human trafficking

2022 Vienna Discussion Forum: Women on the Move

The Permanent Missions of Finland, Norway, and Sweden in Vienna, together with UNODC and UNIDO, invite you to the 2022 Vienna Discussion Forum: “Women on the Move – Surviving Forced Displacement and Building a New Life

The VDF is a hybrid meeting, taking place in MS Teams or in person in the Vienna International Centre, Conference room 4 (7th floor C-Building). Register here!

Agenda:

Opening Remarks

· Ghada Waly, Executive Director, UNODC 

· Fatou Haidara, Managing Director, Directorate of Global Partnerships & External Relations, UNIDO

· Johanna Sumuvuori, State Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland

· Nadia Murad, Nadia’s Initiative, UNODC Goodwill Ambassador and survivor of human trafficking

Panel Discussion

· Ilias Chatzis, Chief, Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Section, UNODC

· Ciyong Zou, Managing Director, Directorate of Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Industrial Development, UNIDO

· Anna Ekstedt, Ambassador-at-large for Combating Trafficking in Persons, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden

· Sarah A Tobin, Research Director, Christian Michelsen Institute

Closing Remarks

· Felipe González Morales, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants

 

Background:

The 2022 Vienna Discussion Forum (VDF) will discuss the importance of ensuring that measures to address migration and displacement are gender-responsive and take a human rights-centred approach. This includes understanding the gendered displacement patterns caused by human insecurity and conflict situations, providing effective support for both women and men in their transit to their final destination, safeguarding them from human trafficking and migrant smuggling, as well as supporting them once they have arrived in their final destination through economic empowerment.

Through drawing on the mandates of UNODC and UNIDO, the discussion will identify how the organisations can support the international community in developing gender-responsive policies, programmes and measures to address migration and displacement.

The Vienna Discussion Forum is an annual event to discuss gender equality and the empowerment of women in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals. Details on the 2021 Forum can be found here and here. Details on the 2020 Forum can be found here and here. Details on the inaugural 2019 Forum can be found here and here.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/NY, please visit ngocsw.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/Geneva, please visit ngocsw-geneva.ch. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/Vienna, please visit ngocswvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Migration, please visit ngo-migration.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee to Stop Trafficking in Persons, please visit ngocstip.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP.

GERI Summit: Gender Healed World 2050

Conference to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of Gender Equity & Reconciliation International

Theme: Achieving Gender Equality in One Generation

Join us for this conference and meet inspiring leaders and organizations across the globe who are working to make the dream of gender equality a reality. Over the past 30 years, in hundreds of GERI programs on six continents, tens of thousands of people have ardently envisioned and aspired toward a Gender Healed World. This sustained visionary invocation in the hearts of people across the globe now calls for millions more to join in.

In the coming 30 years, it is time for this vision to become the new global reality—to actually create the Gender Healed World that we all yearn for. Please join us for this conference, and become part of the community of amazing people around the world who are working together to achieve this goal. Global gender harmony is not a fanciful vision; it is a longstanding dream that, together, we are making real.

Register here: whova.com/portal/registration/ghwag_202210

Keynote speakers:

Professor Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa; Research Chair, Historical Trauma and Transformation, Stellenbosch University, on:

  • Intergenerational Trauma and Transformation

Jackson Katz, Ph.D., Co-Founder, Mentors in Violence Prevention; creator, Tough Guise: Violence, Media, & the Crisis in Masculinity, on:

  • Entrenched and Emerging Masculinities

Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D., Senior Scholar, Wellesley Centers for Women; creator, Killing Us Softly: Advertising’s Image of Women, on:

  • Media Influences and Images of Women

For information and pricing for the in-person conference at Omega Institute in New York, please write to Lora@grworld.org. Space is limited.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/NY, please visit ngocsw.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/Vienna, please visit ngocswvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Geneva, please visit ngocsw-geneva.ch. For more information on the NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity, please email the vice chair at susanneseperson@gmail.com. For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Mental Health, please visit ngomentalhealth.org. 

World Day Against Trafficking in Persons

Trafficking in persons is a serious crime and a grave violation of human rights. Every year, thousands of men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers, in their own countries and abroad. Almost every country in the world is affected by trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit or destination for victims. UNODC, as guardian of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and the Protocols thereto, assists States in their efforts to implement the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons (Trafficking in Persons Protocol).

The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons defines Trafficking in Persons as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.

The World Day against Trafficking in Persons was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution A/RES/68/192.

