IOM has been working to counter trafficking in persons since the mid-nineties. Our primary aims are to prevent trafficking in persons and to protect victims, in ordinary time and in crisis, while offering them support on their path to recovery, including through safe and sustainable (re)integration, return support to their home countries, or, in some circumstances, through third country resettlement. Globally, IOM has assisted over 85,000 trafficked persons and, in 2015, one in seven identified victims of trafficking worldwide received specialized protection and assistance services from IOM. Ensuring freedom and a chance at a new life, IOM’s assistance includes safe accommodation, medical and psychosocial support, and assisted voluntary return and reintegration.

IOM works with governments, the private sector, civil society organizations, and other UN agencies to protect victims of trafficking and associated forms of exploitation and abuse; to prevent such abuses from occurring; and to support the development and implementation of policies aimed at the prevention and prosecution of these crimes and the protection of victims. IOM’s approach is based on: respect for human rights; support for the physical, mental and social well-being of the individual and his or her community; and sustainability through capacity building and the facilitation of durable solutions for all beneficiaries.