The Berlin Conference is the first in a series of events planned as part of a two-year project by the Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings supported by the current German and incoming Austrian OSCE Chairmanships, and Switzerland.

This high-level event is part of the OSCE’s ongoing effort to raise awareness about the problem of labour exploitation in supply chains and to advocate for increased actions at the government level across the OSCE region with the aim of adopting measures to prevent and combat this form of modern day slavery.

Today’s globalized economy is characterized by complex supply chains of goods and services, with both materials and labour sourced from all around the world. It is difficult for buyers and consumers to be sure that the goods or services that they purchase or procure were not produced by trafficked labour. It is also difficult for large or multi-national companies to verify their own supply chains when there may be multiple tiers of subcontractors. Sometimes a parent company might not be aware of whether its sub-contractors down the supply chain unknowingly use or resort to the use of forced labour, including child exploitation and human trafficking. Inefficiently regulated recruitment and poorly inspected worksites, behaviour and practices conducive to corruption, lack of understanding of labour and human rights standards, as well as insufficient enforcement, constitute additional challenges in this field.

In order to address the problem of human trafficking in global supply chains, the Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (OSR/CTHB) developed a project on Prevention of Trafficking in Human Beings in Supply Chains through Government Practices and Measures. The project aims to provide OSCE participating States with practical tools to enact concrete measures to prevent human trafficking in supply chains, as well as build their capacity to implement these measures. Project activities include capacity-building workshops and conferences, the publishing of Model guidelines on preventing trafficking in supply chains and developing a plan encouraging the adoption of the Model guidelines.

'...without looking into yourself.''What matters most is human relationships and the human mind.'

'Now I have understood that an actor needs to switch on and off between action and cut.''I take my characters only from the vanity van to vanity van.''When I put on the makeup and wear the costume, I'm in character.''The minute I remove the makeup and take off my costume, I am out of it.'

What do I know about anything? But these pre-measured meals are helping us kick the winter doldrums.

Human attempts to define intelligence are largely motivated by a desire to prove we have more of it – but a look at the world around us suggests a different story

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STACK SCORE Mu Ste42.9 ers pv

Hayden Library - QM608.C66 2018