KABUL (Pajhwok): The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have warned that ongoing crises in Afghanistan are increasing people’s vulnerability to human trafficking and exploitation.
In a joint statement issued on the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, the two organisations stressed the importance of coordinated efforts to prevent trafficking, identify and assist victims and survivors and strengthen responses against individuals and networks that organise and profit from exploitation.
The statement said multiple crises in Afghanistan, including the large-scale forced return of Afghans from neighbouring countries, the decline of the rural opium-based economy, sharp reductions in humanitarian assistance, natural disasters and continued restrictions on the rights of women and girls, have increased the risk of human trafficking and exploitation.
It said recent findings from the Returnee Resilience Overview showed that only 11 percent of surveyed returnees were fully employed or owned a business, while 56 percent of returnee households reported being unable to meet their basic expenses.
“Nearly half relied on loans or donations to survive,” the statement said, adding that such economic pressures could push people toward negative coping mechanisms and increase their vulnerability to trafficking, exploitative labour arrangements, debt bondage and other forms of exploitation.
The organisations said victims continue to be forced into unsafe work, forced labour, sexual exploitation, slavery-like conditions and other forms of abuse. Women, children, returnees and indebted households remain at greater risk.
They added that many victims are exploited through debt bondage or forced labour in sectors such as domestic work, brickmaking, agriculture, mining and carpet weaving. Others face forced begging, forced marriage, child exploitation, sexual exploitation or forced involvement in criminal activities.
The statement highlighted forced criminality as a growing global threat, saying victims are recruited into scam operations and online fraud and then trapped through deception, violence and coercion.
Polleak Ok Serei, UNODC Country Representative for Afghanistan, said current pressures on the Afghan population, including mass returns, opium eradication without alternative livelihoods, aid cuts, natural disasters and restrictions on women, have increased the vulnerability of men, women and children to trafficking and exploitation.
“This underlines the need to strengthen prevention, carefully identify potential victims and ensure access to appropriate protection and assistance,” he said.
Meanwhile, IOM Afghanistan Chief of Mission Mihyung Park said the scale of returns currently taking place was greater than what Afghan communities could absorb without significant international support.
“Many returnees arrive with limited resources and face challenges in accessing livelihoods, housing and basic services,” Park said, adding that without viable opportunities at home, people were more likely to undertake dangerous and irregular journeys, increasing their vulnerability to trafficking, smuggling, exploitation and abuse.
She said supporting returnees and host communities was not only a humanitarian necessity but also an investment in Afghanistan’s stability.
UNODC and IOM called for stronger efforts to improve the identification and protection of victims and survivors, expand access to essential services, civil documentation and sustainable livelihood opportunities, promote safe and regular migration pathways and ethical recruitment, and strengthen regional cooperation against trafficking networks.
The organisations said they were jointly conducting a strategic assessment of trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling in Afghanistan to strengthen evidence on emerging risks and identify practical measures for victim identification, protection, prevention and access to services.
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