The International Organization for Migration (IOM), estimates that between 800,000 and 2 million people fall victim to trafficking in persons every year. It is a criminal activity that, according to the United Nations, generates profits of 9.5 billion dollars a year, placing it amongst the top three sources of income for organized crime, after drug and arm trafficking.

Trafficking in persons is a criminal phenomenon of growing international relevance because it is a fundamental violation of human rights as established by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that knows no borders.