The report documents instances of torture and other ill-treatment, sexual abuse and exploitation, forced abortions, food deprivation, solitary confinement, among other grave human rights abuses. Survivors also shared experiences of border officials aiding scam recruiters, and of threats and extortion by police.Satellite imagery and on-ground reports show that nearly three-quarters of the scam operations are in the Mekong region, which have also spread to some Pacific Island countries and South Asia, as well as Gulf States, West Africa and the Americas. “The treatment endured by individuals within the context of scam operations is alarming,” finds the report, based on interviews with survivors originating from Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Thailand, Viet Nam and Zimbabwe. They had been trafficked into scam centres in Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates between 2021 and 2025. It is also based on interviews with police and border officials, as well as civil society and others with knowledge of such operations.Victims described being lured into scamming jobs under false pretences and then being coerced into perpetrating online fraud ranging from impersonation scams, online extortion, financial fraud as well as romantic scams.The operations described are fluid, with some survivors sharing experiences of being held in immense compounds resembling self-contained towns, some over 500 acres in size, made up of heavily fortified multi-storey buildings with barbed wire-topped high walls, guarded by armed and uniformed security personnel. “A victim from Sri Lanka related how those who failed to meet monthly scamming targets were subject to immersion in water containers (known as ’water prisons’) for hours,” said the report, which updates a 2023 UN Human Rights report.“Victims also recounted being forced to witness or even conduct grave abuse of others as a means to ensure compliance; one Bangladeshi victim said that he was ordered to beat other workers and a victim from Ghana recounted being forced to watch his friend being beaten in front of him.”They told of people losing their lives as they attempted to escape, including falling from balconies and roofs in the compounds.Failed rescue attempts were also punished severely, the report finds. One Vietnamese victim described how her sister was beaten, tasered and locked in a room with no food for seven days after her sister had tried to engineer her escape.It found traffickers would video call family members to watch their loved one being abused and mistreated in order to pressure families to pay extortionate ransoms.While most victims described receiving some wages, all those interviewed by UN Human Rights experienced a range of escalating deductions and none received the entirety of the promised salary. A Thai victim reported that they were ordered to meet steep scamming targets of some $9,500 per day to avoid fines, beatings, or even being “sold” to another compound with harsher conditions.“The litany of abuse is staggering and at the same time heart-breaking,” UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said. “Yet, rather than receiving protection, care and rehabilitation as well as the pathways to justice and redress to which they are entitled, victims too often face disbelief, stigmatization and even further punishment.”“Effective responses need to be centred in human rights law and standards. Crucially, that means explicitly recognizing forced criminality within anti-trafficking laws and regulations and guaranteeing the non-punishment principle for victims of trafficking.”“Victims of such abuses require coordinated timely, safe and effective rescue operations, respect for the principle of non-refoulement, as well as available support mechanisms to ensure torture and trauma rehabilitation and address risks of reprisals or re-trafficking.”The report uniquely applies a behavioural science and systems analysis to explore why people continue to fall prey to fraudulent recruitment into scam operations and to suggest rights-based and effective prevention responses.“There must be increased availability and accessibility of safe labour migration pathways and meaningful oversight of recruitment such as verification of online job postings and flagging suspicious recruitment patterns,” Türk said.He called on States and relevant stakeholders to engage trusted and community-based actors, such as survivor-led groups, in outreach to individuals considered at risk of trafficking into scam operations. Awareness activities need to be accessible, concrete and available through trusted media.Türk also urged States and regional bodies to act effectively against corruption, which he said was deeply entrenched in such lucrative scamming operations, and to prosecute the criminal syndicates behind them. He also recalled the importance of independent media, human rights defenders and civil society organisations being able to carry out their vital anti-trafficking work free from interference.A story map is available here.ENDS For more information and media requests, please contact:In GenevaJeremy Laurence: +41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org
