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Fighting Human Trafficking in Travel and Tourism: New Challenges & Solutions

Joint Briefing with the Congressional Trafficking Caucus

Member

Representative Chris Smith

Co-Chairman

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe

Moderator

Allison H. Parker

General Counsel

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe

Witnesses

Michael “Mick” McKeown

Blue Campaign Executive Director

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Tracey Breeden

Director of Safety Communications

Uber

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Nancy Rivard

Founder and President

Airline Ambassadors

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Carol Smolenski

Executive Director

End Child Trafficking and Pornography (ECPAT), USA

Craig Kalkut

Vice President of Government Affairs

American Hotel & Lodging Association

Nick Shapiro

Global Head of Trust & Risk Management

Airbnb

Traffickers move trafficking victims on airplanes, buses, trains, and taxis—frequently relocating to avoid detection by law enforcement and to chase big markets, like major sporting events and vacation destinations. Hotels, often unknowingly, sell rooms to traffickers for exploitation. 

Over the last decade, transportation and hotel professionals have recognized the role they can play on the front lines of identifying potential trafficking victims. Many organizations work alongside NGOs and the Departments and Homeland Security and Transportation to ensure that their employees are ready to respond to, rather than look away from, victims in plain sight. 

However, some companies have been slow to join the fight. Legislation pending in Congress will require hotels and airlines to train their employees to spot and report signs of trafficking before the companies can become eligible to win government contracts. More decentralized systems of travel and tourism—such as Airbnb and Uber—may need new frameworks to ensure that their systems do not become the preference of traffickers on the move.

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Hearings

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Press Releases

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Articles

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Hearings

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Press Releases

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Press Releases

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Articles

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Press Releases

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