The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), with the financial support of the European Union, convened the Second International Forum of Prosecutors on Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants in Marrakesh, Morocco.

Building on the success of the inaugural Forum held in Vienna in December 2024, which gathered over 50 prosecutors from around the world, the Marrakesh Forum marked an important step toward strengthening this global community of practice. The initiative seeks to enhance international cooperation among practitioners to dismantle criminal networks involved in human trafficking and migrant smuggling, while ensuring the protection of the rights of smuggled migrants and victims of trafficking.

Bringing together approximately 60 prosecutors from all regions, alongside a member of the UN Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict (UN Team of Experts), the Marrakesh Forum provided a platform for the exchange of best practices, lessons learned, and shared challenges. Participants explored avenues to advance operational cooperation, including mutual legal assistance and coordinated strategies to effectively disrupt transnational criminal networks.

Discussions placed particular emphasis on the nexus between trafficking in persons for sexual exploitation and conflict-related sexual violence, as recognized in UN Security Council resolutions 2331 (2016) and 2388 (2017). The presence of the UN Team of Experts fostered collaboration and cross-fertilisation between this Network of Prosecutors working on trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants and the Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Prosecution Network, reinforcing a unified approach to addressing these interconnected crimes.

For any questions about the International Forum, please contact the UN Team of Experts.