Trafficking in persons presents challenges still to be overcome

Some sources day that more than one million children are trafficked each year for cheap labour or sexual exploitation.

These types of slavery are global problems and go against article four of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that “no one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Many people use the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery as an opportunity to share their perspective in writings through poetry, opinion pieces, interviews, feature articles, short stories and other published material.

Classrooms may review the history of slave trade, its evolution and changes it has undergone through to modern times. Students may also learn about the negative impacts of slavery on society.

Online, print and broadcast media promote the day through news, debates, forums, and talks about modern day slave trade and why it is a serious human rights issue.

Political leaders, including those with ministerial responsibilities, also take the time to urge the public to work together in eradicating any form of slavery in modern society. Flyers, posters, leaflets, newsletters about abolishing slavery and slave trade are also distributed throughout universities and in public areas on this day.

Today, trafficking in persons is an issue of global concern, affecting almost all countries, and all regions. UNODC has identified more than 460 individual trafficking flows across the world in the period between 2007 and 2010, with the detection of victims of 136 nationalities in 118 countries. As the scale of the phenomenon becomes clearer, it is evident that the crime of trafficking in persons presents a distinct set of challenges still to be overcome by most countries.

While the number of convictions for trafficking in persons crimes, for example, is increasing, most countries' conviction rates remain very low - despite the widespread prevalence of human trafficking, the most recent Global Report on Trafficking in Persons records that one in three countries covered by the Report were unable to identify any convictions for human trafficking crimes between 2007 and 2010.

The most recent effort by the international community to address this crime at the global level is the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime which entered in force on 25 December 2003. The Trafficking in Persons Protocol provided, for the first time, a universally agreed upon definition of trafficking in persons.

It addresses human trafficking as a crime including all forms of exploitation and all types of victims, seeking to foster greater criminal justice action, and the protection and implementation of the rights of victims.

The Trafficking in Persons Protocol commits ratifying States to combating trafficking in persons, prosecuting perpetrators, protecting and assisting victims of trafficking and promoting cooperation among states in order to meet those objectives. To date, 158 countries are party to the Trafficking in Persons Protocol.