Dr. Kari Johnstone
Dr. Kari Johnstone took up her position serving as OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Human Trafficking on 30 October, 2023.
She represents the OSCE at the political level on trafficking issues, co-ordinating the organization’s efforts to combat human trafficking in the OSCE region. In her role, Dr. Johnstone leads efforts to support OSCE participating States in strengthening their anti-trafficking strategies, operational frameworks and actions.
In her most recent roles prior to joining the OSCE, Dr. Johnstone worked as Senior Official, Acting Director, and Principal Deputy Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP) in the U.S. Department of State for a period of nine years between 2014-2023. Here, she gained extensive experience advising senior officials on policy and programming approaches to fight human trafficking globally, protect victims, and oversaw the production of the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report.
Previously, Dr. Johnstone served as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia and International Religious Freedom in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) from 2013-2014, and as Director for Russia and Central Asia at the National Security Staff of the White House in 2012.
Mandate
In line with the 2003 Maastricht Ministerial Council and 2006 Brussels Ministerial Council Decisions on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings is responsible for assisting participating States in implementing their OSCE commitments on combating trafficking in human beings. She is also charged with co-ordinating OSCE efforts in combating trafficking in human beings across all three dimensions, within the OSCE, as well as raising the public and political profile of the organization's efforts in this area. She cooperates with a wide range of national and international actors active in combating human trafficking.