MEDIA ADVISORY

Delivering justice through prosecution of human traffickers focus of 20th Alliance against Trafficking in Persons Conference next week

VIENNA, 16 July 2020 – With one human trafficking prosecution for every 2,154 victims, and human trafficking prosecution rates in Europe having fallen by 50% between 2015 and 2019, next week’s 20^th Alliance against Trafficking in Persons Conference will explore what can be done to deliver justice and finally end this impunity.

The OSCE, as an organizing partner within the Alliance, aims to use the Conference to launch a renewed effort to increase the number and improve the quality of prosecutions. The conference will offer a platform to discuss the challenges and opportunities in enhancing investigations and prosecutions of human trafficking, and explore the linkages between the prosecution of offenders and the protection of victims before, during, and after criminal proceedings. 

Participants will develop recommendations on how to make prosecution a more utilized, tailored, and effective tool in combating human trafficking and highlight good practices, including creative and innovative methods to enhance efforts against human trafficking crimes. A particular emphasis will be put on ways of working smarter, including making greater use of financial investigations, partnerships, proactive investigation methods, and prosecution strategies that do not require the testimony of victims.

The Alliance Conference is the most important international event on anti-trafficking issues: the world's leading experts in this field will attend the event.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic related restrictions, the Conference will, for the first time, be conducted primarily online, via the Zoom platform. It will take place from 14:00 hrs, Monday, 20 July through to 16:30 hrs, Wednesday, 22 July (all times are Central European Summer Time).

Media representatives are invited to watch the entire conference remotely and participate in the discussions. To do so they are required to register by sending an e-mail to [email protected] or [email protected] by 17:00 hrs, Friday 17 July. After registration, participants will receive an invitation with a link to the Zoom meeting.

Visit the event webpage to learn more about this conference, including a detailed agenda.

Follow the Alliance Conference on Twitter and comment using #CTHB20, or use #AskOSCEAlliance to send your questions to panelists.

It is also possible to watch the conference live (without participation) on the OSCE’s Facebook page. 

Contacts: