The United Nations Office on Drug and Crime Goodwill Ambassador for Human Trafficking, Ms. Nadia Murad, has expressed delight over the recent release of some of the kidnapped Chibok girls.
“I am so happy to hear that some of the girls kidnapped from their school in Chibok, Nigeria, were released,” she said.
Murad said that she identified with the young survivors of the kidnapping by the armed group, Boko Haram, but was also concerned about those who remained behind.
“I can imagine what those girls, who are still in captivity, are facing every day, because my own relatives and friends are still suffering the same,” she added.
Compassion for others is at the heart of Ms. Murad’s work as the UNODC Goodwill Ambassador for Dignity for Survivors of Human Trafficking.
She had spoken movingly about her own brutal experiences at the hands of Islamic State of Iraq and Levant in the North of Iraq, and she has always done so in the hope of uniting the world against the horrors of trafficking.
Speaking about the impact of human trafficking, she said, “Trafficking aims to dehumanise the victims, to separate them from their own culture and community, to reduce them to objects to be commercialised.”
The crime was also linked to conflict and insecurity, noting, “It i s used t o fund the perpetrators’ violence, which means that the buying and selling of human beings is helping to continue this cycle of terror, enveloping ever more victims.”
This view was stressed by UNODC Chief, Yury Fedotov, during his own speech at the high-level meeting. He said, “2017 has proved to be another deadly year for thousands of migrants and refugees across the world, many of whom were seeking to escape conflict and violence.
Conflicts create favourable conditions for traffickers.” Help was needed to turn victims into the survivors of human trafficking, said Ms. Murad.
She admitted it was difficult, if not impossible, to completely heal from the experience of being trafficked, but post-conflict assistance and psychological support were critical if survivors were to rebuild their lives.
Her statement also contained a very special commitment to the survivors of human trafficking. “I will do all I can to make the world pay more attention to these crimes, and to take action to hold perpetrators accountable under the full force of the law,” Murad said.
She said the criminal treatment of women and children can never be tolerated and the perpetrators must face justice. Ms. Murad closed her statement with a reflection on her important role.
“In speaking out about my own experience, I hope that the other survivors of human trafficking will be able to find the strength and the dignity that is always inside us,” she said.
