Children are the most vulnerable segment of society, transported as cheap labor or for sexual exploitation in many parts of the world. UNICEF estimates as many as 1.2 million children are trafficked each year.

Buying and selling children is internationally recognized as a crime. Political leaders and human rights activists condemn it as a despicable, abhorrent act. Nonetheless, child trafficking thrives as a $10 billion a year industry, spanning every region of the globe.

The State Department released its annual report on human trafficking on Friday, June 3, 2005.