Marta Hurtado: + 41 22 917 9466 / marta.hurtadogomez@un.org In NairobiSeif Magango : +254 78834 3897 / seif.magango@un.org 

The report reflects on the unique opportunity across the Global South to turn solidarity into strategy, stressing the need for South-South collaboration to foster a new multilateralism built on shared knowledge, joint technological development, and collective investment. The report makes the case for bringing together the collective experiences of Africa, Latin America, and Asia to co-design solutions that shift the balance of the decarbonisation agenda and scale up green value chains.As part of  UNU-INRA’s Critical Minerals Information and Knowledge Hub (C-MINK), which positions Africa at the center of global mineral governance, ensuring that the continent’s vast resources drive inclusive, green, and sustainable development, this report shows that Africa’s mineral wealth is indispensable to the global energy transition and ownership must translate into control, governance, and value creation.The report shows that, Africa holds nearly a third of the world’s critical mineral reserves, including cobalt, lithium, manganese, and copper—resources indispensable for renewable energy technologies, electric vehicles, and digital infrastructure. Yet, the continent has long remained at the periphery of global value chains. With reports like this, UNU-INRA’s C-MINK initiative, aims to change this long-lived reality, by curating knowledge, fostering collaboration, and enabling Africa to define its own mineral sovereignty.By redefining “criticality”, deepening South-South solidarity, embedding justice, and strengthening governance, the report urges Africa to move from the periphery of extraction to the center of transformation. This is important because, the global revenues from copper, nickel, cobalt, and lithium could reach $16 trillion by 2050, with Sub-Saharan Africa positioned to capture over 10% of that value.Prof. Fatima Denton, (Director, UNU-INRA and Head of CMINK initiative) notes that, “mineral wealth must no longer be a paradox of abundance without prosperity, as Africa’s minerals are critical not only for the world’s decarbonisation agenda but for Africa’s own industrialization, energy security, and technological advancement.”The report advocates for African expertise to be paired with that of Latin America and Asia, building South-South partnerships that prioritise shared prosperity in the critical minerals sector. As a product of the C-MINK Initiative, the report calls for a redefined mineral order—one that prioritises justice, governance, and transformation.  It argues that by embedding minerals into domestic production systems, Africa can move from being a supplier of raw materials to a driver of industrialization and innovation.In an era of fractured geopolitics and contested green transitions, Africa’s most powerful lever lies in how quickly it can test and scale new solutions within the global South. South-South collaboration offers a “southern playbook” for resource governance that could be a strategic pivot enabling green industrialization and structural transformation. The report advocates that Africa and the Global South should be at the center and not the periphery of the critical minerals dialogue and action. This south-south solidarity if done effectively will ensure that mineral wealth fuels a just, green, and inclusive future.ENDAbout C-MINKThe Critical Minerals Information and Knowledge Hub (C-MINK) is an initiative of the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA). It serves as a platform to convene policymakers, researchers, and investors, transforming knowledge into strategic foresight for Africa’s mineral governance. About UNU INRAThe UNU-INRA was established in 1985 in accordance with a draught resolution adopted at the 21st ordinary session of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) to demonstrate to African Governments and institutions the central role of science, infrastructure, and innovation in promoting natural resources governance and development in Africa while serving as a preeminent institute delivering science for practice.

