BANGKOK, June 24, 2015 – The U.S. Ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Nina Hachigian, joined Microsoft, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and UN Agencies at a conference in Bangkok on June 23 and 24 to highlight the role that technology plays in inspiring new approaches to preventing trafficking in persons, protecting the victims and prosecuting the perpetrators.

In a keynote address to 170 participants from Asian governments, business and non-governmental organizations, Ambassador Hachigian called on governments in the region to work together to disband the criminal networks supporting the exploitative trade.

"Every government must make sure law enforcement can work effectively to combat human trafficking by developing a robust human trafficking law and policy," she said. “Every citizen can take action by campaigning against and reporting cases of trafficking. And technology can help all of us accomplish our goals.”

The Ambassador noted the opportunities for technology to raise awareness among potential victims and provide efficient incident reporting even from remote locations. Technology can help law enforcement better control travel and identity documents and protect testifying victims and their families through distance video communications. She added that effective communication between government, non-government organizations and law enforcement agencies is key to halting the trade.

At the conference, