For information only - not an official document
The UN Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, helps trafficking victims reclaim their dignity and their lives, an audience heard today at a high-level event held on the margins of the 13th Crime Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. "Some two thousand victims annually benefitted from direct assistance, including provision of shelter, basic health services, vocational training and schooling, as well as psychosocial, legal and economic support, " the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Yury Fedotov, told the high-level event looking at the achievements and challenges of the UN Trust Fund five years on. More funding to support the victims is desperately needed as you can hear here.
The Chairwoman of the Committee United Against Human Trafficking in Mexico, Rosi Orozco, on Human Trafficking, was interviewed in Spanish and English. The Committee is an umbrella organization for some 90 NGOs that provide support, protection and shelter to human trafficking victims. In her remarks, Orozco describes the current situation of human trafficking in the country.
The High-Level Panel on trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants, also heard a statement from Mr. Fedotov.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights held a panel discussion that examined the human rights dimensions of the application of the death penalty in cases of drug-related offences and terrorism offences. The panel also shared experiences from regions in which States invoke the death penalty when confronted with public concerns over drug trafficking, terrorism and public safety. You can watch the session here and read more about it in French.
Death penalty sentences are on the rise, according to the OHCHR, a phenomenon fuelled by terrorism threats.
The high-level segment came to an end today and many of the statements are here. One of the speakers this morning was the UN Development Programme Assistant Secretary-General Martínez-Solimán. Since the Congress opened on 12 April, almost 100 ministers, Government officials and representatives of civil society and international and regional organizations weighed in.
The Department of Peacekeeping Operations, the UN Development Programme, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime held a high-level panel to discuss the overall quality, effectiveness and coherence of the rule of law assistance provided by the United Nations system in conflict and post-conflict settings, in keeping with the UN's 'Human Rights Up Front' initiative.
Watch Broadcast quality video from the 13 th UN Crime Congress.
Press releases about the Trust Fund for victims of human trafficking, the death penalty and countering terrorist financing are also available in Arabic.
A full list of events for Wednesday 15 th April open to the media is now available on the website.
