ASTRA – Anti-Trafficking Action attended the three-day International Congress and Conference (IMCC) in Bangkok from October 15th to 18th, organized by the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW) to mark three decades of its existence and the European Anti-Trafficking Day. The event brought together numerous activists, experts, and member organizations to discuss the fight against human trafficking, the rights of migrants, trafficking victims, and informal sector workers.
The conference featured various sessions where participants exchanged their knowledge and experiences on combating human trafficking, migration, and labor rights.
ASTRA’s Director, Marija Andjelkovic, participated in the plenary session titled “Engaging with Legal Systems” and spoke about her work advocating for systemic changes in providing legal aid to victims of human trafficking.
She emphasized that “strategic litigation is slow,” but, as she noted, it is often an effective tool in supporting victims’ rights.
The Director of ASTRA also took part in a session on “Trafficking for Forced Criminality,” which addressed the complexity of this form of exploitation and the need for better victim protection.
“People affected by socio-economic factors such as poverty, discrimination, socio-economic deprivation, and lack of legal protection are particularly at risk of becoming victims of forced criminality. Therefore, the most vulnerable target groups are undocumented migrants, children, and young people. States must do more to improve legislation in this area, as well as work on educating police and prosecution representatives to recognize indicators pointing to this form of human trafficking,” said ASTRA’s Director Marija Andjelkovic.
This year’s International Congress and Conference offered a platform for knowledge exchange, celebrating achievements, and developing strategies for future actions to address ongoing challenges in the fight against human trafficking and rights-based advocacy. Through its activities, ASTRA highlighted the importance of a survivor-centered approach and the necessity of legal reforms in the global fight against human trafficking.
Thirty Years of the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women
The Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW) was launched in October 1994 at an international conference in Chiangmai, Thailand. The conference was organized by the Foundation for Women, a feminist collective in Thailand, to share the findings of their Feminist Participatory Action Research on working-class women’s migration from the country. The conference brought together allies from women’s movements in countries from both the Global North and South, concerned about the rights violations women experience in the context of migration and labor.
“Our 30th anniversary is a milestone in the Alliance’s history and provides an opportunity to celebrate past successes, pause and reflect on the current challenges and opportunities, and plan with new energy for the future,” the Alliance stated in its press release.
GAATW founder Siriporn Skrobanek reflected on the beginnings of the organization.
“Since 1994, when GAATW was founded, we have had the same goal—to eradicate the exploitation of women, which we incorporated into the UN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime. We had the energy to define human trafficking and launch actions to fight it. At the time, we didn’t know we would face new challenges today, such as COVID, climate change, mass migration, and wars. Back then, women had power, and they still have the power to stop the situations happening in the world,” she said.
The Chairperson of the GAATW Board, Dr. Naruemon Thabchumpon, emphasized that over the past three decades, they have “learned a lot,” but now it’s time to ask what the next steps are.
“We’ve been learning from each other for 30 years. This is a turning point for us to examine our role in society today, as many changes are happening in the world. COVID, climate change is leading to crises and increasing inequalities. Digitalization is affecting us, connecting us, but our governments are reverting to nationalism. It’s time to ask ourselves what the next steps are, what needs to change, and what should be done differently. Rights for all, now!” she said.
The Alliance’s International Coordinator, Bandana Pattanaik, compared the present to the 1990s.
“Compared to today, the 90s don’t seem so bad. We had a strong focus and a lot of feminist energy, international events, where we believed that global was local and vice versa. Today, we have a total breakdown of multilateralism, little hope, and trust, even when mechanisms exist. Even the definition of human trafficking, which we fought so hard for, is being questioned. The answer lies in street art, theater, and new technologies,” said Bandana Pattanaik.