South Korea and 43 other countries called on Monday for 'urgent' and 'coordinated' actions to address technology-facilitated human trafficking cases, including those linked to online scams, saying they have worsened global human rights and humanitarian challenges. The 44 countries released a joint statement delivered by South Korean Ambassador to the U.N. Cha Ji-hoon at U.N. headquarters in New York.
Seoul led the efforts to issue the statement amid concerns over reports of online fraud cases in Cambodia that targeted Korean citizens. 'Traffickers exploit conflict, economic hardship and digital platforms to expand their networks, while victims suffer forced labor, sexual exploitation and other forms of abuse,' the statement read. 'No country is immune from these practices. They affect every region (and) society represented here today.'
The countries expressed deep concern over the rise in human trafficking linked to online scam operations and other forms of transnational organized crime. 'We verified through the mounting evidence .... countless individuals have been deceptively recruited to perpetrate these criminal schemes, subjecting them to post-criminality, torture and severe exploitation,' it said. The growth in such crimes has exacerbated human rights and humanitarian challenges, demanding urgent and coordinated action going forward.
The current situation calls for a 'comprehensive,' 'multi-stakeholder' response, underscoring the importance of regional and global cooperation that engages government, the private sector, and civil society to counter human trafficking. 'Holistically addressing trafficking in persons requires prevention, prosecution and protection as well as partnership,' it said. 'This includes strengthening public awareness, identifying victims ... empowering survivors and guaranteeing access to justice and remedies — all critical to dismantling these criminal schemes.'