Launch of the Group of Friends for Combating Technology-facilitated Trafficking in Persons

Recent developments show a significant and sustained rise in the misuse of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, to facilitate trafficking in persons at every stage.

The event will highlight:

The central role of Member States in preventing and combating technology‑facilitated trafficking in persons, including through the active and full implementation of commitments under the UN Trafficking in Persons Protocol, the sharing of national experiences, good practices and challenges, and the strengthening of cooperation.

The significant and continued rise of technology‑facilitated trafficking in persons, the various forms of exploitation it enables, the stages at which technologies are misused, and the ways in which organized criminal networks leverage digital tools and cross‑border vulnerabilities.

The role of new technological solutions in enhancing detection, investigation and enforcement in cyberspace, and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Trafficking in Persons Protocol as well as the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime as frameworks for accessing and exchanging electronic evidence, facilitating investigations and prosecutions and strengthening international cooperation, including for the assistance and protection of trafficking victims.

The necessity of multilateral action to prevent and combat technology-facilitated trafficking in persons.

Trafficking in persons remains one of the most complex and persistent transnational crimes, undermining human dignity, exploiting the most vulnerable, and challenging the integrity of institutions and borders. It is not a static phenomenon, but an evolving crime in which traffickers continually adapt their methods to recruit, exploit and control victims; transfer the proceeds of their criminal activities; and evade law enforcement.

At the same time, the rapid expansion of modern digital technologies has transformed the global crime landscape. With two-thirds of the world's population online and much of the global economy dependent on digital infrastructure, cybercrime has grown into a thriving, highly profitable industry.

Within this environment, recent developments show a significant and sustained rise in the misuse of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, to facilitate trafficking in persons at every stage. The Internet and digital platforms provide traffickers with numerous tools to recruit, control, and exploit victims; coordinate their transport and accommodation; and conceal criminal proceeds, with greater speed, efficiency, and anonymity and transcending geographical boundaries.