Vienna Conference on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings 2024

Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings remains a global phenomenon that requires intensive collaboration between governmental and non-governmental entities. Interdisciplinary cooperation, awareness raising and proactive efforts on national, regional and international level are essential in this context. An effective preventive measure is the professional exchange of expertise among anti-trafficking practitioners.

This year’s conference focuses on “Trafficking in Human Beings – A private matter?”. The topic encompasses a variety of differentiations, limitations and prospects. Trafficking in human beings is not just a widespread crime but also a deeply personal attack that profoundly invades the life and dignity of its victims. In many cases, a close relationship between the perpetrators and the victims precedes this attack. Often people close to the victims exploit their trust and perpetrators prey on a dependence built up before. Due to the advancement of information technology, the modi operandi as well as the nature of human trafficking itself are changing and therefore must be addressed by new prevention strategies. In many aspects of human trafficking, from prevention, victim identification, their support in protection, residence and legal proceedings, to fair compensation, it is crucial to ensure no one is left behind and to call upon society to demonstrate effective solidarity.

In a panel discussion and four thematic workshops with victim protection institutions, international organisations, intergovernmental institutions, NGOs and experts, we want to explore these various risks as well as chances. In four different workshops focusing on the position of civil society in detecting victims as well as in the integration of survivors, the protection of children and the vulnerabilities of people in private households, participants will attempt to develop effective measures to combat this heinous crime.

The fight against human trafficking has been one of the main priorities of Austria’s foreign policy since the establishment of the Task Force on Combatting Human Trafficking in 2004. The Task Force has organised the annual conference since 2007 in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the OSCE and, for some years now, the Principality of Liechtenstein.