The first large-scale international conference on human trafficking is to be staged in Vienna, Austria this month.
About 1,000 delegates from more than 100 counties are expected to attend to tackle what the UN says is "a crime permeating all societies".
"Human beings have become a cheap commodity for traffickers," said Kriistina Kangaspunta, trafficking expert of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
The organisers hope the conference will develop awareness or the crime, worth billions of dollars worldwide, and propose concrete measures to combat it.
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