This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/europe/7242180.stm
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 1 | Version 2 |
---|---|
UN forum aims to end trafficking | |
(about 10 hours later) | |
The first major United Nations conference on the growing problem of human trafficking has opened in Vienna. | |
More than 1,000 delegates from over 100 countries are attending the forum to discuss solutions, including techniques to monitor criminal gangs. | More than 1,000 delegates from over 100 countries are attending the forum to discuss solutions, including techniques to monitor criminal gangs. |
There are believed to be millions of victims of trafficking worldwide - in a multi-billion dollar industry. | |
UN officials say human trafficking is the hidden crime of globalisation and nothing short of modern day slavery. | |
International celebrities among the delegates included British actress Emma Thompson, Latin pop star Ricky Martin and Egypt's First Lady Suzanne Mubarak. | |
Let's call it what it is: modern slavery Antonio Maria Costa, UNODC | |
The head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Antonio Maria Costa welcomed their support in tackling a problem that affects both wealthy and developing countries. | |
He compared the three-day conference, that ends on Friday, to something between the World Economic Forum at Davos and the infamous 1960s music festival, Woodstock. | |
"Government statements, expert discussions, along with music, speeches, videos, films and art to inspire us all. I hope, by the end of the forum, a roadmap will be developed to guide us forward," he said. | |
"This is not an inter-governmental conference, nor is it a talk shop. Think of it more as a rally. We march together." | |
He said that "200 years after the end of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, we have the obligation to fight a crime that has no place in the 21st Century". | |
"Let's call it what it is: modern slavery," he said. | |
Booming business | |
The UN estimates that about 2.5 million people are involved in forced labour as a result of trafficking. | |
Ricky Martin says he was moved to take action | |
It says the majority of victims are between the ages of 18 and 24 years and about 1.2 million children are trafficked each year. | |
Ursula Plassnik, Austrian Federal Minister for European and International Affairs, said national action plans and regional international co-operation was needed. | |
She said human trafficking had become a "booming organised crime" with annual profits of up to $32bn (21bn euros; £16bn) on a global scale. | |
"It is thus considered an even more lucrative business than trafficking of weapons," she said. | |
Protocol | |
Pop star Ricky Martin, who set up the Ricky Martin Foundation for children, told delegates that when he heard about the situation, he had to act. | |
"I witnessed the horrors of human trafficking on a trip to India, where I saved three little girls from the streets of Calcutta," he said. | |
"You know what was going on and if you won't do anything, you allow it to happen." | |
Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson told the forum the story of a Moldovan woman who was trafficked to the UK and forced to work as a prostitute. | |
The UN Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking was launched by the UN in March 2007. | |
Forum organisers hope more countries will be encouraged to ratify a UN protocol on human trafficking and to develop laws to fight the crime. Other issues on the agenda include finding ways of disrupting internet payments for sex services on the web. |