With the UN Security Council about to receive a report from the Secretary-General on Trafficking in Persons in Conflict, there is a unique opening for action on this issue. This new report, Fighting Human Trafficking in Conflict: 10 Ideas for Action by the United Nations Security Council, reviews the tools available to the UN Security Council and member states and suggests 10 ideas for action, providing concrete steps for the UN Security Council and its partners to take to sever the link between conflict and slavery.

An estimated 45.8 million people live in modern slavery. The International Labour Organization estimates that global profits from forced labour surpass US$150 billion per annum, suggesting that slavery, forced labour and human trafficking are more profitable than the global arms trade. Today, non-state armed groups like Da’esh/Islamic State and Boko Haram actively promote slavery both as a means to finance themselves and as a method of war.

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Photo: REUTERS/Finbarr O’Reilly