Increased action and cooperation required to prevent and end child trafficking
On 8 November 2023, the Heads of the member organizations of the Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT) reiterated their commitment in addressing the pressing global issue of child trafficking.
“Shielding children from the horrors of human trafficking is a shared global responsibility” said Ms. Ghada Waly, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which coordinates ICAT.
Trafficked children experience aggravated violence at a rate nearly double that of adults, according to the 2022 UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons. .
“With one in three identified victims of trafficking being a child, action to strengthen and invest in child protection cannot wait,” said Dr. Najat Maalla M’jid, Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children, in her capacity as one of the co-chairs of ICAT in 2023.
“Children often remain invisible and unaccounted among trafficking victims, with some children even penalized,” she added.
Acknowledging child trafficking as one of the worst forms of violence against children, the ICAT Principals endorsed the Call for Accelerated Action by 2025 to Prevent and End Child Trafficking, which contains ten key actions for States and relevant organizations to address the global problem of child trafficking.
The gathered UN leaders implored ICAT organizations to continue with the important task of coordinating efforts to prevent and combat human trafficking. ICAT organizations “play a critical role in informing global responses [on human trafficking] leveraging our diverse expertise and mandates to address the issue of human trafficking with one unified voice,” Ms. Waly said.
With 31 organizations joining the Call to Action in 2023, “we can ensure our voice can be heard louder and stronger,” echoed Dr. M’jid.
During the meeting, the principals also took stock of the achievements from the implementation of the 2023 work plan under the chairpersonship of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children (OSRSG-VAC).
The Principals also endorsed the chairing arrangements and priorities for 2024. This year’s co-chairs – IOM and OSRSG-VAC – will co-chair ICAT for the second year running, with the aim to continue with the work initiated in 2023 and leveraging the momentum to-date.
“Our priorities, among others, will include advocating for a more systematic response to trafficking in persons in crises, exploring the connection between human trafficking and climate change, and fostering multistakeholder partnerships to tackle emerging trafficking threats,” said Ms. Pope.
A focus on child trafficking will also remain high on the ICAT agenda in 2024.
About meetings of ICAT Principals
Annually, ICAT Principals meet to appraise the implementation of the Group’s programme of work and use the opportunity to highlight the impact of human trafficking globally. Over the years, successive meetings of Principals have focused on pressing thematic issues relating to human trafficking. This year, the focus was on preventing and ending child trafficking.
During the meeting held on 8 November 2023, in New York and online, the Principals reaffirmed their mutual commitment to addressing child trafficking.
While this was the fifth annual meeting of the Principals, it was their first in-person meeting since they last met in London in May 2018. They will meet again in 2024.
