20th Alliance against Trafficking in Persons

The OSCE Alliance against Trafficking in Persons Conference is on track!

Due to travel and large-gathering restrictions following the COVID-19 outbreak, the Conference will be conducted primarily online for the first time and bring the OSCE anti-trafficking community together virtually. Registration will be open until Monday, 13 July, 17:00 CEST (UTC/GMT+2) via this link https://events.osce.org/2020-aat/registration. After registering, participants will receive an invitation with a link to the Zoom meeting. Please, see additional information here below.

Join the conversation on Twitter with ​#CTHB20. Ahead of the Conference use #AskOSCEAlliance to send questions related to the Conference's topic and follow us live through the OSCE Website / Facebook page.

The 2003 OSCE Action Plan on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings calls on participating States to criminalize human trafficking, to develop and implement effective law enforcement and criminal justice responses to the crime, to co-operate with other participating States to this effect, and to guarantee the assistance to and protection of witnesses and victims in the criminal justice system. The sum effect of these measures should ensure that perpetrators of human trafficking are prosecuted and convicted for human trafficking offences, and that victims of human trafficking receive the justice they deserve.

Despite these commitments, impunity for perpetrators remains widespread, with only a small number of victims of trafficking ever receiving justice. It is estimated that there are about 25 million victims of human trafficking globally. Yet in 2018, according to the 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report, only 11,096 traffickers were prosecuted worldwide — roughly one prosecution for every 2,275 victims. Prosecution rates are also in decline, falling by 52% in Europe between 2015 and 2018.

Even for those perpetrators who are prosecuted and convicted, sentences are often only a few months long. Meanwhile, the trauma they inflict on their victims can last a lifetime. With such shamefully low prosecution rates, traffickers are effectively given free rein to harm more victims and commit more crimes, undermining the rule of law and human security across the OSCE region.

Along with the prevention of trafficking and the protection of victims, prosecution is a cornerstone of an effective anti-trafficking response. The 20th Conference of the Alliance against Trafficking in Persons aims to launch a renewed effort to increase the number and improve the quality of prosecutions. This year’s high-level conference will frame the challenges and opportunities to enhance the investigation and prosecution of human trafficking and discuss linkages between prosecution of offenders and protection of victims before, during and after criminal proceedings. It will culminate in recommendations from across the OSCE region on how to make prosecution a more utilized and effective tool in combating human trafficking.

The Conference will also highlight good practices, including creative and innovative methods that can have a positive impact and effectively combat human trafficking crimes. A special 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 

The Alliance against Trafficking in Persons is an informal platform for advocacy and co-operation that includes international and civil society organizations. The Alliance was launched in 2004 to combine and co-ordinate the efforts of all its partners, with the common goal of preventing and combating human trafficking. Acting as a framework to improve synergy, the Alliance also supports OSCE participating States in establishing a harmonized approach to combat this heinous crime, which violates human rights and undermines the rule of law, human security and good migration governance throughout the region.

The Format

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic related restrictions, the Conference will for the first time ever be conducted primarily online and bring the entire OSCE anti-trafficking community together virtually via ZOOM. Registration will be open until Monday 13 July, 17:00 CEST (UTC/GMT+2) via https://events.osce.org/2020-aat/registration. After registration, participants will receive an invitation with a link to the Zoom meeting. The registration site will be closed after the deadline. If you are not registered, you will not be allowed into the meeting.

Participants who wish to take the floor during the sessions may send their request in advance to [email protected] until 20 July at 13:30 (Vienna time, GMT+2).

Follow the Alliance Conference on Twitter with #CTHB20 and watch video content on the OSCE Website / Facebook page. Ahead of the Conference, please use #AskOSCEAlliance to send questions related to the Conference's topic.