July 30th marks the United Nations World Day against Trafficking in Persons, established to raise awareness around the issues of modern-day slavery, which often takes the form of forced labor.

Under the theme of "Reach every victim of trafficking, leave no one behind," the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons 2023 campaign aims to raise awareness of concerning trends identified by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). It calls on governments, law enforcement, public services, and civil society to strengthen prevention, support victims, and end impunity.

Anti-trafficking responses are falling short

At the beginning of this year, UNODC launched its 2022 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons. The sixth of its kind, mandated by the UN General Assembly's Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, the report covers 141 countries and presents patterns and flows of trafficking at global, regional, and national levels based on cases detected from 2017 to 2021.

The report utilizes the largest dataset on trafficking in persons, encompassing over 450,000 victims and 300,000 (suspected) offenders detected globally from 2003 to 2021, highlighting the role of organized crime groups in long-distance trafficking.

Globally, there was an 11% decrease in detected trafficking victims, mainly in low- and medium-low-income countries due to limited institutional capacity, reduced trafficking opportunities during the COVID-19 context, and traffickers operating in more concealed locations. Nevertheless, regions like Western and Southern Europe, Central Asia, Central and South-Eastern Europe, as well as North America, recorded an increase in detection, the report stated.

The COVID-19 pandemic also changed the characteristics of trafficking, pushing it further underground and potentially increasing the dangers to victims by making the crime less likely to come to the attention of the authorities. In fact, 41% of victims who managed to escape their ordeal reached out to the authorities on their own initiative – another clear sign that anti-trafficking responses are falling short, according to the UN.

Combating human trafficking: global responsibility

Oman has completed drafting a new law against human trafficking, incorporating insights from both international and local experts in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

This was revealed by H E Sheikh Khalifa bin Ali al Harthy, Undersecretary for Diplomatic Affairs in the Foreign Ministry and Chairman of the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking.

Kenya on Friday launched the National Plan of Action on Trafficking in Persons to combat the crime, an official said on Friday.

Florence Bore, cabinet secretary in the Ministry for Labor and Social Protection, told journalists in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi that the action plan focuses on the pillars of prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnerships in order to address issues of trafficking in persons.

"The plan will also guide stakeholders in the planning, implementation, and monitoring of the human trafficking strategies and interventions in the country," Bore said.

A crackdown on the trafficking of women and children has been a hot topic among national lawmakers, and political advisers gathered in Beijing for the 2023 "two sessions" that ended in March.

China has attached great importance to protecting the rights of women and children and has made significant progress in combating trafficking in women and children, a Chinese expert told the 53rd session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council in June.

During an interactive dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on human trafficking, Bianba Lamu, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and a member of the China Society for Human Rights Studies, said that the number of cases of human trafficking crimes in China dropped by 88.3 percent from 2013 to 2021.

She attributed this achievement to the Chinese government's great efforts and implementation of a multi-sectoral mechanism, increased international cooperation, and the contribution of anti-trafficking forces from all sectors of Chinese society.

"China strives to establish and improve the integrated working mechanism involving prevention, combat, rescue, and resettlement to tackle the root cause of the problem and address it in a comprehensive manner," she said.

China recognizes that the fight against human trafficking is a systemic project that requires joint efforts, she added.

(With input from Xinhua)