June 2008

1. Addressing Forced Labour: The Role of Employers' Organisations and Business

   30 June - 1 July 2008

   The conference will discuss why forced labour is an issue for employers and business and what role employer organisations should play to support the efforts of business in combating forced labour at national and international levels.

2. Regional Workshop on Labour inspection and Forced Labour in Latin America

   18 - 20 June 2008

   This technical workshop will gather about 50 persons linked to labour inspection and forced labour from 12 Latin American countries

May 2008

1. Regional Workshop for Employers’ Organizations on Strategies against Trafficking and Forced Labour

   21 - 22 May 2008

   Workshop organized on 21-22 May 2008 in the framework of the ILO project "Elimination of human trafficking from Moldova and Ukraine through labour market based measures". This high-level event raised awareness and facilitated cooperation and partnership to fight human trafficking bringing together representatives from employers’ organizations and business from Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania, Poland, and Ukraine. Their involvement is a key to the success of ILO efforts to rid the world of these abuses by 2015.

February 2008

1. Engaging Business: Addressing Forced Labour

   20 February 2008

   On 20 February 2008, the Coca-Cola Company hosted a conference on “Engaging Business: Addressing Forced Labour” at its headquarters in Atlanta. The meeting was sponsored by the U.S. Council for International Business, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the International Organization of Employers, in Cooperation with the International Labour Organization. It brought together 80 representatives from employers’ organizations and individual companies, officials from the US Departments of Labor and State, civil society organisations and the ILO to share experiences and knowledge on combating forced labour.

2. The UN.GIFT Vienna Forum to Fight Human Trafficking

   13 - 15 February 2008

   UN.GIFT aims to mobilize state and non-state players to eradicate human trafficking by reducing both the vulnerability of potential victims and the demand for exploitation in all its forms; ensuring adequate protection and support to those who do fall victim, as well as efficient prosecution of the criminals involved. The Vienna Forum to Fight Human Trafficking will take place in Vienna, Austria, 13-15 February 2008, to raise awareness about human trafficking. More than 1’000 participants are awaited.

December 2007

1. The role of labour inspectors in combating human trafficking and forced labour in Europe

   5 - 6 December 2007

   The meeting serves as a kick-of for ILO’s initiative to strengthen the role of labour inspectors in the national response against forced labour and trafficking. In the framework of this initiative, the ILO is currently developing comprehensive training materials to be used by labour inspectors.

October 2007

1. Slavery, Poverty and Social Exclusion - CO/DFID/ILO/ASI high-level Conference

   30 October 2007

   Ministers from the FCO and DFID, in conjunction with the International Labour Organisation and Anti-Slavery International, hold a high-level conference with especially invited representatives of civil society, business, trade unions and international organizations, to examine the relationship between slavery, poverty and social exclusion, including how the fight against poverty and human rights violations can support the elimination of forced labour and slavery, facilitating better linkages between the various sectors which have a role to play in eradicating contemporary forms of slavery and identifying specific actions that can be taken to help reduce slavery.

September 2007

1. Human Dimension Implementation Meeting

   24 September - 5 October 2007

   The HDIM is Europe's largest human rights conference and is a forum where representatives from government, civil society and international organizations discuss the implementation of OSCE commitments in the human dimension. One of the sessions focused on forced labour and trafficking

2. ILO/ITUC Inter-Regional Conference on Trade Union Action and Strategies on Forced Labour and Trafficking

   9 - 11 September 2007

   The inter-regional conference will be discussing an international trade union strategy in the fight against forced labour and trafficking. The objectives are to give to all participants a clear view on all aspects of different forms of forced labour and trafficking, their adverse effects on the labour market and the role of the trade union movement in fighting the phenomenon, defining what the main means of action of trade unions are on a (sectoral) local, national, regional and international level.

3. International Labour Standards for Judges, Lawyers and Legal Educators

   3 September - 14 June 2007

   The main objective of the seminar is to equip law professionals with the instruments enabling them to use international labour law elements at national level, including the relevance of ILS on the elimination of forced labour.