Justice & Care joins forces with leading anti-trafficking voices on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to convene an action-focused event. 

New York, Justice & Care organised Aligning for Action: Transformative Partnerships to Combat Human Trafficking alongside the McCain Institute during the UN General Assembly. Hosted by international law firm Hogan Lovells Cadwalader, the event brought together more than 100 leaders from the public and private sectors to explore how cross-sector partnerships can better protect victims and strengthen justice.

The discussion reflected on 25 years since the adoption of the UN Palermo Protocol on human trafficking, highlighting the urgent need for coordinated action across government, business, civil society, survivor leaders, law enforcement and the legal sector to drive progress over the next 25 years.

Speakers included former UK Prime Minister Baroness Theresa May, Chair of the Global Commission on Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking; Nasreen Sheikh, Global Commissioner and lived experience expert; Jessica Roberts, Justice & Care’s Vice President for Global Partnerships; and Ambassador (Ret.) Cindy Dyer, Chief Program Officer at the McCain Institute. The event also welcomed prominent voices in the anti-trafficking movement, including humanitarian photographer Lisa Kristine, founder of the Human Thread Foundation.

The event strengthened connections across sectors and reinforced Justice & Care’s role in building the partnerships needed to advance effective, survivor-centred responses to human trafficking. 

“This is the biggest human rights issue of our time… It is an evolving picture – and we are constantly having to look at those new forms of slavery around the world.”

Baroness Theresa May, Chair of the Global Commission on Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking

“Survivors [of human trafficking] hold the answers. We must give them enough attention and time, honor them, respect them as experts.”

Nasreen Sheik, Global Commissioner

“At Justice & Care, our mission is to join forces to end human trafficking. That means engaging with partners at every level of the ecosystem – from the front lines all the way up to the chambers of power – and ensuring that we are together for the greatest impact”.

Jessica Roberts, VP Global Partnerships