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Sat 04 Apr 2009Trafficking in people
MORE THAN 60 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed that “no one shall be held in slavery or servitude”, the spread of a strikingly modern form of an ancient practice shows how far from reach that aspiration remains. By harnessing advances in technology and exploiting the international mobility of the age, human trafficking is now thought to be worth between $7 and $12 billion annually, making it the third most lucrative illicit business in the world.
It is estimated that about 800,000 people are trafficked across national borders – 80 per cent of them are women and girls, and up to half are children.
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