Theme: Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies.
 

 
Human Trafficking and Exploitation of people were on the agenda during discussions at the High Level political forum (HLPF) 2018 on Sustainable Development  (9-18 July) which concludes this Friday, bringing a further and strengthened commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
It is increasingly accepted that poverty, civil unrest and displacement of persons contribute to the circumstances where vulnerable people fall victim to traffickers poised to profit from the vulnerability of others. A key dimension of the RENATE Strategic Plan (2016-2021) is work towards the achievement of the SDGs.
The following Goals were specifically focused upon at the HLPF gathering:

• Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
• Goal 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
• Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
• Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
• Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
• Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, that will be considered each year.

 
A glance through the  SIDE EVENTS will give you an indication of the discussions during the nine days of the meetings.

• Side Events Programme (9-13 July)
• Side Events Programme (16-18 July)

47 countries are carrying out Voluntary National Reviews and you can view the video on same (02:41).
The Report of the UN Secretary General on Progress Towards the Sustainable Development Goals, is also available at : https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/18541SG_SDG_Progress_Report_2018_ECOSOC.pdf
The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2018 can be accessed here
Prepared by Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications.

To mark the occasion of the World Day against Trafficking in Persons, Talitha Kum invite us to join an online webinar on Friday, 20 July at 14:00 (Rome time), for an update on the activities of the Talitha Kum network against human trafficking. Full details at:  https://uisg.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=8d871d8272fe1798b9fab76e5&id=742ac33841&e=fd8a2144b1
Prepared by Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications.
 

In London, an innovative new app – Safe Car Wash App- has been launched by the Santa Marta Group, the Catholic Church’s anti-slavery project, and The Clewer Initiative, the Church of England’s campaign against modern slavery – amid concerns about slavery and exploitation in Britain’s 18,000 hand car washes.
The capital’s 10,000 black-cab drivers, represented by the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, LTDA, are being encouraged to support the Safe Car Wash app, an unprecedented attempt to map the extent of slavery in hand car washes in London and across the country.
The app is aimed at eradicating modern slavery in the hand car wash industry. In order to help to develop a more accurate picture as to the scale of the modern slavery problem in the car wash industry, Nottingham University’s Rights Lab have agreed to analyse the data collected from the app over a six-month period and to report back in early 2019.
The publicity around the introduction of the safe Car Wash app is an attempt to support victims of modern slavery and encourage people to identify the signs of exploitation in their local communities.
RENATE members are interested in the extent to which this new app can be introduced and replicated internationally, in a wider and dynamic attempt to combat modern slavery.
For more, please see: https://renate-europe.net/london-cab-drivers-safe-car-wash-app/
Prepared by Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications.

 
RENATE Core Group members (Imelda Poole, IBVM, Adina Balan, CJ, Ms. Ana Stakaj, Gabriella Korn, SSCJ,  Ms. Ivonne van de Kar, Marie Hélène Halligon, OLCGS and Monica Chickwe, SOM; apologies from Dagmar Plum, MMS) were welcomed to Romania by Adina Balan, where they gathered for a week’s reflection in early July, on the work completed during their term of office, which concludes in November this year.
It was a very industrious time.  Apart from it being a week of discernment in planning for the future, informed by the mandate achieved at the Assembly in Rome (November 2016) and the Strategic Plan 2016-2021, much time was given not only to the dialogue on skype re the new website for RENATE but also the writing of many documents for uploading on to various parts of this website.
In addition to the above, the Core Group dedicated the week to preparations for the next Working Board meeting, which will take place in Lviv, UKRAINE, 4 – 9 November 2018. Notifications for the meeting have issued to the Working Board members, where new Core Group members will replace outgoing Core Group members and a new cycle of  leadership begins.
We look forward to a productive and fruitful Board meeting, details of which will issue in due course.
 

 
Since 2007, Dr. Carrie Pemberton Ford at the Cambridge Centre for Applied Research in Human Trafficking, has held Summer Symposia, with a view to facilitating ‘’…multi-agency, cross departmental and inter and intra university research efforts to respond to the multiple challenges of Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery in all its global and local realisations.’’
This year’s theme was The five ‘Ts’ of Human Trafficking: Trauma, Transport, Terror, Transparency and Technology. Jesus College in Cambridge, UK welcomed speakers from Universities of Barcelona, Oxford, Cambridge, California, Johannesburg, Lagos, London who presented papers. Additional practical input was presented by representatives from the business sectors, major freight companies, airlines and social philanthropists.
Amongst the broad brush strokes of the Symposium’s theme, attendees learned about the concept of ‘’chaining,’’ applicable to irregular migrants who due to their status, are ‘chained’ to forced labour and trafficking; the increase in efforts within the airline sector, to combat human trafficking and exploitation; information from practitioners at refugee centres on the traumatic impact of trafficking on victims; the inter-play between SDGs and combatting/preventing human trafficking and labour exploitation; how technology has facilitated Human Trafficking and how it might be harnessed in order to combat Human Trafficking.
One of the participant’s evaluation from the week, speaks eloquently about the value of the Symposium, ‘’A wonderful week of purposeful engagement with the generosity of over 30 panellists from across the globe offering expertise and insights from Venezuela, Italy, South Africa, India, Bangladesh, Lebanon, Greece….’’
While we look forward to the post-symposium report and the possibility of papers being made available, more information at :  https://www.facebook.com/326355221679/posts/10155630751991680/ …
Dr. Pemberton Ford is currently finalising the RENATE Child Trafficking Mapping research, commissioned by RENATE with a view to publishing this coming Autumn.
Prepared by Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications.  

 
Please click here to read the Talitha Kum Newsletter.