ISLAMABAD: US Deputy Chief of Mission in Islamabad Andrew Schofer said in statement that challenging reality of human trafficking is that criminals’ exploit many systems of communication, finance, transportation and commerce-all of which were originally designed for collective public good. 

“I would like to thank our partners at Sustainable Social Development Organisation and Pakistan-US Alumni Network for bringing together like-minded individuals to discuss strategies to combat trafficking in persons in Pakistan” he said.

Traffickers, however, constantly evolve their networks to take advantage of emerging technologies and migratory trends. They use same tools that are essential to connecting and enriching our global community for their transnational criminal activities.

This is precisely why tackling global problem like human trafficking requires global coalition-one that transcends borders and industries.  Getting ahead of traffickers requires us-governments, civil society, front-line workers and the private sector to forge meaningful partnerships and harness advanced tools to effectively counter these criminal entities.

By leveraging technology, we can better address nexus between finance and human trafficking and better detect online exploitation. By sharing information and resources, we can better equip front-line stakeholders to track and respond to evolving trafficking trends. 

By improving investigations and prosecutions of trafficking cases, we can bring more perpetrators of these crimes to justice. And by partnering with survivors, we can better establish trauma-informed anti-trafficking policies and strategies. Together, these efforts can help us bring an end to human trafficking.

US Embassy is committed to supporting Pakistan’s efforts in addressing this critical human rights issue. While we welcome progress made in fight against human trafficking, there is more work to be done. Together, we will continue to improve and adapt our efforts to combat these criminal entities, and build stronger partnerships with Pakistani government, businesses, survivor leaders and NGOs. Through these collaborative efforts, we will make human trafficking relic of past.

Published in The Daily National Courier, February, 29 2024

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