Held on 30 July 2025, coinciding with the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, the meeting brought together 14 partners under the urgent theme: “Human Trafficking is Organized Crime – End the Exploitation.”
IOM presented for discussion, MAG’s priorities for 2025, framed around its workplan pillars: research & knowledge, resource mobilisation, strategy & policy development, and tools & technical cooperation to strengthen evidence, capacity, and policy impact in migration-related anti‑trafficking efforts.
Generating evidence on the nexus between trafficking and climate change remains a priority from 2024, with a flagship report due to be released 2025 (Priority 1).
In addition, as Priority 2, the meeting shed light on another key concern – emerging forms of trafficking—from online recruitment scams to trafficking for forced criminality, where victims are coerced into crimes through threats and technology.
This was in line with this year’s IOM campaign, “Forced to Commit – Criminalized for Surviving. Let’s End the Exploitation,” which spotlighted one of the most hidden forms of abuse: trafficking for forced criminality. Across the globe, trafficked persons—often migrants, youth, and children—are coerced into perpetrating crimes like online scams, drug trafficking, and theft. Often instead of being recognized as victims, they are criminalized and denied support.
Presentations highlighted the rise in and scale of TiP for forced criminality and IOM’s response in South East Asia, how digital platforms are being weaponized to recruit and exploit, underscoring the need for stronger partnerships, evidence-driven policy, and survivor-centred responses.
Partners reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring that survivors are protected, heard, and supported—not silenced. By listening to victims, strengthening protection, and holding traffickers accountable, the global community can move closer to ending exploitation for good.
Finally, participating governments were also encouraged to engage actively in preparations for the 2026 International Migration Review Forum (IMRF), the global mechanism to track progress on the Global Compact for Migration (GCM). Roundtable 2 of the 2026 IMRF will focus, inter alia, on preventing, combating, and eradicating trafficking in persons in the context of migration (GCM Objective 10), as outlined in the UN Network on Migration’s 2025–2026 workplan.