New York, US - UNODC, UN refugee agency to combat human trafficking, smuggling. The UN Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Monday in New York, signed a joint agreement to work together more closely to combat human trafficking and migrant smuggling. PANA reported that the memorandum of understanding was endorsed by the Executive Director of UNODC, Yury Fedotov, and the UNHCR chief, Antonio Guterres. The agencies, in a statement issued at the signing ceremony, said 'the partnership is aimed at combining the work of both entities in overlapping issues to more effectively target criminals involved in human trafficking and to better protect their victims. 'UNODC’s mandate in combating organized crime is complementary to UNHCR’s work of protecting refugees. 'As we have often seen with human trafficking and migrant smuggling, criminals prey on society’s most vulnerable,” Fedotov stated, adding that, 'refugees, in search of a better life, can become victims of these criminals and it’s important that we offer coordinated assistance to those who need it the most.'

He also stressed the commitment of the two agencies to check the excesses of human trafficking and other transnational crimes.

Also speaking, Guterres said that, 'the 21st century is the century of people on the move. Climate change, food insecurity, urbanization, population growth, all these trends are combining and forcing people to move and there are complex protection gaps.'

He also noted that, 'this challenges and situations opens opportunities for illegal and forced migration.

'Money moves freely, goods tend to move more or less freely but there are enormous obstacles for the movement of people,” the UNHCR chief said, stressing that, 'human trafficking presents a situation where human rights are at their most vulnerable.'

Guterres also said: 'We need to make sure that we crack down on the criminals that perpetuate this new form of slavery and protect their victims, which is why working together is so relevant for us.'

He further called on the international community to increase its investment to combat human trafficking in the same way that it has invested in fighting drug trafficking, saying this type of crime is just as relevant and also needs an urgent response and commitment.

PANA learnt that the agreement would focus on four defined regions based on the agencies’ work, namely Latin America, the Gulf of Aden, Afghanistan and its bordering countries, and North Africa.

Pana 02/11/2011