First meeting on combating human trafficking.

• Author: Conaway, Janelle
• Position: Organization of American States - Brief article

Representatives of the OAS member states met in Venezuela in March for the first hemispheric meeting on human trafficking. Assistant Secretary General Albert R. Ramdin told delegates attending the Meeting of National Authorities on Trafficking in Persons that this crime violates universal human rights, including the right to liberty and freedom from slavery.

"It is a global problem and therefore requires a multilateral approach. No country can resolve the problem in isolation," Ramdin said.

The March 14-17 meeting, which took place on Venezuela's Margarita Island, examined issues related to human smuggling, exploitation, and other trafficking-related crimes. Representatives of civil-society organizations offered proposals on how to address the problem effectively.

"The rise in human trafficking is a result of economic and social inequalities in our hemisphere," said Ambassador Nelson Pineda, Venezuela's Alternate Representative to the OAS, who chaired the working group that prepared the meeting. Venezuela's Deputy Minister of Juridical...