The United Kingdom urged governments Thursday to coordinate cyber and financial inquiries across borders, saying traffickers’ online recruitment and virtual-asset use can give investigators leads to locate victims and trace illicit proceeds.
UK Chargé d’Affaires and Deputy Ambassador James Ford delivered the statement to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Permanent Council in Vienna on Thursday, Oct. 22. He described trafficking as a security threat that supports organized crime and generates illicit profits, while intersecting with cybercrime, financial crime and drug trafficking.
Ford said conflict, climate change and worsening humanitarian crises increase exposure to trafficking, particularly for children. He highlighted forced criminality in cyber-scam operations, where trafficked people may first come to officials’ attention as suspected offenders. He urged authorities to recognize possible victims early, provide support and consistently apply the non-punishment principle. In this context, that means avoiding punishment for crimes people were coerced into committing.
Ford said investigators should pursue people who organize and control exploitation and profit from it, while protecting those forced to commit offenses. The UK supports OSCE tools and training, as well as cooperation with the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), civil society and the private sector.
The UK is working with international partners to address trafficking and forced labor linked to scam centers, Ford said. It supports targeted sanctions among measures to hold perpetrators accountable. UK-backed projects in Southeast Asia aim to raise awareness, strengthen victim support, help with reintegration and build law-enforcement capacity.
Ford said the OSCE office faces funding and staffing constraints. He urged the organization to provide its institutions with enough resources to meet their mandates, credited the office with practical assistance to participating states and endorsed responses informed by survivors and centered on victims.
