UN Secretary-General urges public to join fight on human trafficking
19 September 2007 - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, speaking at the recent world premiere of the movie Trade narrating the destiny of a young Mexican girl kidnapped by sex traffickers, called on the general public to take active part in the fight against human trafficking.
"After seeing this film, I hope you will feel compelled to take action. I hope you will join local, national and international efforts to defend the victims, to bring those responsible to justice, and to help protect the vulnerable in the future," Mr. Ban said at the premiere taking place at the United Nations headquarters in New York on September 19.
"I hope you will help raise awareness, become an advocate, and hold Governments accountable," he added.
The premiere and following gala dinner, organized by the film's distributor Roadside Attractions, was held to support the work of UNODC and the international human rights organization Equality Now.
In addition, five per cent of Trade's first week's gross box office receipts will be donated to UNODC, Equality Now, the "Not For Sale" campaign, and the International Justice Mission.
The film, directed by Marco Kreuzpaintner and starring Academy Award winner Kevin Kline, tells the story of 13-year-old Adriana who is kidnapped and trafficked for sexual exploitation and her older brother's efforts to rescue her.
The UN believes that some 2.5 million people throughout the world are at any given time recruited, entrapped, transported and exploited - a process called human trafficking. Trafficking in humans, whether for sexual exploitation or forced labor, affects virtually every region of the world, with persons from 127 countries being exploited in 137 nations, according the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC.
"Human trafficking is a crime that strips people of their rights, exploits people's dreams of a better future, robs people of their dignity. It can cause physical and psychological damage. It can even kill," the UN Secretary-General pointed out.
In order to coordinate efforts to combat the crime, the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT) was founded by six leading international organizations - ILO, IOM, OHCHR, OSCE, UNICEF, UNODC - earlier this year.
At the world premiere, the UN Secretary-General urged all to support UN.GIFT.
"I hope you will join forces with the UN family - with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and other partners who are keeping trafficking high on political and social agendas around the world," Mr. Ban said.