General Assembly Adopts Political Declaration Reaffirming Global Resolve to End Human Trafficking, ‘One of Humanity’s Gravest Crimes’
With human trafficking rapidly expanding and growing more technologically sophisticated, the General Assembly today adopted a sweeping Political Declaration reaffirming global resolve to end what top UN officials call "one of humanity’s gravest crimes".
Adopting the resolution titled "2025 Political Declaration on the Implementation of the United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons" (document A/80/L.8) — which contained the Declaration in its annex — the Assembly reiterated strong condemnation of trafficking in persons, which it said constitutes a serious crime and a grave offence to dignity.
The 193-member organ committed to intensifying efforts to eliminate the demand that fosters trafficking, especially of women and children.
"Throughout history, humanity’s darkest impulse has been the exploitation of others for profit or power, and though societies have advanced, this impulse has not disappeared," Assembly President Annalena Baerbock (Germany) told the Hall.
This crime now appears under new names — human trafficking, sexual exploitation, forced labour, and child and forced marriage — and increasingly enabled by digital tools. "We are not talking about victims, we are talking about survivors — heroes — the strongest fighters for human rights," she said.
Focusing on solutions, she stressed the need for strong, enforced and comprehensive legislation, especially as women and girls make up 61 per cent of victims, and forced labour now accounts for 42 per cent of cases while only "17 per cent of convictions" address it. "We cannot turn a blind eye," she stressed.
Safe migration pathways are essential, as migrant workers are "three times more likely to be exploited", and recent responses to the Ukraine crisis showed how protection policies can reduce trafficking risks, she continued.
She urged Member States to also confront the "new digital frontier", where traffickers use artificial intelligence (AI), encrypted platforms and deepfakes, and emphasized the need to tackle the causes of trafficking such as poverty and war. "Desperate people are faced with desperate choices, and vulnerable people are preyed upon," she stressed.
Trafficking ‘Growing and Evolving’, Yet Convictions of Perpetrators ‘Shockingly Low’
"We must acknowledge that trafficking in persons is growing and evolving", said Guy Ryder, Under-Secretary-General for Policy, speaking on behalf of Secretary-General António Guterres. Continued discrimination, expanding conflicts, more frequent climate disasters and other threats are being exploited by human traffickers who use new technologies, including weaponized AI, to recruit and transport their victims.
"The number of convictions for these crimes remain shockingly low [...] and too often, victims themselves are punished for acts committed under coercion, a clear violation of the principle of non-punishment," he stressed. Against that backdrop, he urged a renewed focus on several key areas: Member States must invest in solutions, implement programmes to support victims, and end impunity and bring perpetrators to justice.
"As this crime evolves, our responses must keep pace," he said. Closer international cooperation is needed, including sharing information between States; more partnerships with civil society, academia and the private sector — including technology companies — are crucial; and more efforts are required to prevent migrants falling prey to traffickers.
Call for Concrete Action: From Crisis Response to More Effective Protection of Women, Children and Migrants
Ilias Chatzis, Acting Chief of the Organized Crime Branch of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), warned that "the fight against human trafficking is far from over", noting that today’s trafficking networks are "more violent" and "more difficult to dismantle", with 74 per cent of all cases involving organized criminal groups and forced labour.
Children account for "38 per cent of detected cases", while women and girls remain the majority of victims, "overwhelmingly trafficked for sexual exploitation". These challenges, he said, "call for renewed responses and renewed ambition" to listen to survivors, leverage technological solutions and fully integrate child protection and assistance into anti-trafficking frameworks.
"We need increased concrete action by States," said Siobhán Mullally, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, urging countries to move beyond crisis responses and towards more effective protection. The Security Council has consistently recognized that conflicts put more people at risk for trafficking. Still, peace operations mandates rarely address that threat, and the matter is too often absent from national women, peace and security action plans. "The consequences are that women and girls are not protected," she said.
"Behind every number is a child whose life has been taken," she also went on to add, emphasizing that the continued prevalence of human trafficking is a direct result of lack of political will. Closure of safe migration pathways often push those seeking to escape captivity.
Focus on Survivors: ‘Hear Their Voices and Look into Their Eyes’
Mira Sorvino, Board Member of the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons and former Goodwill Ambassador, recalling how the first two survivors she met in 2004 "forever changed" her, urged Member States to "hear their voices and look into their eyes" because trafficking remains "the ultimate evil" and "a hideous practice that treats humans as things".
Ms. Sorvino warned that trafficking has "outpaced our efforts", noting a "40 per cent increase" since 2015 and that "93 per cent of crimes are still not reported nor investigated". Sharing her experiences meeting survivors in Mexico like Carla Jacinto, who was raped "over 46,000 times" — she emphasized that survivor-led efforts must guide policy. Criminal justice approaches alone "re-traumatize survivors", who are still too often "treated as criminals rather than victims", she said, urging Member States to "catch fire with the resolve" transform political will into meaningful justice.
