With human trafficking on the rise globally, the Vatican’s diplomatic mission to the United Nations is highlighting concerns for child victims and refugees – while warning of technological tools used by traffickers to expand their criminal activities.
Msgr. Marco Formica, counselor at the Holy See’s permanent observer mission to the UN, spoke at a 25 November high-level meeting on appraising the UN’s “Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons.”
The UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that as many as 50 million people worldwide “may be subject to various forms” of trafficking, especially sexual exploitation and forced labor.
In his 25 November statement to the UN, Msgr. Formica said that children are “increasingly affected, particularly those who are unaccompanied or separated from their families.”
Msgr. Formica warned that “the increasing misuse of rapidly evolving technologies also facilitates the recruitment, control and abuse of victims.”
Echoing multiple calls from Pope Leo XIV and Pope Francis, Msgr. Formica said it is “crucial to reverse this trend and ensure that technology, including artificial intelligence, is used to serve human dignity, justice and the common good.”