President of the UN General Assembly (PGA), Ms Maria Espinosa, has called for strong multilateral actions against human trafficking.
Speaking at a press briefing at the UN headquarters in New York on Thursday, Espinosa said although human trafficking was a major crime, its impact was either forgotten or downplayed.
She urged UN member states to implement the Global Combat on Migration with emphasis on prevention.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the PGA was reacting to the drowning of a man and his baby daughter in a river at the Mexico-U.S. border on Wednesday.
The El Salvadoran man, identified as Oscar Alberto Martinez, and his daughter, Angie Valeria, drowned while trying to cross from Mexico into the U.S.
Photos of their bodies were found face down in shallow water with the head of the 23-month-old girl tucked into his father’s shirt and her arm around his neck, have sparked global outrage.
“To be honest with you, when I saw that, I was almost in tears because this can not be happening.
“We cannot have more people die because they decide to migrate to another country, and that is precisely why member states came together and crafted the Global Combat on Migration.
“That is why we have a very strong international framework on human rights. I think all these painful tragedies cry for very strong responses.
“The other big lesson of the terrible disaster yesterday is that we need to fight human trafficking, which is a major crime.
“Sometimes we tend to forget or downplay what human trafficking does,” she Espinosa said.
According to her, human trafficking creates more than four billion dollars every year for the criminals who “nurture illegal networks of human trafficking”.
She also called on nations, regional bodies and the United Nations to tackle the root causes of migration which she identified as inequality, poverty and lack of opportunities for young families.
On his part, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the tragedy underscored the “desperation faced by so many individuals and families as they go about searching for better life”.
“It should be another reminder that the flow of refugees and migrants must be managed by countries of destination, countries of transit and countries of origin.
“Above all, it should be handled with respect for human rights and human dignity,” the UN Chief said through his spokesman, Mr Stéphane Dujarric.