UN Launches Protocol to Prevent Human Trafficking During Mexico’s World Cup

Mexico City — The United Nations and other organizations launched a protocol on Thursday to report potential human trafficking cases via telephone during this year’s World Cup in Mexico, where 99% of cases go unnoticed by authorities, according to campaign organizers.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime in Mexico (UNODC) partnered with civil society associations and companies like Uber to establish protocols and train “key citizens” such as airline staff, hotel receptionists, and drivers to combat the crime, which could worsen during the tournament in June and July.

“International experience is very clear: mega sporting events create conditions that trafficking networks unfortunately exploit,” said Nayely Sánchez, UNODC program head in Mexico, during a media briefing.

The project targets those around potential victims, Sánchez explained, including “the driver who picks someone up at the airport, the hotel receptionist who notices something strange, or the healthcare worker treating a person who cannot speak.”

The protocol includes training keys to identify patterns in potential trafficking cases and a secure telephone line (800 55 33 00) for anonymous reports provided by Mexico City’s Citizen Council, which will provide legal support for each case and refer them to authorities.

So far, approximately 300,000 Uber drivers in Mexico have joined the initiative and will receive training to identify situations linked to human trafficking.

Organizers emphasized that the campaign aims to involve all citizens.

Mariana Ruenes, president of the organization Sintrata, outlined key questions to verify potential trafficking situations, highlighting signs of control, such as someone speaking for another person, surveillance, or a third party withholding identification documents.

“We always tell people to take notes of everything they observe, even what they hear, because there may be indications of debt relationships or control,” she stressed.

The goal is to combat trafficking in the context of sexual exploitation of women and girls, who make up 70% of trafficking victims in Mexico and are “the main populations affected by this type of sporting event,” Ruenes said.

During the World Cup, Mexico’s “red flags” for this crime are the three host cities—Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey—where there will be “higher mobility flows,” she added.