Human traffickers exploit economic crisis

Redoubled prevention efforts urgently needed, warns high-level conference at OSCE

The impact of the global economic crisis in severely reducing legitimate employment opportunities and increasing the vulnerability of millions of people to sexual and labour exploitation is the focus of an OSCE-organized conference that opened in Vienna today.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a video address opening the two-day conference, urged OSCE participating States to redouble prevention efforts. "New economic pressures are likely to aggravate the problem further, so this conference comes at a time of renewed urgency. It is an opportunity to place a renewed focus on prevention and the root causes of trafficking," said Ms. Clinton. "Together we must implement a comprehensive approach that both confronts criminals and cares for survivors." Read.