Over the past 3 years, UNU-INRA and UNEP together with other development partners including UNDP, UNICEF, WHO, CSOs, OEF, A Rocha-Ghana, Forestry Commission-Wildlife Division (WD), Atiwa West District Assembly, Government ministries, Agencies and traditional authorities, collaborated to provide capacity building training workshops on sustainable ways of addressing key interconnected challenges, on environmental degradation in the Okyeman area. The capacity building programmes were geared towards addressing economic, environmental, political, educational, nutrition, and health insecurities through a human security approach.UNU-INRA (United Nations University-Institute of Natural Resources in Africa)’s major role, together with Forestry Commission-Wildlife Division, Okyeman Environmental Foundation and A-Rocha Ghana was to organise a series of  capacity building workshops, (held in 8 communities), on legal frameworks for natural resource (water, wildlife, minerals, forest, land) management, sustainable agriculture, ecology and monitoring protocols for forests as well as identifying natural resource enterprises and value chains to improve livelihoods of the community. UNU-INRA supported by the Atewa West district assembly and community leaders then developed a CREMA by-law, which went through the necessary processes for gazetting.In 2025, this key achievement of influencing laws for the Atewa West District, is notable because, it encompasses the work of UNU-INRA, whose objective is to bridge the gap between science and policy, by promoting sustainable development through natural resource governance that is sensitive to climate change.This extensive, inclusive and collaborative work between development partners, the Okyeman foundation, local community members and leaders of the Atewa West District, has been remarkable in that, this partnership has resulted in a local governance structure backed by by-law, to complement the efforts in protecting water bodies, forests and reclaiming degraded lands.Over the years, Ghana’s government has made several attempts to address the issues around natural resource depletion. One of such current initiatives is the employment of Blue Water Guards, to protect natural resources (water bodies). Though applaudable, empowering local communities to steward their natural resources is key.There have also been institutional efforts around to coordinate multi-agency efforts in stopping illegal mining like the work of NAIMOS: The National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat. Though admirable, the work of such institutions must involve local community members and leaders because, these groups are more knowledgeable about their resources and may be best in assisting the government in properly planning and implementing Natural resource management initiatives.Till date, the issue of national resource management has remained a “government fight”. This inter-developmental human security approach and collaboration with the CREMA, provides a new and more efficient way of fighting this natural resource depletion battle. Prior to Project FOREST Okyeman, some locals and community leaders were not aware of the importance of biodiversity, rules around mining and water bodies and the importance of stewarding surrounding natural resources. This project has been an eye opener to community members and leaders who were for a long time ignorant about their stewarding power and the importance of preserving their natural resources for economic empowerment. Learning, knowing and understanding the contents of these newly gazetted natural resource management by-laws and the importance of preserving these natural resources, as well as the effects of depleting the environment on future generations, has empowered the Atewa West District community members, to fight natural resource degradation such as  illegal mining, pollution of water bodies and deforestation.ENDAbout UNU INRAThe UNU-INRA was established in 1985 in accordance with a draught resolution adopted at the 21st ordinary session of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) to demonstrate to African Governments and institutions the central role of science, infrastructure, and innovation in promoting natural resources governance and development in Africa while serving as a preeminent institute delivering science for practice.The United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA) is one of the 14 research and training institutes of the United Nations University (UNU). With the head office in Ghana a network of five operating units in Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Namibia and Zambia, UNU-INRA bridges the gap between science and natural resources management policies in Africa. UNU-INRA’s mandate is to contribute to the sustainable development of Africa’s natural resources in a way that maintains the quality of the natural environment and transforms lives. INRA harnesses African talent and empower African researchers, entrepreneurs and policymakers with knowledge to sustainably manage the continent’s natural resources. 

Observed annually on 18 December, International Migrants’ Day provides an opportunity to recognize migration as a powerful driver of development when it is safe, orderly, and well governed. In Ghana, migration connects cultures, transfers skills, strengthens communities, and supports national growth.As part of this year’s commemoration, IOM Ghana, in collaboration with key government and development partners, is implementing a series of strategic activities that reflect how migration stories translate into development outcomes.A key highlight is the official launch of the Community Engagement and Policing (CEP) Strategy, Curriculum, and Training Manual, implemented with the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS). The CEP framework promotes trust, dialogue, and people-centred approaches between border communities and law enforcement, strengthening social cohesion, human security, and safer mobility in border areas.IOM Ghana is also convening a Migration Data Dialogue with the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) under the theme “My Great Story: Data and Development.” The dialogue showcases progress made in harmonizing migration data, integrating datasets into the GSS Stats Bank, and strengthening evidence-based migration governance through the Migration Data Technical Working Group.In the lead-up to IMD, IOM Ghana has rolled out the “18 Days, 18 Stories” social media campaign, sharing real-life stories of migrants, returnees, and diaspora members. The campaign humanizes migration by highlighting resilience, skills transfer, reintegration journeys, entrepreneurship, and cultural exchange.Additionally, IOM Ghana is participating in the National Diaspora Summit, contributing to a panel discussion on “The Role of the Diaspora in the National Development Agenda.” The discussion emphasizes how diaspora engagement through remittances, investment, innovation, and knowledge exchange continues to support Ghana’s development.Through these activities, IOM Ghana reaffirms its commitment to strengthening migration governance, amplifying migrant voices, and ensuring that migration contributes meaningfully to inclusive and sustainable development.