Preventing Human Trafficking for Domestic Servitude in Diplomatic Households

VIENNA, 12 May 2017 – High-level diplomats and experts from across the OSCE region met at the Hofburg today to exchange best practices and discuss ways to stamp out human trafficking for domestic servitude in diplomatic households.

“As host country to a large diplomatic community and a number of important international organizations dealing with the issue of human security, Austria has a particular responsibility in this regard,” said Ambassador Tichy-Fisslberger, the Austrian National Co-ordinator on Human Trafficking. “Protocol officers play a key role in fighting this heinous crime by informing private domestic staff of diplomats of their rights and monitoring the respect of national regulations and fair treatment by their employers.”

Participants in the conference underlined that increasing dialogue and strengthening co-operation among participating States is crucial to combating the exploitation of private domestic staff. Tangible examples of value-added initiatives and lessons learned from across the OSCE region were presented and discussed during the event.

“Participating States have adopted new measures and guidelines since we began our workshops in 2012,” said the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Ambassador Madina Jarbussynova. “Because we are part of the diplomatic community, we have a responsibility to address the problem and we must have zero tolerance towards all forms of exploitation, irrespective of their nature and the status of the perpetrator.”

Key speakers at the event included representatives from Italy, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Uzbekistan and Austria as well as Canada, France, Germany, Poland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. Various other delegations showed great interest in the topic and contributed by sharing their country’s experience.

In the afternoon, representatives of the Austrian Protocol Department, the Criminal Intelligence Service, the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection and non-governmental organizations presented the Austrian system for preventing the trafficking and exploitation of domestic staff of diplomats. They provided information about staff rights and how respect for these rights is being monitored.