The United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT)

The United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT) was conceived to promote the global fight on human trafficking, on the basis of international agreements reached at the UN. To date, 140 parties have signed the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons especially Women and Children, which supplements the Palermo Convention against transnational organized crime.

UN.GIFT was launched in March 2007 by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

UN.GIFT was made possible by a grant of the United Arab Emirates and has since received additional financial support from the Governments of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland as well as UNICEF, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships and public donations.

Technology – Abetting Traffickers and Eradicating Trafficking
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Technology – Abetting Traffickers and Eradicating Trafficking

In the area of combatting human trafficking, technology is both a help and a hindrance. As the tech sector evolved, it gave traffickers new and easier ways to recruit victims, with an accent on social media’s role. Now, advancements have been made to assist advocate agencies and law enforcement in monitoring illicit activity. Different technological…

Super Bowl Sex Trafficking
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Super Bowl Sex Trafficking

A widely touted myth shrouding the Super Bowl every year is that there is a significant increase in human trafficking in the big game’s host city. The truth remains that there are no definitive statistics about how much of an increase there is in prostitution over Super Bowl weekends. While it is assumed some escorts…

Bystanders Vital in Combatting Human Trafficking
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Bystanders Vital in Combatting Human Trafficking

Despite the fact that human trafficking’s domestic victims are commonly exploited in the sex trade, there are several other commercial realms in which workers are exploited. These are often workers who are considered to be hidden in plain sight because consumers assume they are not being exploited because they are faces of legal businesses, such…

Joint Statement
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Joint Statement

On 31 December 2014, the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT), an alliance of six organizations committed to combatting human trafficking, concluded its long-standing work towards curbing one of the most heinous crimes and human rights violations of our time. Members of UN.GIFT Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) International…

Experts meet to prevent trafficking for domestic servitude in diplomatic households
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Experts meet to prevent trafficking for domestic servitude in diplomatic households

Child maid servant in India, although it is banned by the government High-level diplomats from across the OSCE region met at the Secretariat today to discuss ways to stamp out trafficking for domestic servitude in diplomatic households, focusing on the outcomes from a series of workshops held by the Organization’s anti-trafficking Office during the past…

COPA Airlines joins Blue Heart Campaign
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COPA Airlines joins Blue Heart Campaign

COPA Airlines, Panama’s flagship air carrier, has joined the Blue Heart Campaign against Human Trafficking. By placing the Blue Heart symbol next to its planes’ doors, COPA becomes the latest private sector partner in raising awareness of the plight of victims of human trafficking while building support to fight the criminals behind it. The partnership…