Photo stories: Human Trafficking

Prostitution at Malecon, Havana, Cuba. According to the first ever report released by the UN Office for Drugs and Crime on the trade in humans, some 80 per cent of human trafficking is accounted for by sexual exploitation Credit: UNICEF

Child searching through rubbish in a river, Bangkok, Thailand. Children are often forced to live lives of misery, having been lured away from their homes to work in urban centres. Modern-day slavery includes forced labour in sweatshops, mines, factories and work in the domestic and agricultural sector. Credit: ILO

Child porter in a stone quarry, Nepal. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), two million people become enslaved annually, many of whom are children engaged in dangerous work. Credit: ILO

A child crushing gold bearing rocks in La Rinconada, Peru. According to ILO, in the informal gold mines, many workers are under age 15, and some as young as 11. Credit: ILO

According to UNICEF, it is estimated that there are still some 2,000 child soldiers with armed militias in North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo. Child soldiers are often forcibly inducted into armed forces, sometimes by governments but often by rebel militias. Credit: UNICEF

Ibrahim Garba, a 15-year old slave, has worked since he was a young child herding animals for his owner, Aboubacan. For several generations, his family has been enslaved by the same family in the Illela district in the Tahoua region of Niger. Credit: ILO

Colombian sex-worker hanging onto bars. According to UNICEF, as many as an estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked every year. Credit: UNICEF

Former child soldiers walking away from guns as part of a demobilization ceremony. UNICEF has worked with other UN offices and peacekeeping operations to ensure that children give up arms and are reintegrated into society. Credit: UNICEF

In Haiti, thousands of children work as domestic servants, or live in slums or in the street, vulnerable to violence and sexual exploitation. A 14-year-old sex worker lives in the city of Gonaives. Credit: UNICEF

Academy Award-winning actress, Mira Sorvino, was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to combat human trafficking on 12 February 2009. She is seen here with the UNODC Chief, Antonio Maria Costa. Credit: UN