Remarks?by the President of the UN General Assembly
Mr. Philemon Yang
at the launch of the Report of the Global Commission on
Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking
Tuesday, 08th April 2025
Trusteeship Council Chamber
[As delivered]
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen
I thank the Right Honourable the Baroness Theresa May of Maidenhead for the invitation to address this important event this morning.
I welcome the efforts of the Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, in collaboration with the Governments of Bahrain and the United Kingdom, the aim of this efforts is to raise awareness on the urgent need to eradicate modern slavery and human trafficking.
Today’s launch of the Global Commission’s report is a wake-up call.
A call to strengthen our actions to tackle the causes, dimensions and impacts of modern slavery and human trafficking.
The challenges of modern slavery and human trafficking are violations of fundamental human rights.
Those violations debase human dignity and they disrespect humanity.
And given the scope of vulnerability to exploitation, it means all countries are affected – origin, transit and destination.
Today, an estimated 50 million people live in modern slavery.
One in three victims of human trafficking is a child.
That is a painful reality.
And most of those trafficked are women and girls, who often suffer brutal violence and various forms of sexual exploitation and abuse.
To be sure, Member States have long rejected such cruelty.
Over the decades, they have united, time and again, to adopt historic global treaties to stop the spread of these twin miseries.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was clear in prohibiting slavery and the slave trade in all their forms.
The International Labour Organization’s Conventions on Forced Labour were also among the first of these ground-breaking instruments.
The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocol on trafficking in persons marked another milestone.
In 2010, the General Assembly unanimously adopted the United Nations Global Plan of Action, that complements the United Nations Trafficking Protocol, which today is close to universal ratification.
More recently, Sustainable Development Goal 8.7 and Action 35 of the Pact for the Future set out renewed commitments to end forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking.
Within all these frameworks, we find a constant, foundational truth: that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
What we need now is enforcement. We need action.
To pull out the roots of modern slavery and human trafficking, we must tackle the very situations that conspire to keep people in vulnerability for instance:
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- Poverty.
- Climate change.
- Conflict and instability.
- Irregular migration.
- Inequality including on the basis of gender, race and other factors, and
- Lack of access to education, health care, markets and social protections designed to lift all people up, not leave some behind.
Today, I urge Member States to strengthen measures that combat modern slavery and trafficking in persons – but prevent them from taking hold. These measures can also prevent criminal practices.
This means enacting policies that are trauma-informed and survivor-centered, keeping in mind the unique challenges faced by different regions.
We need Policies that promote inclusive growth and provide equal access to health care, education, skills training and jobs,
Our Policies must empower women and protect children.
For my part, I will keep these issues in the global spotlight.
In May, I will convene an informal interactive dialogue on child labour to accelerate our efforts to eliminate child labour in all its forms.
????????? Later this year, Member States will review implementation of the Global Plan of Action that will enable us to combat trafficking in persons and set new goals for their related efforts.
Throughout, I will continue to work closely with my Advisory Board on Gender Equality, we will in the main focus on women’s economic empowerment.
In this way, I aim to help reduce the vulnerability of women and girls to human trafficking and modern slavery.
Excellencies,
I recognise that efficiency hinges on each Member State’s ability to implement the frameworks at hand.
This is why partnerships with civil society, the private sector and others are critical to our success.
Together, we must allocate the resources.
We must take a stronger stand against modern slavery and human trafficking.
I thank you.
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Media Contacts
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