The work of the UN and its partners never stops against human traffickers in West and Central Africa, who force people to risk their lives on dangerous journeys across the Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Sea. 

Even the COVID crisis hasn’t stopped the smugglers – they’ve just resorted to taking bigger risks to cross borders that have been closed to others.  

So says Vincent Cochetel – he’s the UN refugee agency’s (UNHCR) Special Envoy for the Western and Central Mediterranean. 

He’s been talking to UN News’s Daniel Johnson about the many ways the agency helps vulnerable people in the Sahel.