Panel at UN Vienna on human trafficking emphasizes need for collaboration

“Prevention and education are the best strategies to counteract trafficking.” This was pointed out by Daniel Fuhry, cyber crime expert and adviser to the Austrian EU presidency, at a side event organized by Zonta International during the Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime on 19 October in Vienna.

The victims of this fast-growing crime category are 73 percent female. Women and girls are trafficked mainly for sexual exploitation, often sexual slavery and forced marriages. Moderated by Zonta International President Susanne von Bassewitz, the panel at the event also addressed the heightened need for collaboration among governments and civil society organizations and cooperation across borders.

“Human traffickers are able to adopt and use evolving technologies extremely quickly,” Fuhry said.

The panel concluded that the UN Convention and its protocols therefore remain indispensable instruments, especially in the digital age.