30 July to be announced as World Day against Trafficking in Persons

By that text, approved without a vote, the General Assembly would urge Member States to designate 30 July as the World Day against Trafficking in Persons, to be observed every year beginning in 2014.

The resolution was developed by Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Russia, the United States, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, the UN News Center said.

The resolution of the committee said that the General Assembly decides, in the context of the need for raising awareness of the situation of victims of human trafficking and for the promotion and protection of their rights, to designate 30 July as the World Day against Trafficking in Persons, to be observed every year beginning in 2014, invites all Member States, relevant agencies of the United Nations system and other international organizations, as well as civil society, to observe the World Day, and notes that the costs of all activities that may arise should be met from voluntary contributions.

The document also invited Member States to address the social, economic, cultural, political and other factors that make people vulnerable to trafficking in persons, such as poverty, unemployment, inequality, humanitarian emergencies, including armed conflicts and natural disasters, sexual violence, gender discrimination and social exclusion and marginalization, as well as a culture of tolerance towards violence against women, youth and children.

The document urged member States that have not yet done so to consider ratifying or acceding to, as a matter of priority, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, taking into consideration the central role of those instruments in the fight against trafficking in persons, and also urges States parties to those instruments to implement them fully and effectively.

The resolution underlined importance of the United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 64/293 of 30 July 2010, and stated that it is important to ensure its full implementation,

The resolution will be transferred to the UN General Assembly for final approval. Usually, the resolutions approved by the committees are passed by the Assembly.