Source: Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) /Authors: Jamille Bigio and Rachel Vogelste/ Date: October 2019 /

This report was written as part of the CFR’s Women and Foreign Policy Program.

Human trafficking is a gross violation of human rights that affects populations across regional, ethnic, and religious lines. It encompasses a range of illicit activity, including sexual exploitation, forced labor, organ removal, and forcible recruitment into an armed group or military service. 

SEED President Sherri Kraham Talabany participated in the Advisory Committee that contributed to this paper. With our recent anti-human trafficking report directly cited, SEED is proud to have worked with other topical experts on how human trafficking fuels armed conflict and beyond. The Islamic State (ISIS) group used human trafficking as a weapon of war. We will continue our work with survivors in Kurdistan and Iraq — many of whom continue to live with psychological, physical, and other forms of trauma caused by extremists.