“On this World Day against Trafficking in Persons, let us come together around the key issues of prevention, protection and prosecution to build a future where this crime cannot exist,” he said.

The UN chief made the call in a message marking the World Day against Trafficking in Persons that falls on July 30, according to UN headquarters.

Guterres said trafficking in persons is a vile crime that feeds on inequalities, instability and conflict. “Human traffickers profit from peoples’ hopes and despair. They prey on the vulnerable and rob them of their fundamental rights.”

He said children and young people, migrants and refugees are especially susceptible and women and girls are targeted again and again.  

“We see brutal sexual exploitation, including involuntary prostitution, forced marriage and sexual slavery. We see the appalling trade in human organs,” said the UN chief.

He said human trafficking takes many forms and knows no borders. “Human traffickers too often operate with impunity, with their crimes receiving not nearly enough attention.”  

“This must change,” said the UN secretary general mentioning that the United Nations is committed to advancing action to bring traffickers to justice while protecting and supporting their victims.  

The rights of victims must come first - be they the victims of traffickers, smugglers or of modern forms of slavery or exploitation, he said.

“In their proposed Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration to be adopted in December, Member States have also demonstrated resolve to prevent, combat and eradicate trafficking in persons in the context of international migration,” said the UN chief.

UN human rights expert Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, in separate message, said States around the world must act now to strengthen their efforts to prevent and combat trafficking in human beings, including by ensuring that victims and potential victims are considered and treated as rights holders. 

In many countries, human rights activists and civil society organisations have been criminalised and ostracised for acting in solidarity with migrants and victims and potential victims of trafficking, she said. 

“On World Day against Trafficking in Persons, my message is that, even in difficult times, inclusion, not exclusion, is the answer,” said the UN expert.