Launching Trust Fund for Trafficking Victims, Secretary-General Says ‘To Put

 

It Bluntly:  I know Initiative Has Your Trust; Now We Need Your Funds’

 

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at the launch of the United Nations Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking, today, 4 November, in New York:

Before I begin I would like to thank Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Nicholas Kristof, it is a great pleasure to see you again.  Thank you very much.  Thank you for your strong commitment to combat human trafficking, I also want to salute the work of UNODC [United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime] and other key United Nations agencies for helping to lead this fight.  To one and all, welcome. 

Thank you for joining us as we launch the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking, Especially Women and Children.  We are here because trafficking is everywhere.  No part of our planet is immune.  Almost every country is affected by this crime, whether as a place of origin, transit or destination for victims.  Traffickers respect no geographic borders or moral boundaries.

The women, children and men they exploit are often taken far from their homes, sometimes halfway around the world.  Many victims end up stranded, hopeless, trapped in modern day slavery.  They may not ask for help because they are isolated or cannot speak the local language.  Or they may be seized by fear — fear that they will be treated as criminals even though they have been forced to engage in criminal acts.  That is why it is so important that Member States are taking a united stand to end trafficking in persons.

And we have made progress.  One hundred and forty-one States have become party to the United Nations Protocol against Human Trafficking.  The international community has an agreed definition of trafficking in persons.  It is no longer an ignored crime.  And we are seeing concerted action.  Many countries have adopted anti-human trafficking legislation, established anti-human trafficking police units and set in motion national strategies to stop this horrible crime.  The General Assembly also recently launched the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons.  All of these are critical steps that will help put traffickers where they belong — behind bars.

I want to commend the gender focus to this challenge.  As Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wu Dunn have reminded us all, “women and girls hold up half the sky”.  This is the phrase, the language which I have been using around the world many hundred times [quoting Nicholas Kristof].

So much of our work at the United Nations is about widening the horizons of hope for women and girls.  This is my priority as Secretary-General of the United Nations.  We know that when you educate a girl, you educate a family.  But when you traffic and enslave a woman or girl, you hold the future hostage.  Our efforts today will identify more victims, particularly women and children, who can get the help and care they so desperately need, reintegrate into society, and ensure they never again become a victim. 

I call on Member States, the private sector and philanthropists to contribute generously to the Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons.  To put it bluntly:  I know this initiative has your trust;now we need your funds.  Your financial support will be pivotal to success.  Your generosity will give victims of human trafficking a fresh start.  Your assistance can help end one of the worst violations of human rights in our world.  Thank you for your leadership and commitment.  Thank you for having a heart for the victims of trafficking.

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For information media • not an official record