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The following is the speech of the UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohamed at the high-level meeting of the Third Evaluation Conference of the UN Global Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking held today:

I thank the President of the General Assembly for convening this meeting on the United Nations Global Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking.

I congratulate the Member States for successfully negotiating the political declaration adopted before today’s meeting. As economic difficulties, conflicts, health and climate emergencies are increasing and increasing the vulnerability of trafficking, exploitation and abuse, it is more necessary than ever to update and revitalize global operations to combat this crime.

The global crisis, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, has hindered progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the important goal of preventing and combating all forms of human trafficking. This increases the suffering of the victims. Trafficking survivors in many countries face greater difficulties in obtaining shelter, food, medical care, legal aid and other basic services.

At the same time, given the travel and movement restrictions associated with the pandemic, law enforcement authorities face more challenges in detecting human trafficking. Human trafficking is a crime that is usually hidden from people’s sight. It has further retreated into the shadow of our global economy and the dark corners of the Internet. Information and communication technologies, which have also become increasingly important in the pandemic, are being abused by traffickers to promote the recruitment, control and exploitation of victims.

Women and girls have become disproportionate targets of traffickers and are forced to marry, including child marriage, as well as domestic servitude and forced labor. The latest “Global Human Trafficking Report” from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) shows that about one-third of all victims found are children, and this proportion has tripled in the past 15 years. More and more children are being targeted by traffickers who use social media to recruit new victims and profit from the demand for child sexual exploitation materials.

Refugees and migrants are particularly vulnerable to traffickers. They may be abused and exploited due to forced labor, sexual exploitation, domestic slavery and even organ removal. According to the UNODC Global Report, in most parts of the world, a large proportion of victims of abuse are immigrants.

Due to the lack of an appropriate framework and reporting mechanism to address this complex issue, trafficking in global supply chains continues to go undetected and with impunity. When human trafficking cases are discovered, the victims themselves often face punishment. Although many countries now recognize that victims have the right to assistance, protection and effective remedies, they may also punish acts committed as a result of being trafficked.

In order to end this suffering and injustice, we need to support all countries to establish strong legal institutions and frameworks to deal with this crime. Survivors should be at the core of policies to prevent and combat human trafficking, bring perpetrators to justice, and provide effective remedies, including compensation.

We now have powerful tools for international cooperation in preventing and ending human trafficking. The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime has been almost universally ratified, and now 178 countries have acceded to its supplementary human trafficking protocol.

The Global Action Plan of the General Assembly adopted in 2010 played a decisive role in promoting the implementation of the Protocol. The biennial "Global Human Trafficking Report" has become a major resource on global human trafficking trends and patterns. The action plan also established the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking and strengthened the Inter-Agency Coordination Group for Combating Human Trafficking, which now brings together 30 United Nations agencies and regional organizations. Thanks to the Protocol and the Action Plan, almost all States parties have enacted national legislation criminalizing trafficking in persons.

However, the actual response to human trafficking still varies widely. We need to increase technical assistance and support to strengthen joint action. Better response measures require enhanced cooperation among member states in information sharing and joint criminal justice operations.

According to the commitments under the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, more needs to be done to protect vulnerable migrants from human trafficking. We need to strengthen coordination between United Nations entities and other entities to detect and respond to this crime in emergencies and humanitarian crises. We also need to increase the involvement of the private sector so that companies can manage their procurement processes in an ethical and transparent manner. The United Nations has taken action to prevent and address the risks of human trafficking in our own procurement process.

Finally, we need to develop and promote partnerships with civil society. Survivor-led organizations can support the transition to a comprehensive anti-trafficking response and victim support and services.

Today’s assessment meeting of the General Assembly can emphasize the need to strengthen cooperation and take action to combat human trafficking. The recently launched "Organized Crime Convention" and "Trafficking Protocol" peer review procedures provide ways to further improve and inform policy.

At this critical moment, the "Political Declaration" helps to generate the necessary momentum to take decisive action against this crime. I urge Member States to make the most of this opportunity to help us get back on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of the Decade of Action and work together to end the scourge of trafficking once and for all.

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