*EPF417 07/31/2003
Text: U.S., U.N. Launch Human Trafficking Prevention Media Campaign
(Video announcements will educate, prevent trafficking, officials say) (580)

The U.S. Department of State is joining the U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime to launch a new media campaign intended to heighten audience awareness of human trafficking and to empower victims to escape their circumstances.

The messages "are extremely powerful," said John Miller, director of the State Department's Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons in a July 29 press release. A previous campaign of public service announcements reached viewers in more than 40 countries in broadcasts by national networks and international outlets such as the BBC, CNN International and MTV Asia.

The most recent data compiled by the Department of State estimates that 800,000 to 900,000 people fall victim of human trafficking each year worldwide.

Further information about human trafficking is available at http://www.state.gov/g/tip/ and http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/trafficking_human_beings.html

Following is the text of the press release:

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U.S. Department of State
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
July 29, 2003

MEDIA NOTE

DEPARTMENT OF STATE AND UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME ENCOURAGE VICTIMS AND GENERAL PUBLIC TO RESIST MODERN SLAVERY

The Department of State Trafficking in Persons Office will join the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime to launch two new public service announcements to encourage victims and the general public to take action against human trafficking.

The Public Service Announcements project an empowering image to victims, showing that it may be possible to escape forced labor and sexual exploitation and start a new life. They also aim to motivate the general public to assist trafficking victims.

"With tools such as these we can help put a stop to slavery. These [Public Service Announcements] can help to prevent more people from being trafficked, can raise awareness so as to decrease the demand for sex or labor slavery, and can provide information to help rescue people out of slavery", said John Miller, director of the Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons. "They are extremely powerful."

The two new video spots were produced by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and funded by the Department of State's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. Two earlier spots were designed to raise awareness about the human trafficking issue focusing on the trafficking of women for sexual exploitation and the trafficking of men, women and children for bonded and forced labor. They were aired internationally to an audience of millions through BBC, CNN International and MTV Asia, as well as through national networks in over 40 countries.

The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime is working in individual countries to create partnerships with local non-governmental organizations. Wherever possible, the new video spots will include local telephone hotlines where victims can call to receive assistance and support. The video spots are available in the official United Nations languages, with translations also planned in Eastern European, African and Asian languages.

Human trafficking is a growing global phenomenon, with 800,000 to 900,000 people trafficked across international borders annually. The State Department's Trafficking in Persons Office seeks to work with other governments to fight trafficking, and funds programs designed to prevent trafficking, protect victims, and prosecute offenders.

To obtain a copy of the Public Service Announcements to play on your network, please contact the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), New York office, at (212) 963-5631.

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(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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