INTERPOL operation against human trafficking leads to arrests and rescues – JURIST

The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) announced the arrest of 2,517 individuals and the rescue of 3,222 trafficking victims as result of a worldwide operation against human trafficking involving police in 116 countries on Wednesday.

Operation Liberterra II took place between September 29 to October 4, 2024, resulting in the rescue of 3,222 trafficking victims and identification of 17, 793 migrants. During the operation 2,517 people were arrested across 116 countries with 850 charged with either human trafficking or migrant smuggling.

Some of those rescued were human trafficking victims, including minors, that were reportedly forced to work on Argentine farms or made to serve Middle Eastern households where they were mistreated. INTERPOL stated that “human trafficking and migrant smuggling are increasingly linked to other forms of crime, often using the same criminal networks and routes.”

Article 5 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights prohibits forced labor, trafficking and slavery in the EU. Article 7  of the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air outlaws the transporting of migrants by sea. Additionally, Article 5 of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, calls on states to criminalize human trafficking. The European Union reports that human trafficking leads to forced marriage, illegal adoption, slavery, organ removal, forced labor and sexual exploitation in addition to other crimes.

During the operation, law enforcement and prosecutors around the world cooperated in the interest of cross-border justice. Authorities exposed exploitative schemes, such as online scams in Philippines and forced recruitment in West and Central Africa, where victims were held against their will and suffered abuse.

The operation was supported by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), including other specialised and international organizations projects such as the European Union, Global Affairs Canada and The United States Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.