ISLAMABAD (APP) - International Organization for Migrants (IOM) in its recent campaign has called upon consumers to help end demand for exploited labor worldover. Eliminating demand for trafficked and exploited labour to provide cheap goods and huge profits desired by consumers and businesses the world over is critical, the IOM emphasized in its campaign started on Monday. Launching a new campaign today on the third EU Anti- Trafficking Day and the start of a European ministerial conference on global EU action against human trafficking in Brussels, IOM is urging consumers in particular to play a greater role in ending human trafficking, said a press release issued by the IOM. Encouraging the public to question 'What Lies Behind the Things We Buy?, the campaign, designed by Saatchi and Saatchi, hopes to kick-start a change in consumer behavior. For too long the belief has been that poverty and gender discrimination are root causes of human trafficking, which can only be tackled at source. This is short-sighted, says IOM Director General William Lacy Swing. Quite simply, human trafficking is driven by the demand for unreasonably cheap labour and goods from around the world. As well as a spot for broadcasters, to air the Buy Responsibly campaign is being launched at Place Schuman in Brussels with an enactment of the spot involving an inverted giant shopping trolley imprisoning models representing trafficked migrant workers. Consumers have also been encouraged to visit a particular website 'www.buyresponsibly.org to find out more about human trafficking for labor exploitation and what they could do to end it. Ageing populations, falling birth rates and labor force participation in industrialized countries coupled with an over- supply of labour in developing countries without sufficient channels for legal migration, have paved way for human traffickers to profit from the demand for cheap foreign labour and services. Some estimates put the number of people in forced or bonded labour and sexual servitude in the world at 12.3 million. Although focus has largely been on the issue of trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation, incidents of trafficking for labour exploitation involving all ages and both sexes had increased. Figures from IOMs Global Counter Trafficking Database, which tracks and details assistance provided by the Organization to victims, show that over the past 11 years, IOM has assisted an increasing number of people trafficked for labour exploitation with the largest increases in the last five years. This has largely involved men and boys trafficked to work in agricultural, construction, fishing and domestic service sectors. Up until now, global counter trafficking efforts have mainly focused on prevention and post-rescue assistance in source countries with little work done to tackle the equally critical demand side. Some sectors of an economy, such as construction and agriculture, depend on irregular cheap labour for growth and profits. But economic growth should not depend on exploitation, the IOM DG states. Despite best efforts by all those involved in countering human trafficking, indications show, it is as widespread today as it was ten years ago. Clearly this is not acceptable. A change in mindset and practices among consumers and businesses alike needs to occur, Swing adds. Equally essential is raising awareness among consumers of products and services provided by trafficked and exploited labour. Consumers who are increasingly demanding fair trade have the power to end labour exploitation by buying responsibly and getting business to rethink how it operates, Swing said. Its also in the interest of business to ensure its supply chain is not using trafficked or exploited labour. This can make a huge difference in countering human trafficking. There is no time to waste, he added. Several concrete and far-reaching steps can be taken to achieve this including regulating the informal sector in destination countries to ensure workers are brought under the protection of labour laws; making business and employers legally responsible for human trafficking and migrant exploitation in their supply chain; encouraging the creation of ethical employer associations adhering to codes of conduct guaranteeing the rights of migrants and workers and providing more legal channels for migration.