[JURIST] Human trafficking of women and children is on the rise worldwide, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour [official website] said Tuesday. Addressing an Asia-Pacific human rights conference in Beijing, Arbour called for closer regional partnerships to combat human trafficking [UN News report; press release], which Arbour says results in millions of women and children ending up as sex slaves, beggars and mine laborers. Arbour also called on Asia-Pacific countries, which have a particularly bad record for human trafficking to ratify international human rights treaties to combat trafficking [UNHCHR backgrounder]. Reuters has more.