News

The Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT), on 11 October 2022, co-hosted a discussion on addressing vulnerability to trafficking in persons in the context of lasting crises during the 2022 Vienna Migration Conference.

The ongoing war in Ukraine has displaced millions of people and has exposed men, women and children to the very real risk of human trafficking within Ukraine and other countries in the wider region.

31 March, VIENNA - Trafficking in persons is an abhorrent and complex crime.

On 7-8 February 2022, the Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT) conducted its first regional consultation on trafficking in persons in Eastern Africa. Gathering over 50 participants from UN entities and local civil society organizations that play a key role in combating trafficking in persons and assisting its victims in the region, this virtual consultation offered a space to discuss major gaps and share promising practices in responses to this crime.

Vienna (Austria) - People who are exploited by human traffickers continue to be detained and prosecuted for offences they are made to commit by their traffickers. In a statement released on15 November 2021, the Inter-Agency Coordination Group Against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT) urges countries to strengthen measures to identify and protect victims and improve access to justice procedures to prevent revictimization and punishment.

Worldwide, an acute shortage of human organs for transplantation prevails. The gap between the growing demand for organ transplants and the limited supply is a contributing factor to increased abuses in the transplant process, including resorting to trafficking in persons for unlawfully obtaining organs. Against this backdrop, ICAT develops an Issue Brief providing an overview of trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal, its scope and impact, as well as recommendations for States and practitioners on how to tackle this issue.

Trafficking in persons can hide behind the production of goods and services purchased by governments, international organizations, private companies and other entities, through their regular procurement actions. Public procurement, however, can also play a role in preventing and combating this crime. Read more about the recent high-level virtual event organized by the Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT) on Trafficking in Persons and Sustainable Procurement.

On the occasion of the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, the Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT), the lead United Nations mechanism coordinating anti-trafficking responses, paid tribute to the victims and survivors of human trafficking, voicing the importance of integrating their perspectives in all anti-trafficking responses.

The Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT), the UN lead mechanism coordinating the response to trafficking in persons has published an online resource to map its members’ efforts against this heinous crime.

On 30 June, the Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT) and the Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, in collaboration with the Permanent Missions of Argentina, Germany and the Philippines to the United Nations in Geneva, hosted a virtual expert roundtable to discuss application of the non-punishment principle for victims of trafficking in persons.