UN seeks to cut aviation route for human trafficking
WASHINGTON — Human trafficking is the third most lucrative illegal activity in the world after the illegal sale of arms and drugs, UN officials said on Thursday.
A report from the UN Human Rights Office in New York indicated that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) estimated that more than 10 million people fly everyday on-board some 100,000 flights and on each flight are a potential trafficker and their victim.
Due to the growing number of victims being transported by air, cabin crew training on identifying and responding to trafficking in persons becomes one of the best assets in the global crusade against this modern form of slavery, ICAO said.
The US State Department in its 2017 trafficking in persons (TIP) report said the Philippines is one of 36 countries in the world that fully meets the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.
In 2017, the International Labor Organization (ILO) said some 40.3 million people worldwide were subjected to forced labor and modern slavery. The majority of the victims were women.
ICAO secretary general Dr. Fang Liu, said it was important that the aviation agency provide cabin crew members and other airline employees with the right tools and proper training to adequately identify and respond to human trafficking scenarios.
“It is beholden upon the Civil Aviation Agencies to mandate airlines registered or operating in their airspace to provide trafficking mitigation training for their personnel,” she said.