Did you know:

  • In 2018 about 50,000 human trafficking victims were detected and reported by 148 countries.
  • 50 per cent of detected victims were trafficked for sexual exploitation, 38 per cent were exploited for forced labour.
  • Female victims continue to be the primary targets. Women make up 46% and girls 19% of all victims of trafficking.
  • Globally, one in every three victims detected is a child.
  • The share of children among detected trafficking victims has tripled, while the share of boys has increased five times over the past 15 years.

To learn more about the Blue Heart campaign and how the UN commemorates this observance, visit un.org/en/observances/end-human-trafficking-day.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@gmail.com or bknotts@uua.org. For more information on the Alliance of NGOs on Crime Prevention & Criminal Justice, please visit crimealliance.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

2021 Shine the Light Human Trafficking Conference: Root Causes & Intersections on Human Trafficking

Dear Colleagues,

We invite you to our VIRTUAL 2021 Shine the Light Human Trafficking Conference: Root Causes and Intersections on Human Trafficking.  The conference, which is free of charge, will be held over two afternoons, March 8 (12noon to 3:00 pm EST), and March 9 (12noon to 1:30 pm EST).  We also are organizing a Call to Action Day on Trafficking for March 9.

Register at http://bit.ly/2021traffickingconference

Building on the success of our previous in-person Human Trafficking Conferences in 2018 and 2019, this year’s participants will hear from survivors, service providers and other experts.  An additional advocacy panel will share easy and ongoing actions that can be taken to combat trafficking.

Our co-sponsors this year are the Columbian Center for Advocacy and Outreach, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas – Justice Team, the U.S. Coalition of Sisters Against Human Trafficking, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Office of Migration and Refugee Services.

Monday, March 8, 12:00 – 3:00 pm EST & Tuesday, March 9, 12:00 – 1:30 pm EST

Advance registration required. Register online here or call 301-622-6838

On Day 1, we will begin with an overview of human trafficking that speaks to the various root causes. Panel presentations on both sex and labor trafficking with domestic and international components will follow.  On Day 2, we will focus on advocacy campaigns and how all of us can make a difference.  Additional details are available on our Conference webpage.

Conference attendees will have the opportunity to engage in Q&A with panelists both days.

Speakers confirmed to date include:

Sr. Norma Pimentel, MJ, Executive Director, Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley; Sr. Winifred Doherty, RGS, United Nations Representative for the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd; Diana Fimbres, Program Manager for Strategic Initiatives on Labor Trafficking, Polaris; Hilary Chester, PhD, Associate Director, Anti-Trafficking Program, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; Lawrence Couch, Director, National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd; Sr. Ann Scholz, SSND, PhD, Associate Director for Social Mission Leadership Conference of Women Religious; Scott Wright, Director, Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach; and current Members of Congress. As in previous conferences, trafficking survivors with their powerful stories will be pivotal contributors to the day.

We also encourage you to spread the word – share this invitation with your colleagues and networks and share this postcard on social media. If you would like further information, please reach out to Fran Eskin-Royer (associatedirector@gsadvocacy.org) or me (nacdirector@gsadvocacy.org).  Thank you.

Sincerely,

Lawrence E. Couch, Director

National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd

301-622-6838 (o) | 240-463-0660 (c) | www.gsadvocacy.org

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Children’s Rights, please visit childrightsny.org. For more information on the Alliance of NGOs on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, please visit crimealliance.org.

World Day Against Trafficking in Persons

“Committed to the Cause – Working on the Frontline to End Human Trafficking”

The 2020 theme for the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons will focus on the first responders to human trafficking. These are the people who work in different sectors – identifying, supporting, counseling and seeking justice for victims of trafficking, and challenging the impunity of the traffickers.

During the COVID-19 crisis, the essential role of first responders has become even more important. Particularly as the restrictions imposed by the pandemic have made their work even more difficult. Still, their contribution is often overlooked and unrecognized.

Through stories from first responders describing their practical work in assisting victims UNODC intends to spotlight their contribution and that of their function, institution, organization, team or community and its impact on fighting trafficking.

Find more information here:

How you can get involved:

  • Highlight the work of first responders in your country, community or organization;
  • Share, like and comment on the social media messages for the World Day,
  • Donate to the United NationsVoluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking, which provides on-the-ground assistance and protection to victims of trafficking.

Please use the hashtags #EndHumanTrafficking and #HumanTrafficking on all digital platforms.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Migration, please visit ngo-migration.org.

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