Prevention of Modern Slavery: "An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure"Vienna, 14-15 September 2009

Press release, 14 September: Human traffickers exploit economic crisis, redoubled prevention efforts urgently needed, warns high-level conference at OSCE

Media Advisory, 9 September: OSCE's anti-trafficking co-ordinator hosts conference on preventing modern-day slavery

The overall aim of the 9th Alliance Against Trafficking in Persons conference is to provide examples of best practices in preventing trafficking in human beings (THB), reflecting the commitment of the OSCE participating States to come up with cross-cutting solutions to address the economic, social and political root causes of, and the demand for, commercial sex and labour exploitation.

The conference will also host a photo exhibition on the survivors of sex trafficking. This is an account of the missing women caught in the web of traffickers and spaces where they have been held and forced into prostitution. The Romanian photographer Irina Dana Popa will comment on her work during the conference.

Hillary Clinton addresses conference

The conference includes:

• a video address by Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State;
• keynote addresses by three UN Special Rapporteurs; and
• presentations by prominent experts and practitioners from the World Bank, International Labour Organization, International Organization for Migration, film directors, investigative journalists, and several NGOs and researchers.

The conference will discuss how to prevent human trafficking from different angles: the business model and socio-economic causes of trafficking, best practices on prevention and the media's role in combating trafficking in human beings and its responsibility to cover trafficking cases sensitively.