Dutch Rapporteur visits Washington
Dutch National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence against Children Corinne Dettmeijer will visit Washington from 24 to 27 February. She will visit the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, give a speech at the Human Trafficking Symposium of the McCain Institute, and will attend at the Anne Frank Award ceremony. She will also visit the Human Smuggling & Trafficking Center.
The McCain Institute
The goal of the McCain Institute is to end human trafficking by raising awareness and develop laws to effectively prevent human trafficking. In her speech National Rapporteur Corinne Dettmeijer stresses the importance of the capacity of people to recognize human trafficking. If we want to tackle this phenomenon, we have to reassure that we recognize it as such. Educating professionals and raising awareness among the public are key elements in tackling human trafficking. The U.S. Senator of North Dakota Heidi Heitkamp, Human Trafficking Advisory Council Chair of The McCain Institute Cindy McCain and the president of The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children John. F. Clark will also give a speech at the symposium.
Anne Frank Award for Human Dignity and Tolerance
The Dutch ambassador in Washington invited the National Rapporteur to the Anne Frank Award for Human Dignity and Tolerance ceremony. Winner of this year’s award is journalist Nicholas Kristof. As a journalist for the New York Times Kristof wrote about human trafficking in girls and women in the U.S., Cambodia and Nepal. To honor the legacy of Anne Frank, the prize is awarded to an American person or organization that has demonstrated a body of work that confronts intolerance, anti-Semitism, racism or discrimination while upholding freedom and equal rights.
During her stay in Washington the National Rapporteur will also visit the Human Smuggling & Trafficking Center of Homeland Security Investigations, where she will speak about the Blue Campaign. Finally, she will meet Michele Clark and Kay Chernush from Artworks for freedom. Chernush is known for her photo project Bought & Sold, that portrays victims of human trafficking.