In the fight against Human Trafficking activities, the IOM is recognizing World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. A statement sent to Q95 News on 30th July 2019, by Communications & Community Engagement Officer, Maxine Alleyne-esprit says, the images are unforgettable.
Desperate families in sweltering shipping containers and rickety boats. Bodies washed up on shores and beaches following failed voyages. Human beings scarred and broken from years of abuse and exploitation. Indeed, we are shattered by tales of violence and predation by those willing to exploit the desperate for their own personal gain. Our consciences are shaken with the realization that children are at risk of irreparable damage—even death—simply because their families are trying to improve their futures. But today—this day when we observe World Day Against Trafficking in Persons—is not a day to reflect on what we feel about migrants who are victims of trafficking. Rather it is a warning, that yet another year has passed in which we can remind ourselves that no matter how much good we can do, we still haven’t done enough. It is time to end the trafficking of men, women and children across the globe. IOM works tirelessly with partners in government, civil society and the private sector to sweep away bad practices in international labor recruiting. We fight to declare the rights of migrants who cross borders to do those difficult jobs that go unfilled in many prosperous countries, and see that those rights are protected and defended. But still it is not enough. We need to go after the traffickers, too. And we must hold the governments of IOM’s member states accountable when they fail to protect the traffickers’ victims. Migration is increasingly seen as an option to escape conflict, instability, food insecurity, natural disasters and climate change, and we know that with large-scale movements of people, the opportunities for criminal elements to rise and then expand to take advantage of those on the move increase. Nonetheless, this knowledge has not yet resulted in sufficient action to arrest either the drivers of unsafe migration or to address the protection and assistance needs of migrants.
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