Recorded cases of human trafficking “do not reflect the true extent of the problem”, Human Rights Commissioner Maria Stylianou-Lottides said on Thursday, revealing that 30 victims were identified in Cyprus last year.

Lottides said the victims comprised 16 women and 14 men, while five people were convicted of human trafficking-related offences during the year.

Despite improvements to the legal and institutional framework, she said “significant challenges remained”, including difficulties in identifying victims, limited access to justice, fear of reprisals and the emergence of new forms of exploitation through digital technology.

On this front, she said that “new forms of exploitation are emerging through artificial intelligence and online fraud, while criminal organisations are using high-level technologies to recruit victims”.

Lottides said combating human trafficking was not only about prosecuting perpetrators but also about protecting victims’ human rights.

“It requires the timely identification of victims, their safe access to protection, support and rehabilitation, as well as the effective safeguarding of their right to regain control of their lives, without fear, stigmatisation or being re-victimised,” she said.

She added that the state “has an obligation to develop effective prevention, detection and prevention mechanisms, to strengthen the competent authorities’ cooperation and to appropriately train frontline professionals”.

“Equally important is the substantive cooperation which exists with civil society, which plays a crucial role in supporting awareness in society,” Lottides added.

She said her office promoted a “victim-centred approach based on respect for human rights and equal treatment”, adding that tackling human trafficking was a shared responsibility.

“Every victim who is identified and protected, every form of exploitation which is prevented, and every perpetrator who is brought to justice is another step towards a society which does not tolerate the exploitation of human beings by other human beings,” she said.

She concluded by saying that human dignity was “a non-negotiable right” and that the state must remain relentless in prosecuting those responsible for such crimes.