Stockholm, Sweden , 28 September 2018 - On 11 April 2018, Ms. Snow White Smelser, GLO.ACT Project Officer, participated in the Global Child Forum on 11 April 2018 at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden. The Global Child Forum is an annual event that raises child rights concerns among the private sector, together with civil society and governments from across the globe. The forum provides opportunities to inspire action, build partnerships, and invest in children - all to empower children to enjoy their rights. " The 10th Global Child Forum, on 11 April 2018 at the Stockholm Royal Palace, brings together thought leaders and prominent development and corporate practitioners from around the world to showcase best practice, highlight research and spur action at the highest level. The insights, analysis and initiatives presented at the Forum will provide a critical cornerstone for further progress on the children's rights and business sustainability agenda." In addition to promoting action by businesses to promote children's rights, the forum discussed ways to promote equal rights for girls.
During the event, Ms. Smelser took part in the focused breakout group " ActionLab : An Integrated Response to Child Labour - Turning Supply Chain Challenges into Mutual Opportunities" to provide input on child trafficking. Ms. Smelser contributed to the discussion on corporate responses to child labour in supporting socio-economic development with the long-term goal of eradicating child labour during the Action Lab. Highlighting best practices fostered through GLO.ACT interventions, she shared work GLO.ACT is doing with labour officials in South Africa . GLO.ACT has delivered workshops in Kwazulu Natal Province of South Africa to better detect and refer cases of labour exploitation and child trafficking.
The Ms. Smelser was invited to attend the dinner for speakers on 10 April 2018 at the Royal Palace. At the dinner, Ms. Smelser was asked by World Childhood Foundation - co-founded by Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden - to help advise on the implementation of "Say what you saw", their new project on transnational child sexual exploitation in Southeast Asia. Since the event, Ms. Smelser has advised World Childhood Foundation on local context and challenges, current studies by UNICEF and by the DQ Institute and networks of practitioners. She also recommended exploring ways to work with telecommunication and social media companies to facilitate reporting incidents of child exploitation.
Speakers included representatives from companies, banks, academia, government, UNICEF and the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, and the event was attended by approximately 400 participants from around the world working in various sectors. Opportunities were explored on work in countries supported by GLO.ACT with o ther participants , such as representatives of the Center for Child Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility of Lao PDR, the Brazilian M inistry of Public Labor Prosecution and World Childhood Brazil , and Star For Life of South Africa.
The Global Action to Prevent and Address Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants (GLO.ACT) is a four-year (2015-2019), €11 million joint initiative by the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The project is being implemented in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). GLO.ACT aims to provide assistance to governmental authorities and civil society organizations across 13 strategically selected countries: Belarus, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao PDR, Mali, Morocco, Nepal, Niger, Pakistan, South Africa, Ukraine. GLO.ACT works with the 13 countries to plan and implement strategic national counter-trafficking and counter smuggling efforts through a prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnerships approach. It supports the development of more effective responses to trafficking and smuggling, including providing assistance to victims of trafficking and vulnerable migrants through the strengthening of identification, referral, and direct support mechanisms.
For more information, please contact:
Ms. Snow White Smelser
snowwhite.smelser@un.org
www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/glo-act/
Email: glo.act@un.org
Twitter: @glo_act