La Strada Documentation Center

UNODC Global report on trafficking in persons 2012

Document number
2946
Date
2012
Title
UNODC Global report on trafficking in persons 2012
Author/publisher
UNODC
Availability
LSI library
Document type(s)
Guidelines/Recommendations, International Law, Research/Study/Analysis,
Keywords
human trafficking, human rights, migration, abuse, trafficked persons, United Nations
Summary

In 2010, just few months short of the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Protocol, Member States renewed their commitment to the fight against trafficking in persons when the General Assembly adopted the United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons (A/RES/64/293). In the framework of the Global Plan of Action, the General Assembly mandated UNODC to publish a Global Report on Trafficking in Persons every two years, starting in 2012.

The Global Report 2012 provides an overview of patterns and flows of trafficking in persons at global, regional and national levels, based on trafficking cases detected between 2007 and 2010 (or more recent). The report also includes a chapter on the worldwide response to trafficking in persons. The Country Profiles of the Global Report present a national level analysis for each of the 132 countries covered by this edition of the report.

Victims are trafficked around the world for sexual exploitation, forced labour, begging, petty crimes, removal of organs and for other exploitative purposes. Trafficking in persons is a truly global phenomenon: between 2007 and 2010, victims from at least 136 countries were detected in 118 countries worldwide. Because of this diffusion as well as the hidden nature of trafficking crimes, it is difficult to estimate the size of the problem.

Many countries have recently passed a legislation criminalizing trafficking in persons as a specific offence. However, definitions of human trafficking vary, as does the capacity to detect offenders and victims. Even though, there is a general increase in the number of prosecutions and convictions globally, the overall criminal justice response to trafficking in persons appears to remain very weak.

The full report, country profiles and executive summary can be found here.

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