Vienna Conference on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings 2023

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 “Boundaries and Frontiers in Human Trafficking”. The topic encompasses a variety of differentiations, limitations and prospects. Even the typology of human trafficking itself is characterized by distinctions from and overlap with related phenomena, such as smuggling of migrants and other illegal practices, which coexist with human trafficking and may hamper victim identification. The distinction between human trafficking and other emerging forms of exploitation is an important point for discussion. The concept of territorial borders is omnipresent not only in the context of the war against Ukraine, but also in the relations between human trafficking, irregular migration and refugee flows. The limits of what is possible – also for perpetrators of human trafficking– have been lifting rapidly through the development of communication technologies and systems. Simultaneously, new forms of committing offences, such as identity theft and fraud, are spreading through the ubiquity of complex IT systems.

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 boundaries. In four different workshops focusing on the issues of labour exploitation, cross-border protection of victims, child trafficking and the impact of new technologies, 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.