SECRETARY-GENERAL, IN REMARKS TO WORLD PREMIERE OF FILM ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING,

URGES GREATER AWARENESS, ADVOCACY, GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at the world premiere of Trade in New York, yesterday, 19 September:

I am honoured and delighted to welcome you to the United Nations, and to the world premiere of Trade.

It is not often that a Hollywood movie has its opening night at the United Nations.  Our red carpets are usually trodden by bureaucrats and diplomats, not Oscar-winning actresses.  Our flashbulbs, as far as we have any, usually capture grim-faced negotiators.  And Joan Rivers wouldn’t have much to say about our sense of dress.

But, when a film tackles a theme as pressing and powerful as this one -- a subject that requires the world’s immediate attention -- there is no better venue than the United Nations.  There is no better forum to bring together Governments, civil society, the media and the film industry.  There is no better platform to raise awareness and call for action.

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.

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.  I hope you will help raise awareness, become an advocate, and hold Governments accountable. 

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. 

And so, ladies and gentlemen, may this film lend a new meaning to “lights, camera, action!”  And may its message be heard by those who need to hear it most.

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For information media • not an official record