International Human Trafficking Summit Meets in Los Angeles to Tackle Slavery Lurking in Supply Chains (Nov. 9-11)

Toronto, Canada, November 6, 2015 (Newswire.com) - ​​​​​Human trafficking is lying hidden within the production chain delivering some of our most basic purchases. That too-good-to-be-true bargain purchase of jeans, sneakers or seafood can often be tracked back to human traffickers, yet no well-meaning consumer wants their hard-earned dollars ending up in the hands of ruthless criminals.

From Nov 9-11, some of the world’s leading experts will meet at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel LAX for Together Let’s Stop Traffick - the third annual international Summit on combatting human trafficking. This year’s theme “Breaking the Chains” focuses attention squarely on how to spot then root out human trafficking within everyday supply systems.

"Human trafficking is a hideous, yet low-risk and high-profit criminal activity that causes untold misery for over 20 million of our world's most vulnerable citizens, and brings in over U$150 billion* for organized crime."

Kim Derry, Co-chair, The International Police Training Institute

Delegates attending will include law enforcement personnel, legal experts, business and security leaders, and victim support groups from Africa, India, Canada, the Netherlands, and many regions of the USA. The event is hosted by the International Police Training Institute (IPTI) with support from the FBINAA (FBI National Academy Associates), the world’s largest law enforcement network.

Eliminating human trafficking from supply chains has rocketed up the news and business agenda, with Costco facing a federal legal challenge in California over slavery traced back to “ghost ships” involved in the production cycle of one of the company’s Thai shrimp suppliers. And the UK Parliament last month passed legislation requiring all companies doing business in the UK, with annual turnover above £36million, to report annually on the integrity of their international supply chains.

As well, the US Department of State’s TIP (Trafficking in Persons) Report 2015 shines a spotlight on human trafficking in the global marketplace, including risks to workers and ways in which business and government can increase transparency within production and supply systems.

Kim Derry, co-chair of event hosts The IPTI said:

“Human trafficking is a hideous, yet low-risk and high-profit criminal activity that causes untold misery for over 20 million of our world’s most vulnerable citizens and brings in over U$150 billion* for organized crime.

“And this is happening in our own back yards, with many victims trafficked close to home. This Summit will therefore actively and openly share best practice tools and techniques, as well as the latest professional research, empowering delegates to return home and create tailored solutions that best meet the needs of their local communities.”

Secretary of State, John F. Kerry – quoted in the TIP Report 2015 - states:

“In recent decades, we have learned a great deal about how to break up human trafficking networks and help victims recover in safety and dignity. In years to come, we will apply those lessons relentlessly, and we will not rest until modern slavery is ended."

The crime of human trafficking is “transnational”, crossing borders such that virtually every country in the world is affected, according to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime “Global Report on the Trafficking in Persons (2014)”.

Human beings can find themselves trafficked for many reasons, including sexual exploitation; slave labor such as domestic and agricultural work, and even deployed as child soldiers in conflict zones.

Over three days, Together Let’s Stop Traffick will offer a combination of expert speakers, collaborative workshops, best practice information-sharing and practical case study sessions. The event also offers exceptional opportunities to network with like-minded professionals, similarly active on the front lines, combatting human trafficking.

The 2015 Summit agenda is intended to drive the strategy to create GREAT (the Global Resource Epicenter Against Human Trafficking). It will be the world’s first international resource and coordination Center to combat human trafficking, building on the needs identified by delegates attending the 2013 and 2014 Summits.

Experts who will address the group include:

• Kim Derry, co-chair of The International Police Training Institute, FBI National Academy Associates past president, and Deputy Chief (Ret) of Toronto Police Service
• Leif Coorlim, Editorial Director, CNN Freedom Project
• Benjamin Greer, former Special Deputy Attorney General, California Department of Justice
• Ryan Blay, Special Agent: FBI Phoenix
• Peter Vonk, Advisor in the Inspectorate SZW; The Netherland’s Federal Department of Social Affairs and Employment​
• Dr Geeta Sekhon – Special Consultant with the United Nations (India)​
• Professor Timothy Palmbach, Chair & Professor Forensic Science Dept, University of New Haven
• Richard S W Menzi Esq, Legislative Counsel, Crime Stoppers of the United States​
• Dr Rochelle L Dalla, Dept of Child, Youth and Family Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Information about these and other speakers is available at the Together Let's Stop Traffick website.

* "Forced labour, human trafficking and slavery 2015" - The International Labour Organization

About the International Police Training Institute (IPTI)

The International Police Training Institute (IPTI) is a wholly independent not-for-profit institute and registered public interest foundation that provides specialized international police training, executive leadership and management mentoring support to senior law enforcement officers and emerging leaders, worldwide.

The IPTI is also a recognized training partner supporting outreach training worldwide for the FBI National Academy Association’s (FBINAA) 18,000 alumni, under the FBINAA’s continuing education mandate. For further information, visit www.theipti.org

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