Protecting workers' rights can prevent human trafficking, says OSCE Special Representative ahead of International Labour Day

VIENNA, 29 April 2011 – The OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, stressed today that promotion of decent work and protection of workers' rights, including freedom of assembly and association, can help prevent and combat trafficking in human beings for labour exploitation.

In her International Labour Day message, Giammarinaro emphasized that trafficking for labour exploitation is a gross violation of human rights and human dignity. 

“On 1 May we must think of millions of men, women and children worldwide who on daily basis are deprived of their rights, forced to work day and night in inhuman and degrading conditions, without pay or for a salary which barely allows them to survive,” said Giammarinaro.

The OSCE Special Representative stressed that the celebration of the International Labour Day is an opportunity to raise awareness about this intolerable form of exploitation. “Trafficked persons are vulnerable because of their economic and personal circumstances, or as a consequence of conflict or post-conflict situations. They are often migrant workers, asylum seekers, unaccompanied and separated children, seeking for a better life and falling prey to unscrupulous intermediaries and employers, and often to organized criminal groups,” she said.

She also called for the protection of domestic workers’ rights, which will be a key topic of a forthcoming experts’ roundtable organized by the German Institute for Human Rights in partnership with her office on 2-3 May in Berlin.

New steps to prevent trafficking in human beings for labour exploitation, with a focus on decent work and social justice, will also be discussed at the 11th High-Level Alliance against Trafficking in Persons Conference hosted by the OSCE Special Representative in Vienna on 20-21 June.