The United Nations
Migrants and people without jobs are among the groups most targeted by human traffickers, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said on Tuesday, warning that the economic fallout and job losses due to the coronavirus pandemic has exposed millions more to the risk.
“Millions of women, children and men worldwide are out of work, out of school and without social support in the continuing COVID-19 crisis, leaving them at greater risk of human trafficking”, Ghada Waly, UNODC Executive Director, said in news release announcing the findings from the agency’s report on human trafficking.
“We need targeted action to stop criminal traffickers from taking advantage of the pandemic to exploit the vulnerable”, she urged.