© Photo by Mariya Senenko via Flickr
Key Takeaways
- The 23rd Alliance Conference Against Trafficking in Persons held by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) signalled the importance of the political will in Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings (CTHB) and a multidisciplinary approach with multilateral participation in policymaking.
- The fight against Trafficking in Human Beings (THB) is a relatively new topic on international agendas of countries, despite its high-level impact on victims. However, a human-based (in particular victim-based) approach will help identify the methods of human traffickers.
- Businesses, supply chains, websites and financial institutions must ensure that the service they provide is not supported by forced labour and victims of human trafficking.
- Overall, the message from the panel was loud and clear: “We need to step up and act”. “Legislation is half of the story”.
Valiant Richer, OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings, at 23rd Alliance Conference Against Trafficking in Persons in Vienna on 18-19 April 2023 (Murathan Arslancan, 19 April 2023)
Introduction
The OSCE is a leading organisation for researching and developing policies for combatting trafficking in human beings. With the numerous recommendations and research publications, the work of the Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings is one of the most “visible” bodies in the OSCE. In that regard, the Alliance Conference Against Trafficking in Persons is the most visible event, which gathers international organisations, NGOs, Academia, and individuals to address critical issues in this field.
Instead of the previous Conference’s focus on the protection of victims’ rights and providing assistance [1], which the Platform for Peace and Humanity also attended, the 23rd Alliance Conference Against Trafficking in Persons held on 18-19 April 2023 in Vienna focused on the national leadership to end human trafficking [2], which marked the 20th anniversary of the adoption of one of the milestone documents in the fight against trafficking in human beings, namely the OSCE Action Plan [3].
23rd Alliance Conference Against Trafficking in Persons in Vienna on 18-19 April 2023 (Murathan Arslancan, 18 April 2023)
Lessons Learned
The first panel covered the substance of human trafficking, which still “remains a devastating problem” as it was marked as the worst organised crime in the world, causing globally 27 million victims [4]. Experts in human trafficking provided insightful and data-based reports of their comprehensive research and argued that there is slow progress in member state efforts, but a significant gap is evident. However, as Gary Haugen, CEO of International Justice Mission, pointed out, the topic was almost unknown 20 years ago, and today, it reached the complexity and attention of various stakeholders supported by record attendance at the 23rd Conference with more than 800 participants. Overall, the message from the panel was loud and clear: “We need to step up and act”. “Legislation is half of the story”. There is a need for law enforcement when “governments have to act and prioritise”.
An even more emotional part of the Conference was bringing the deep stories of the survivors of trafficking. They outlined improvements of the process of victims’ detection, including trauma-informed interviews, training of health care workers and doctors and inclusion of victims.
The second panel covered experiences in tackling THB at the national level. Officials, including Rapporteurs from a wide range of countries from Finland to Kyrgyzstan, shared their past, present and future strategies and their achievements in the fight against THB. The speakers agreed on the importance of political will, which covers the whole process from adopting appropriate legislation to investigating and punishing traffickers. Cindy Dyer, the US Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, pointed out the need for multidisciplinary task forces both at the local and national level to implement the 4Ps in CTHB: Prevention, Prosecution, Protection and Partnerships. [5] The speakers also stressed their commitments to continue CTHB, as the crime dynamic including new appropriate strategies to tackle it.
The third and last panel was allocated for laws and policies as anti-trafficking tools. Several state representatives shared their countries’ perspectives on CTHB concerning sexual exploitation, cyberspace, the role of private entities in supply chains and engagement in the financial sector. Anna-Kirsti Karlsen, Permanent Representative of Norway to OSCE, expressed that private entities must conduct due diligence assessments for work conditions. These assessments should ensure that the workers who work for the companies’ subsidiaries, supply chains and business partners work in decent working conditions. Not benefitting from victims of human trafficking and forced labour in production is also one of these conditions. The same obligation is also valid for the technological and financial sectors. The panel emphasised that the sources of human trafficking should be identified effectively. Service providers such as websites and financial institutions must ensure that the service they provide is not supported by forced labour and victims of human trafficking.
23rd Alliance Conference Against Trafficking in Persons in Vienna on 18-19 April 2023 (Murathan Arslancan, 18 April 2023)
Conclusion
The 23rd Alliance Conference Against Trafficking in Persons signalled the importance of the political will in CTHB and a multidisciplinary approach with multilateral participation in policymaking. No country has eliminated HTB entirely; however, a multifaceted approach to the issue will realise this ideal. Therefore, the issue needs to be handled with the direct assistance of trafficking survivors, national action plans, independent reporting mechanisms, effective protection of victims and survivors as well as prosecution of traffickers and at last, the prevention of sexual and financial exploitation of victims in the cyberspace, supply chain and financial sector. To that extent, Valiant Richey, OSCE Special Representative and Co-Ordinator in CTHB, said, “If we want to stop human trafficking, we have to stop paying for it”. In conclusion, more commitment and action must be taken urgently to save the lives of millions. As Theresa May said, “Let’s match our word with action!”
Filip Šandor Filip is a doctoral candidate in political geography at Comenius University in Bratislava. His research focuses on the spatial aspects of the Slovak foreign policy from a quantitative perspective. He previously worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic, for Permanent Representation of the Slovak Republic to the EU and for the European External Action Service.
Murathan Arslancan holds an LLB from Istanbul University and an LLM in public international law from the Queen Mary University of London. He is also a Turkish qualified lawyer. Previously he worked for a law firm in Istanbul, the Turkish Embassy in London and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. Currently, besides his role at the Platform, he is also a member of the Common Futures Conversation Programme at the Chatham House.
[1] ‘22nd Conference of the Alliance against Trafficking in Persons’ OSCE <https://www.osce.org/cthb/514150> accessed 19 April 2023.
[2] ‘23rd Conference of the Alliance against Trafficking in Persons’ OSCE <https://www.osce.org/event/alliance23> accessed 19 April 2023.
[3] Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, ‘Decision No. 557 OSCE Action to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings’ (24 July 2003) PC.DEC/557.
[4] Valiant Richey, OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings. https://twitter.com/osce_cthb/status/1648304884196823040
[5] For more information on the 4Ps in the CTHB, see ‘Combating Trafficking in Human Beings’ OSCE <https://www.osce.org/combating-human-trafficking> accessed 19 April 2023.