World Day Against Trafficking in Persons 2024: Date, History, Facts about Human Slavery

World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, observed annually on July 30, is a day set aside to educate global citizens about the epidemic of human trafficking. Human Trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, and exploitation for financial gain of human beings through coercion or other fraudulent means. Anyone, regardless of age or background, can be a victim of this heinous deed, and human trafficking exists everywhere in the world.

The background of World Day Against Trafficking in Persons

Human trafficking is a worldwide pandemic that originated during the era of slavery and continues to be extremely prevalent today. It is the illegal act of transporting or coercing individuals for the purpose of exploiting them for their labour or services, which typically takes the form of forced labour or sexual exploitation. The act is a crime against the person because it violates the victim’s right to freedom of movement through coercion and because the victim is being exploited for commercial gain.

Human trafficking targets women and children disproportionately and may not always involve the person’s migration from one location to another. And despite the fact that labour trafficking and sex trafficking are typically discussed separately in the broader context of trafficking, victims of both types of trafficking share the fact that their trafficking began with a migration to a supposedly improved environment. Adopted in 1949 and entering into force in 1951, the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of Prostitution of Others was adopted in 1949 and entered into force in 1951. As the first legally binding instrument on the subject, the convention marked a turning point in the law regarding human trafficking.

Only 66 countries have ratified the convention as of today. The main reason for the low ratification rate is the reluctance of several nations to criminalise prostitution as the Convention requires. Following the implementation of the Convention, the international community enacted a number of (non-binding) instruments that shifted the focus of human trafficking to women. In 1995, the Fourth World Conference on Women adopted The Beijing Platform for Action, which calls for the effective suppression of the trafficking of women and girls into the sex trade.

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5 FACTS ABOUT HUMAN SLAVERY

Human trafficking is not limited to a few regions; rather, it is a worldwide crime against humanity, with some countries having notably high rates.

The majority of victims of human trafficking are women and children forced into prostitution.

The global human trafficking “industry” reportedly generates hundreds of billions of dollars annually.

Typically, newly-arrived migrants are susceptible to trafficking, especially if their migration is illicit.

A small number of multinational corporations profit from juvenile labour. Among these businesses are Nestle and Nike, among others.

WORLD DAY AGAINST TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS DATES