Join WIIS and the Embassy of the Principality of Liechtenstein, Washington DC on Tuesday, December 15, 2020 at 4 pm EST for a virtual policy roundtable discussion on efforts to combat human trafficking and modern slavery, with a focus on the roles of the financial and technology sectors.

Human trafficking and slavery are illegal in most states, yet the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that there are 40.3 million people enslaved or victim of trafficking. Trafficking is one of the most profitable criminal activities with profits of up to $150 billion a year. In 2018, Liechtenstein launched the Finance Against Slavery Initiative (FAST) to examine how the financial sector can be mobilized to abolish modern slavery and trafficking. That same year a coalition of technology companies launched a Tech Against Trafficking (TAT) Initiative.

In this roundtable, we will examine what progress has been made on both initiatives. We will also examine how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the illegal trade in humans, and innovative approaches and new policy initiatives to eliminate human trafficking and modern slavery.

Moderator:
Dr. Chantal de Jonge Oudraat - President, Women In International Security 

Remarks:
Ambassador Kurt Jaeger - Ambassador of Liechtenstein to the United States

Panelists:
Prof. James Cockayne - Founding Head of Secretariat, Liechtenstein Initiative for Finance Against Slavery & Trafficking
Jamille Bigio - Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
Hannah Darnton - Lead, Tech Against Trafficking Initiative
Dr. Layla M. Hashemi - Researcher and Data Analyst, Terrorism, Transatlantic Crime and Corruption Center