The IPU and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime organized on 12 February 2008 a Parliamentary Forum on Human Trafficking at the Austrian Parliament in Vienna. The event took place in the context of an international event - the Vienna Forum to Fight Human Trafficking - a gathering of State and non-State actors to forge a coalition against human trafficking.
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The Parliamentary Forum was attended by some 125 members of parliament from 50 countries as well as observers from a host of international parliamentary and intergovernmental organizations. It provided an opportunity to examine ways in which parliaments and parliamentarians can be more actively involved in the global drive against human trafficking. In this context, participants shared relevant experiences and best practices. In addition, the Forum provided an opportunity for fruitful interaction among parliamentarians, experts, academics, prominent personalities and other anti-human trafficking activists.
Forum participants stressed the need for parliaments to be more proactive in the fight against human trafficking. They called inter alia for parliaments to work towards universal ratification of relevant international instruments, and to ensure that their provisions are incorporated into national legislation. Parliaments were also called upon to ensure compliance by their governments with these international commitments and that adequate resources are allocated to efforts to fight human trafficking. The overarching consideration during the meeting was the need to preserve the human rights of victims of human trafficking rather than further aggravate their suffering through by punishing them for breaking migration rules in countries of destination.
The report of the Parliamentary Forum was presented to a plenary session of the Vienna Forum on 14 February 2008.
