of unaccompanied refugee minors. It is important to strengthen child protection networks and adapt criminal law to better meet the needs of children.

This year, we observe the 10th World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. This year¡¯s focuses on raising awareness of the causes and vulnerabilities associated with child trafficking. It emphasizes the critical need for dedicated support for child victims of trafficking and urges the public and policymakers to address the current shortcomings and accelerate action to #EndHumanTrafficking.

How you can get involved

• Share, like and comment on the for the World Day #EndHumanTrafficking
• , which provides on-the-ground assistance and protection to victims of trafficking.
• Join the Blue Heart Community or see more ideas on .
• Enter the .

Sexual exploitation, forced labour, slavery¡­

Trafficking in persons is a serious crime and a grave violation of human rights. Every year, thousands of men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers, in their own countries and abroad. Almost every country in the world is affected by trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit or destination for victims. UNODC, as guardian of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and the Protocols thereto, assists States in their efforts to implement the  (Trafficking in Persons Protocol).

The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons defines Trafficking in Persons as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.

The World Day against Trafficking in Persons was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution .