Last week, SI UN Representatives Lois Beilin and Yoko Komori Olson attended a meeting on "Empowering Women
and Girls: Innovative Collaborations to Combat Trafficking" at the United Nations in New York. The main point made during this meeting was that reduction in trafficking is in direct relationship to the education and empowerment of women and girls.        

At a high level meeting of representatives of the
General Assembly, Brazil, the Netherlands and United States described the
innovative efforts of the United Nations
and their respective
nations to combat trafficking.  A formal
relationship signed in 2010 by the three
nations provides for productive
collaboration on tracing trafficking from source countries, working to stop trafficking at  world athletic events and to tourist centers, as well as coordination of surveillance at points of entry such as airports.  As Mr. Brandt, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs for The Netherlands said, there is “great strength in unity” and the agreement has achieved significant progress to stop trafficking for sex and labour.

The Deputy Minister
for Policy for Women of Brazil, Ms. Vera Machado, read a statement from the
opening of the General Assembly by President Dilma Rousseff, the first women to open the General Assembly.  Pres.
Rousseff said: “I represent all women who cannot feed their children and who
cannot provide health care for their children”.  The main cause of
trafficking is poverty. Through poverty reduction measures, such as expanding the provision of education and training for poor women and girls, the Brazilian government is
working to reduce trafficking whilst also providing aid for trafficking victims. For example, a toll free number for teenage
trafficking victims. 

Luis CdeBaca, Ambassador – at – Large,  Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in
Persons of the  United States, urged each person  to
determine their own “slavery
footprint” which is a process for determining how much every person depends on the enslaved labour
of other human beings.  For example, an
ingredient in lipstick is mined by women and
children in the Congo who receive  little
or no  payment;  Persian rugs are often made by young children who are
rarely paid; fresh vegetables are harvested by poorly paid farm workers and many
others items or services are
provided through the work and labour of human slavery and trafficked
persons.

An excellent source of information for
Soroptimists is the TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT (published June 2011),  which provides data by country, a full
description of the types of human trafficking and an overview of trafficking world
wide.