File is not found

Regional Expert Group Meeting on Promoting Public-Private Cooperation to Combat Trafficking in Persons in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean

Panama, December 11, 2020. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), with the support and funding of the Government of Germany, held the Regional Expert Group Meeting "Promoting Public-Private Cooperation in Combating Trafficking in Persons in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean", on December 9 and 10.

At this meeting, a series of regional consultations were held as part of the broader UNODC project "Public-Private Partnerships: Fostering Collaboration with the Private Sector in Implementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and its Trafficking in Persons Protocol". This project, funded by the Government of Germany, aims to enhance and promote partnerships between the public, private and non-profit sectors in order to better assist Member States in the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocol against Trafficking in Persons.

One of the main outcomes of the PPP Project will be the development of a Compendium of Good Practices in Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to Combat Trafficking in Persons. This compendium will examine lessons learned from the analysis of existing PPPs and other forms of collaboration with the private sector to prevent and combat trafficking in persons.

Four RRGEs focused on Europe (funded by a different donor), the Americas, Africa, and Asia will aim to bring together experience and knowledge from diverse geographic perspectives. The RRGEs will involve an exchange with key stakeholders from the non-governmental, public and private sectors with no direct interest in combating human trafficking.

These meetings are intended to improve understanding and knowledge of the various ways in which partnerships with the private sector can assist Member States in the implementation of the Convention and its Trafficking in Persons Protocol and contribute to the prevention of trafficking, the identification of traffickers and the protection of victims.

This event brought together stakeholders from the origin, transit and destination regions of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.  The representatives present came from governments, the private sector, as well as civil society organizations and academia, who discussed the challenges posed by human trafficking to the private sector, exchanged good practices on how to better engage in the prevention of human trafficking and shared experiences on innovative approaches to address human trafficking at the national and/or regional level.

Special attention was given to PPPs in terms of combating trafficking from the supply chain, finance and technology sectors.