Africans accounted for 31 percent of all cross-border human trafficking victims recorded in 2022, according to the latest Global Report on Trafficking in Persons published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The report, published on Thursday, highlighted the growing crisis of human trafficking in Africa, exacerbated by poverty, conflict and climate change.
According to the report, most African victims are trafficked within the continent where displacement, insecurity and climate change exacerbate vulnerabilities.
Children are more frequently detected as trafficking victims than adults, particularly for forced labour, sexual exploitation and forced begging.
“Criminals are increasingly trafficking people into forced labour, including to coerce them into running sophisticated online scams and cyberfraud, while women and girls face the risk of sexual exploitation and gender-based violence,” UNODC executive director Ghada Waly said.
She added: “We need to step up criminal justice responses to hold those at the top of the criminal chain accountable, work across borders to rescue victims and ensure survivors receive the support they need.”
The 2024 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons revealed a 25 percent increase in the number of trafficking victims detected globally in 2022 compared to pre-pandemic figures from 2019.
The number of victims trafficked for forced labour surged by 47 percent between 2019 and 2022.
Child trafficking also saw a significant rise, with a 31 percent increase in detected child victims in 2022 compared to 2019, and a 38 percent rise in girl victims.
“As conflicts, climate-induced disasters, and global crises exacerbate vulnerabilities worldwide, we are seeing a resurgence of detected victims of human trafficking, particularly children who now account for 38 percent of detected victims,” Waly said.
She emphasised the need for stronger criminal justice responses to hold traffickers accountable and to provide support for victims.
The report finds that women and girls continue to make up the majority of trafficking victims worldwide, accounting for 61 percent of detected victims in 2022.
Most girl victims (60 percent) are trafficked for sexual exploitation, while 45 percent of detected boys are trafficked for forced labour and 47 percent for other purposes, including forced criminality and begging.
Trafficking for forced criminality, including online scams, has seen a significant increase, rising from one percent of total victims detected in 2016 to eight percent in 2022.
The report offers policy recommendations to improve victim identification and protection, emphasising the need for coordinated efforts to combat human trafficking and support survivors.
JN/APA