Alarming figures

Forced labor and child smuggling on the rise

The trend now applies not least to rich countries - and therefore also to Western and Southern Europe and North America.

(Bild: AFP)

According to the United Nations (UN), forced labor and the smuggling of children have increased significantly in recent years. The Vienna-based UN agency recorded a total of 75,000 cases of human trafficking in 2022, including 25,000 children. 

"The trafficking of girls for the purpose of sexual exploitation is increasing at an alarming rate in many regions of the world," says the new human trafficking report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Boys, who often travel alone as migrants, are also increasingly among the victims.

A teenager works in a mine near Goma, DR Congo.

(Bild: Don Bosco Mission Bonn/Melis Boasi)

• In view of ongoing conflicts and weather-related disasters that uproot populations, there is a risk of a further increase in human trafficking.

• The UNODC experts identified almost 440 routes for transnational human trafficking. According to the report, most of the victims come from Africa.

• In three out of four cases, organized crime gangs are responsible for the crimes. Many girls and women have to work as prostitutes or for online scammers who make their money from erotic and dating offers, among other things.

"Crime has become more complex"
Time and again, there are cases in which companies behind a legal façade - including in the construction sector, fishing, agriculture or recruitment agencies - are actually involved in human trafficking. "The crime has become more complex," said UNODC expert Angela Me.