The virtual conference “Human Trafficking in Times of Corona”, which took place on 14 and 15 October 2020, examined how the Corona pandemic has increased vulnerabilities to human trafficking and affected efforts to investigate cases and assist trafficked persons.

The Austrian Task Force on Combating Human Trafficking organized the conference on the occasion of the EU Anti-Trafficking Day in cooperation with the Vienna Institute for International Dialogue and Cooperation (VIDC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The keynote speech by the investigative journalist Jonas Seufert focused on labour exploitation in the agricultural sector in Germany. This input was followed by a panel discussion. Pawel Szalus, Head of the International Recruitment Integrity System (IRIS) of IOM, provided insight into the vulnerabilities of migrant workers to exploitation and how their resilience can be increased, particularly in the context of the pandemic.

Four parallel workshops took place on the second day of the conference. IOM co-organized a workshop together with VIDC on “Agricultural Working Conditions – Increased Exploitation and Human Trafficking in times of Corona?”.

 

 

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