Press Release: USUN Panel Discussion on Trafficking in Persons

UNITED STATES MISSION TO THE UNITED NATIONS
OFFICE OF PRESS AND PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 17, 2019

Ambassador [Cherith Norman Chalet], U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, hosted a panel discussion today on trafficking in persons to illustrate the importance of documentation as a tool for combatting modern slavery. She reaffirmed the responsibility of the international community to redouble its efforts to prevent trafficking in persons, protect victims of trafficking, and hold perpetrators to account.

The briefing featured four panelists, including U.S. Ambassador-at-Large John Cotton Richmond, head of the U.S. Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, Simone Monasebian, Representative of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) New York, and Davina Durgana, PhD, Senior Statistician for the Walk Free Initiative of the Minderoo Foundation. The panelists were joined by Bukola Love Oriola, a member of the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking.

Panelists briefed on the findings in their recent reports, as well as their methodologies and how reporting can be used to support international efforts to combat human trafficking and strengthen calls on governments to broaden their efforts in this regard. Members and incoming members of the UN Security Council responded with comments and questions.

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