UN says women, children fleeing Ukraine war being targeted for trafficking & exploitation

The “unprecedented” displacement of millions of Ukrainians amidst the Russian invasion is “turning into a human trafficking crisis”, the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict said. Addressing members of the UN Security Council (UNSC), Pramila Patten underscored many incidents of trafficking and violence that were recorded amidst the ongoing migration crisis. Therefore, she called for a “coherent and coordinated response” by the international community to address the emergency.

"Women and children fleeing the conflict are being targeted for trafficking and exploitation – in some cases facing further exposure to rape and other risks while seeking refuge,” she told UNSC on Monday.

To substantiate her point she quoted some of the many incidents that had happened over the past three months in the eastern European country. She said that one male volunteer woke up a 19-year-old woman refugee in a sleeping hall in Poland at 2 am and offered her a lift to France. In another case, she reckoned that another man wearing a volunteer vest reportedly approached single women in the incoming refugees.

Patten further asserted that accommodation officers' lack of “consistent vetting” and transportation arrangements is a serious concern. Another factor that contributed to the sexual abuses was the limited capacity of law enforcers to address the “velocity and volume of displacement.” At least, 14 million people have fled the country since Putin's troops invaded the country back in February in what is being termed the largest migration crisis since the second world war.

Unprecedented crisis

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a military operation in Ukraine, triggering one of the "most violent" conflicts in the contemporary world. While the battle for Kyiv’s sovereignty has led to thousands of casualties and reduced cities to rubble, it has triggered another gigantic crisis-migrant exodus. According to the United Nations, over 14 million people have fled the conflict-hit nation since the invasion started, triggering a migrant crisis that was last seen at the end of the second world war. Notably, countries located in the immediate vicinity of Ukraine are bearing the brunt of the conflict. 

(Image: AP)