Studying the economic aspect of human trafficking can help efforts to identify the crime and address the new characteristics of the phenomenon, the Permanent Representative of Cyprus to the UN, Ambassador Andreas Hadjichrysanthou, said in his remarks at the event organized on 20 March by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on the theme “Presentation in New York of the UNODC Global Report on Human Trafficking 2022”. According to a Press and Information Office statement, Hadjichrysanthou stressed that human trafficking is a violation of fundamental human rights and a blow to human dignity, adding that the pandemic along with other international challenges, including conflicts and climate change, has led to the increase in economic and social inequalities that are among the main causes of human trafficking, stressing that it is a very serious crime that is often transnational in nature and therefore it is particularly difficult to detect. He added that the UNODC report indicates that the pandemic has negatively affected the detection and characteristics of people trafficking and for this reason the UNODC global report is of great importance because it outlines the situation and provides the analysis that policymakers and practitioners need to understand the crime, while contributing to joint efforts to combat and end human trafficking. As stated, the Permanent Representative indicated that human trafficking is a global issue that affects Cyprus and as such, the Cypriot government is committed to the goal of combating and ending it. He added that another element that can help efforts to identify the crime and address its new characteristics is the study of the economic aspect of the phenomenon, since the main objective of human trafficking is high economic profit, noting that a key tool in the effort to identify and combat this crime is the monitoring of the economic route followed by traffickers. In this context, Hadjichrysanthou referred to the publication by the Cypriot government of the first Strategic Analysis Report for financial institutions, which aims to provide guidance on how to identify and report suspicious transactions related to human trafficking, and noted that this Strategic Analysis aims to enhance cooperation between private and public sector actors and disrupt the business model of traffickers, while strengthening efforts to prevent and combat human trafficking, with the aim of rescuing and protecting more victims. In closing, Hadjichrysanthou stressed the need for a more effective multilateral approach and the development of strong partnerships between governments, the UN system, civil society and the private sector to combat the crime, adding that human dignity is non-negotiable and that human trafficking cannot be tolerated, the statement concluded.
Source: Cyprus News Agency