Thank you Chair.

Australia thanks the Philippines for facilitating this important resolution condemning trafficking in women and girls.

Human trafficking is a gross violation of human rights. All people should have the right to freedom of movement, and the right to be free from slavery and forced labour. Human trafficking and all forms of modern slavery have a devastating impact on individuals, communities, economies, and security.

Millions of people continue to be trafficked worldwide for the purpose of exploitation, including sexual and labour exploitation, organ removal, forced marriage or forced criminality. Women and girls are disproportionately affected by trafficking, representing the majority of trafficking victim-survivors globally, with female victims trafficked for domestic servitude particularly at risk of extreme harm. We commend the penholders for the resolution’s focus on women and girls, given the particular risks they face.

Australia is committed to taking action to eradicate modern slavery, including human trafficking, slavery, and slavery-like practices, and to protect and support victims of these crimes. Our approach to combatting human trafficking is gender-responsive, victim and survivor-centred, culturally aware, partnership-focused, innovation-driven and global in perspective.

We hope future iterations of this resolution continue to incorporate gender-responsive approaches, as the penholders did this year. We also look forward to working with the penholders to include victim and survivor-centred language when it is next considered in 2024, recognising the autonomy and empowerment of survivors who have been subjected to trafficking.

We want a future where no one is subjected to human trafficking and the human rights of all are respected.