NEW YORK, JANUARY 4 – The latest UNODC Report on human trafficking confirms its dramatic impact on the most vulnerable and marginalized. The role of governments, international and regional organizations is key in fighting it and must be complemented by a greater involvement of civil society and the private sector, the Italian Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nation in New York, Ambassador Stefano Stefanile said today.
Stefanile spoke at a briefing for New York-based Permanent Missions and other stakeholders on the new Global Report on Trafficking in Persons organized by UNODC. Stefanile noted that the Report’s findings confirm the gravity of the phenomenon: “It is therefore necessary to intensify national and international efforts towards an increasingly effective implementation of the 2000 Protocol on Trafficking in Persons, which integrates the Palermo Convention on Transnational Organized Crime”.
According to Italy – added Stefanile – the approach must be systemic and oriented not only to the prevention and counteraction of this particularly odious form of crime, but also to the social protection of victims and their human rights: “As highlighted in the Report, the role of governments and international and regional organizations remains central, but it must be complemented by the contribution of civil society and the private sector, to strengthen the mechanisms of assistance to victims, increase the integrity of production chains and break the networks of recruitment and online exploitation”.
Italy – concluded the Ambassador – will continue to provide its active contribution in this direction, also in view of the discussion in the General Assembly, in the second part of this year, on the results and prospects of the 2010 UN Global Plan against Trafficking in Persons.
The UNODC report is produced every two years to inform an effective response to human trafficking and place it within the context of the UN Sustainable Development Agenda. The latest edition covers data from the world’s largest database on trafficking victims, compiling figures from official sources across 148 countries. It also analyses 489 court cases from 71 different countries, providing more qualitative information on the perpetrators and the characteristics of this crime. (@OnuItalia)