Survivor Recounts Ordeal, Points to Lack of Desperately Needed Resources
"Human trafficking is succeeding because Governments are moving too slowly," also added Shamere McKenzie, Chief Executive Officer of Sun Gate Foundation and a survivor of trafficking. "My voice had been stolen [...] my worth had been reduced to dollars and violence," she said. Yet, today, she stands before the Assembly as a free woman, "surrounded by a community that refuses to let me walk alone". "Survivors are no longer whispering our stories from the shadows [...] we’re standing at podiums like this one."
Underscoring a statistic spotlighted by many others, she said that children still account for one third of identified victims globally. "Survivors still face criminal records for crimes they were forced to commit" and families are still being torn apart by policies that target victims. Survivors still do not receive the support and resources they so desperately need. Warning that "we cannot fight a modern crime with outdated tools" or with policy that is merely symbolic, she said that, today, gaps remain large enough for countless victims to fall through.
Member States Strongly Support Global Action Plan, Highlight National Efforts
As the floor was opened to Member States for the high-level meeting’s plenary segment — which will conclude on Tuesday, 25 November — many voiced strong support for the Global Plan of Action and the Palermo Protocol, while sharing national plans and policies aimed at tackling the scourge of human trafficking.
The representative of Belarus, on behalf of the Group of Friends United against Human Trafficking, echoed concerns raised over the evolution of human trafficking while calling on Member States to prevent and punish perpetrators in countries of countries of origin, transit and destination.
The representative of the European Union, in its capacity as observer, said human trafficking for forced criminality is on the rise, both in the bloc and beyond. Enhanced international cooperation and robust legal frameworks — which centre victims, incorporate innovative technologies and bolster prevention — are crucial. She also condemned intensifying threats at Europe’s eastern border, especially the instrumentalization of migrants "as a tool of political pressure", which is aimed at destabilizing public order and undermining security.
Meanwhile, the Solomon Islands’ delegate, on behalf of the Pacific Islands Forum, said the expanse of oceans between the group’s countries forms a "strategic corridor" that human traffickers are increasingly exploiting and weaponizing. Many countries in the region lack the resources, enforcement capabilities and connectivity needed to effectively counter that threat.
In that regard, the representative of Kenya, on behalf of the African Group, described the Global Trust Fund as a critical instrument allowing developing countries to effectively counter the threat of human trafficking.
Organized Criminal Gangs Dominate Illegal Trade
In the afternoon, the Assembly held two panel discussions, with the first focused on "The Global Plan of Action and enduring trafficking issues and gaps".
Karin Herrera, Vice-President of Guatemala, underscored the need for social safety nets. Children who are hungry are easy targets for trafficking, she said, adding that guaranteeing access to education, housing and healthcare will reduce the influence of criminal networks.
Ilias Chatzis, who also serves as Chief of UNODC’s Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Section, reflecting on why trafficking persists despite prevention efforts, stressed that over 70 per cent of traffickers are members of organized crime gangs. Individual traffickers tricking a vulnerable victim into prostitution or forced labor is the exception, he said, and it is crucial to treat trafficking as an organized crime.
Meredith Dank, Clinical Associate Professor, Marron Institute of Urban Management, New York University, stressing that a lot more should be done to detect trafficking victims, noted that traffickers often prey on undocumented victims by threatening to call law enforcement. "Then there is the issue of who to arrest and prosecute," she pointed out, noting that recruiters, subcontractors, employers and corporations all play a role — directly or indirectly — in forced labour.
Role of New Technologies, Artificial Intelligence
The second panel focused on "The Global Plan of Action and emerging issues, such as trafficking in persons through new technologies, including the role of artificial intelligence, and trafficking for forced criminality."
Shawnna Hoffman, CEO of the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, asked leaders to demonstrate the courage to embrace new technologies and the humility to confront emerging threats. "The problem is not AI, it’s the humans behind it," she said. Her organization uses the same technologies to prevent, detect and investigate human trafficking.
Abdus Salam, Survivor Leadership Specialist, recounted his experience being trafficked into forced criminality, namely, the perpetration of online scams. Trafficked people — held in heavily armed compounds — are forced to carry out scams against thousands of targets. States must work closely with survivors, the only ones with detailed evidence, to hold traffickers accountable.
"Trafficking for the purpose of forced criminality is now the fastest-growing form of human trafficking [in the OSCE]," said Kari Johnstone, Special Representative and Coordinator for Combating Human Trafficking, previewing the findings of the Organization’s 2026 survey. Noting a "fundamental transformation" of the methods, tools and criminal ecosystems underpinning trafficking, she said responses need to keep pace.
Complete Live Blog coverage of today's meeting can be found here .