Human Trafficking ‘Growing and Evolving’, Secretary-General Warns General Assembly, Urging More Focus on Stronger Laws, Putting Victims at Centre of Policymaking

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks, as read by Guy Ryder, Under-Secretary-General for Policy, to the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, in New York today:

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

And I am pleased to convey the following message of the Secretary-General: Human trafficking is an abhorrent crime. It is intolerable that members of our human family, including the youngest, are trafficked for labour, domestic service, marriage, criminality and sexual exploitation.

This year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and the supplemental Trafficking in Persons Protocol, now almost universally ratified, with 185 States Parties. It is also the fifteenth anniversary of the Global Plan of Action to transform our commitments into practice, including through the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons.

Yet, as we take stock, we must acknowledge that trafficking in persons is growing and evolving. Persistent drivers, such as poverty, displacement, discrimination, conflicts and climate disasters, are being compounded by the exploitation of technologies enabling traffickers to profit from human misery with unprecedented speed and reach. Artificial intelligence (AI) is being weaponized to recruit, control and exploit victims.

The latest data show that the number of children among detected victims has increased by one third since 2019. Women and girls remain the biggest share of detected victims worldwide, and are trafficked mostly for sexual exploitation. The number of convictions for these crimes remains shockingly low, particularly for trafficking in persons for forced labour. And far too often, victims themselves are punished for acts committed under coercion — a clear violation of the principle of non-punishment.

As you translate your new Political Declaration into action, I urge a renewed focus on three key areas. First, Member States must invest in solutions. This includes strengthening laws and remedies, and effectively implementing them, to end impunity and bring perpetrators to justice.

We also need investments in programmes to help victims rebuild their lives and address the trauma they’ve endured. And Governments need to commit resources into developing and employing technology to detect, investigate and prosecute this crime in ways that safeguard human rights. As this crime evolves, our responses must keep pace.

Second, we must deepen collaboration. This includes strengthening and facilitating the exchange of information and evidence between States, as well as mutual legal assistance, extradition commitments and joint investigations. We must continue building partnerships with civil society, with academia and with the private sector, including technology companies, to detect wrongdoing and deliver justice to perpetrators and to support victims.

And we need to strengthen coordination to protect vulnerable migrants from falling prey to trafficking, in line with the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.

Finally, we must put victims at the centre. In recent years, Governments and the United Nations have been involving survivors in work to end human trafficking and provide support to victims. I call on all Member States to ensure that the experiences and the perspectives of victims are heard and reflected across anti-trafficking policies and support measures.

Human trafficking is a global crime that demands global solutions. Let’s make the most of this moment to strengthen our collective resolve and put an end to the scourge of human trafficking.