Bearing in mind that the key to sustainable solutions in the fight against trafficking in human beings is co-operation and co-ordination, the first Special Representative (Dr. Helga Konrad) initiated a close partnership with relevant international actors under the heading of the Alliance Against Trafficking in Persons.
The Alliance Against Trafficking in Persons is a broad international forum which aims at combining the efforts of all relevant interlocutors to prevent and combat human trafficking. The spirit of the Alliance has been to develop effective joint strategies, combine efforts of relevant interlocutors in setting a common agenda, and to provide all the OSCE participating States as well as the Partners for Co-operation with harmonized approaches and decision-making aids.
Participants in the Alliance include numerous national authorities, regional, international and intergovernmental, as well as non-governmental organizations. They contribute with their expertise and specialized knowledge to the development of effective legal, social and economic anti-trafficking strategies at the political and implementation levels.
There have been two main modalities of co-operation within the Alliance Against Trafficking in Persons, one which involves the organization, implementation and participation in a number of events (e.g., expert level meetings, high-level conferences, and workshops) and another which relates to the co-ordination team made of experts from leading international organizations, NGOs, academia and researchers, such as the Alliance Expert Co-ordination Team.
Within the framework of the Alliance Against Trafficking in Persons, the Special Representative convenes at least two meetings per year - one at the level of Ministers and one at expert level.