A UN human rights report published in Geneva on 20 February 2026 lays bare an industrial-scale crime economy in Southeast Asia, where trafficked people are detained in guarded compounds, tortured and coerced into online fraud, sexual exploitation and forced labour (OHCHR, A wicked problem, 20 February 2026).

The report, based on trauma-informed interviews, estimates some 300,000 people exploited across the Mekong region and cites revenues in the tens of billions of dollars, with many victims from 66 countries as of March 2025 (OHCHR, March 2025–20 February 2026).

It documents “water prisons,” forced public torture, rape and forced abortions, and calls for embedding the non-punishment principle so victims are not prosecuted for crimes they were compelled to commit, stronger rescue and rehabilitation, and cross-border cooperation to disrupt recruitment and laundering.

The findings expose a convergence of cybercrime, corruption and human trafficking that demands rights-based law enforcement and victim-centred remedies if states and platforms are to halt this modern slavery (OHCHR, 20 February 2026).

 Sources: OHCHR report “A wicked problem,” published 20 February 2026; OHCHR data as of March 2025.