St Mary's Academic Invited to Human Trafficking Prevention Event at the United Nations Headquarters

Programme Director for Bsc Criminology and Sociology at St Mary’s University, Twickenham Dr Carole Murphy attended the event Ending Human Trafficking by 2030: The Role of Global Partnerships in Eradicating Modern Slavery at the start of April in the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The event was organised by the Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York together with the Santa Marta Group, a collaboration of senior law enforcement chiefs from over 25 countries with senior representatives of the Roman Catholic Church and civil society organizations, founded in 2014 by Pope Francis, to strengthen and coordinate the global response to modern slavery. The Conference provided a forum for top UN Officials, International Bodies, Church leaders, senior law enforcement officials, various Member States and civil society representatives to focus on the coordination necessary to implement Targets 8.7, 5.2 and 16.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals and eradicate forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking by 2030. The principal organizers, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN, Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, and Commissioner Kevin Hyland, the UK’s first Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, extended the invitation because of Dr Murphy’s role in setting up the Centre for the Study of Modern Slavery at St Mary’s. In addition to Archbishop Auza, Cardinal Vincent Nichols and Commissioner Kevin Hyland, speakers included H.E. Mogesn Lykketoft, President of the 70^th Session of the General Assembly, and Mira Sorvino, UNDOC Goodwill Ambassador for the Global Fight Against Human Trafficking. The objectives of event were to describe the scope of the problem, outline the opportunities for remedy, identify solutions through building effective partnerships, and develop concrete actions for the future. Dr Murphy said, “This was a fantastic opportunity to have first-hand access to International world leaders and their plans for tackling human trafficking and modern slavery. I hope that the work of the centre for The study of Modern Slavery can contribute in a meaningful way towards building awareness of this issue through research, education and activities in the public sphere." Find out more on the United Nations website here.