EU Anti-Trafficking Day takes place every year on 18 October, to unite relevant actors working to eradicate trafficking in human beings around the world. This year IOM, the UN Migration Agency, will co-host a conference with the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) to mark the occasion. The conference, entitled Digital Technology: An Unprecedented Opportunity for the Prevention of Trafficking, will bring together state and non-state stakeholders to address the role of digital technology to prevent human trafficking.
Digital technology, through mobile phones, social media platforms or internet recruitment portals, can be a means of facilitating human trafficking. At the same time, digitalization can provide powerful tools to prevent trafficking in human beings and uphold the rights of victims, for instance, through the creation of hotlines and digital reporting apps to facilitate early identification.
The conference aims to narrow down the debate to one area of counter-trafficking: prevention. Today more than ever, interactions between private technology companies and counter-trafficking stakeholders are key to ensure the positive use of ICTs and the maximization of their potential to prevent trafficking in human beings.
Representatives from IOM, FDFA, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and British Telecommunications among other counter-trafficking stakeholders, will take part in a panel discussion and presentations during this half-day conference. International experts will be invited to present their work and promising practices in trying to make use of digitalization in counter-trafficking efforts.
Original source: IOM
Published on 16 October 2018
