Human Trafficking, Forced Labor, and Exploitation

OVERVIEW:

No human rights abuse has proved more durable and disturbing than human trafficking. From the era of transatlantic slavery to the present day, the crime of transporting, exploiting, and abusing men, women, and children has been committed in all corners of the globe and has affected the lives and communities of countless millions of human beings. While the most vulnerable are those individuals living in poverty with limited educational or economic opportunities, trafficking victims come from all regions of the world and all sectors of society. In 2014, the International Labor Organization estimates that, at any given moment, over 20 million people are in conditions of forced labor, generating some US$150.2 billion per year–a level of economic output greater than many countries in the world.

Given the scale of the problem, solutions require coordination at the local, national, and global levels, as well as cooperation between advocates, policy makers, law enforcement, and experts. While the problem has hardly been ignored, more needs to be done to ensure that efforts are effective not only in liberating victims and prosecuting perpetrators, but also in providing protection and rehabilitation for survivors over the long term, devising sustainable, locally-based prevention strategies, and in strengthening equitable economic opportunities and legitimate business practices worldwide.

Recognizing, that trafficking exists at the nexus of other human rights issues, including sexual violence and exploitation, the rights of migrants, children’s rights, and workplace and labor rights, the UNESCO Chair and Institute of Comparative Human Rights will convene a wide range of international and national activists, officials, survivors, and scholars to discuss the impact of trafficking around the world as well as the opportunities and challenges in combatting these crimes. This conference will present an opportunity for students, faculty and the community to come together to learn how they can act in partnership with others to combat this grave crime.