Vienna – IOM Director General William Lacy Swing will address high-level government and UN officials, practitioners, and civil society tomorrow (05/09) at the UN Center in Vienna to call on States to carry out their commitments to combat migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons.

This is the fifth in a series of six sessions covering a range of issues on migration. It provides an opportunity to debate and examine actions taken, as well as gaps in responses to the smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons. The session also provides a platform for States and agencies to share best practices and launch new initiatives.

Panel discussions will examine topics related to investigating and prosecuting criminal actors, preventing smuggling and trafficking in persons, protecting and providing assistance to victims of trafficking, and national and cross-border coordination and cooperation.

On Tuesday 5 September, IOM will co-host with Polaris the pre-launch event of the Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative (CTDC), a new global repository of harmonized human trafficking data, during a side event co-organized by the United Kingdom with closing remarks by IOM Director General. Today (04/09), IOM will host another side event with UNODC and the Republic of Turkey on supporting new models of cooperation to counter migrant smuggling. More information on both events can be found here.

IOM continues to provide policy and technical expertise to the Offices of the President of the General Assembly and the Special Representative for the Secretary-General (SRSG) on International Migration, who serves as the Secretary-General for the intergovernmental process to adopt a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM). A sixth and final thematic session will take place in Geneva in October to be followed by a stocktaking meeting in December and intergovernmental negotiations beginning next year.

For more information please contact:

In Vienna: Joe Lowry, Tel: +43660 3776404, Email: jlowry@iom.int

In Geneva: Leonard Doyle, Tel: +41792857123, Email: ldoyle@iom.int or media@iom.int

In New York: Lanna Walsh, Tel: +1929 9201127, Email lwalsh@iom.int