News and press releases

VIENNA, 3 April 2020 – Valiant Richey, OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, today issued the following statement, in co-ordination with Albania’s OSCE Chairmanship, to the OSCE participating States on the COVID-19 pandemic. He urged that, “it is precisely when our global community is convulsed by a crisis of this magnitude that our obligation to combat the exploitation of vulnerable people becomes most acute”...

The OSCE is one step further in eradicating exploitation from its electronics supply chains, having joined Electronics Watch, the OSCE Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, announced on 27 February 2020. This independent watchdog will be monitoring the production locations of electronics hardware procured and engaging with the industry. The OSCE is setting in practice its policy of transparency in purchasing procedures...

VIENNA, 21 February 2020 – After a stalled response to human trafficking, Irish officials are showing a renewed commitment to addressing the issue, according to Valiant Richey, OSCE Special Representative for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, as he concluded on 20 February a three-day visit to Ireland to observe its response to trafficking and to provide recommendations on ways to strengthen it.

How to combat human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants through a multi-disciplinary approach and multi-level co-operation was the focus of a regional workshop for government and law enforcement officials held in Valletta on 9 and 10 December 2019...

What if the seafood served in the cafeteria at your organization was caught and processed as a result of trafficked labour occurring on the other side of the world? Preventing labour exploitation in supply chains was the focus of a meeting organized by the Office of the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings for members of the Inter-agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT) and the UN’s Procurement Task Force in Vienna on 10 December 2019...

BRATISLAVA, 6 December 2019- A event on “Effective Multilateralism in Action: OSCE co-chairing of ICAT, a year in review” was held yesterday on the margins of the OSCE Ministerial Council. The panel discussion focused on key milestones of this year’s co-chairpersonship, by the OSCE, of the UN’s Inter-agency Coordination Group Against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT)., 6 December 2019- A event on “Effective Multilateralism in Action: OSCE co-chairing of ICAT, a year in review” was held yesterday on the margins of the OSCE Ministerial Council. The panel discussion focused on key milestones of this year’s co-chairpersonship, by the OSCE, of the UN’s Inter-agency Coordination Group Against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT)...

On the margins of the 26th OSCE Ministerial Council in Bratislava, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Co-operation of the Principality of Monaco Laurent Anselmi and OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger signed an agreement on 5 December 2019 on Monaco’s support for the OSCE project “Combating Human Trafficking along Mediterranean Migration Routes”...