New Agreement to Fight Human Trafficking

April 17, 2012

A group of protesters stands outside the South African Parliament on September 21, 2011 in Cape Town, demonstrating against human trafficking and calling for the adoption of the South African Prevention and Combating in Trafficking in Persons (TIP) bill. The TIP Bill has been delayed in parliament for more than a year. Some of the protestors were restrained with chains and made up to look as though they had been abused. AFP PHOTO/RODGER BOSCH

It’s estimated tens of millions of people may be the victims of modern-day human trafficking. On Tuesday, the International Organization for Migration and the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime pledged closer cooperation to tackle the problem.

The two agencies have signed an agreement in Vienna to ensure national borders are better managed in what they call an” integrated, modern and humane way.”

“We can quote several sources, but there is no concrete and accurate information. It is believed that there are between 12 and 27 million victims of trafficking. This is really something due to the fact that there are no worldwide mechanisms in place to detect appropriately victims of trafficking,” said Laurence Hart is the head of the migrant assistance division of the International Organization for Migration.

Big business

The International Labor Organization estimates human trafficking and migrant smuggling is a $32 billion a year industry.