Global Anti-Human Trafficking & Modern Slavery Legislative Task Force

Mission & Operational Scope

Abolishing Modern Slavery Through Legislative Action

Human trafficking and modern slavery affect an estimated 40 million people worldwide — forced into labor, sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and other forms of coerced work that strip them of freedom and dignity. These crimes thrive in the gaps between national legal systems, in supply chains that obscure the conditions of production, and in the demand for cheap labor and commercial sex that drives exploitation. Effective response requires not just enforcement but comprehensive legislative frameworks that criminalize all forms of trafficking, protect survivors, hold supply chains accountable, and address the poverty and vulnerability that traffickers exploit.

This task force develops model legislation for comprehensive anti-trafficking and modern slavery laws, advocates for adoption of these frameworks by national governments, and builds the international cooperation architecture needed to disrupt trafficking networks that operate across borders.

Governing Doctrine

International Standards & Frameworks

• PalermoUN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons — primary international anti-trafficking framework establishing criminalization, victim protection, and cooperation obligations
• ILO 29ILO Forced Labour Convention and 2014 Protocol — binding obligations to eliminate forced labor including trafficking for labor exploitation and supply chain due diligence
• CEDAWConvention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women — trafficking and exploitation provisions applicable to the majority of trafficking victims who are women and girls
• UNGPsUN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights — corporate due diligence obligations applicable to supply chain forced labor and trafficking prevention