The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated factors that fuel human trafficking such as poverty, unemployment and gender-based violence, the President of the UN General Assembly said on Monday, urging countries to boost efforts to prevent and respond to this “vile crime”.

UN report warns of reprisals against those who collaborate in defence of human rights
Gaza: At least 20 killed in deadly building collapse, search for survivors continues
AI, climate and conflicts top Guterres’s agenda ahead of General Assembly
Security Council LIVE: ‘Being a woman is a crime in Afghanistan,’ civil society briefer declares
Repression continues in Venezuela in the face of ‘appalling’ human rights violations
World News in Brief: Shipping alert from IMO, democracy vanishing in Nicaragua, alert over political ‘denialism’