Traffickers found targeting more children as COVID-19 school closures fuel danger
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Human traffickers worldwide are increasingly targeting children and will likely exploit school closures during the coronavirus pandemic to abuse the young, the United Nations said on Tuesday. Children make up a third of trafficking victims who are uncovered – a share that has tripled in the past 15 years, with girls […]
Paperwork not patrols: South-East Asian policewomen face career obstacles
Bangkok, ThailandThomson Reuters Foundation Female police officers in South-East Asia are rarely allowed out on patrol and instead given administrative roles that hold back their careers, the United Nations and international police organisation Interpol said last week. Women account for between six to 20 per cent of police officers in the 10-member Association of Southeast […]
Criminals cash in on rush to buy coronavirus protective gear, UN says
Vienna, AustriaReuters A rush by countries to buy personal protective equipment during the coronavirus pandemic has created an opportunity for criminal groups, which are peddling sub-standard equipment and likely to move on to medicines soon, a UN report said on Wednesday. Criminals have adapted quickly, also running scams where no equipment is supplied at all, […]
Coronavirus pandemic is pushing up the price of illegal drugs, UN says
Vienna, AustriaReuters Coronavirus-related border controls, lockdowns and flight shortages are making illegal drugs more expensive and difficult to obtain around the world, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said in a report published on Thursday. The pandemic is having a mixed effect on drug production in different regions and on smuggling by air, […]
Asia-Pacific meth drug trade worth up to $US61 billion, UN says
Bangkok, ThailandReuters Transnational crime groups are trafficking vast quantities of methamphetamine made in South-East Asia, the United Nations said on Thursday, putting the value of the Asia-Pacific market for the drug between $US30.3 billion and $US61.4 billion. The explosion in the meth trade, from an estimated $US15 billion in 2013, comes as powerful syndicates exploit […]
Nigerian sex traffickers fleeing hotspot for new havens, activists warn
Dakar, SenegalThomson Reuters Foundation Sex traffickers in Nigeria are moving out of Edo state to avoid detection as foreign donors pour money into anti-trafficking programmes in the traditional hotspot, anti-slavery experts said, calling for a national approach. Edo state in southern Nigeria has long been the country’s hub for women and girls trafficked for sex […]
A NEW HIGH: INDIGENOUS THAI FARMERS SWAP OPIUM FOR COFFEE AND LAND
RINA CHANDRAN, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on what is being seen as a model project for ending narcotic drug cultivation and improving the lives of Indigenous communities….
UN raps nations for ignoring victims trafficked at home
Thomson Reuters Foundation Countries are ignoring the growing number of people trafficked within their own borders, focusing instead on the international trade in human beings, a top United Nations official said. UN special rapporteur Maria Grazia Giammarinaro said children were also increasingly vulnerable to exploitation by traffickers, be it for sex, begging or even their […]
Sex trafficking that starts in South America largely stays there
Bogotá, ColombiaThomson Reuters Foundation Women and girls in South America are more likely to become victims of sex trafficking inside their own or neighbouring countries than to be trafficked across continents, officials said last week, urging cooperation among regional governments. The sexual exploitation of women and girls remains the most common form of human trafficking […]
Human trafficking worsens in conflict zones as militants deploy slaves – UN
Thomson Reuters Foundation Human trafficking is becoming more “horrific” in conflict zones, where armed groups keep women as sex slaves and use child soldiers to spread fear, the United Nations said on Monday, warning of widespread impunity. From girls forced to wed to boys made to cook and clean, militants are using trafficking as a […]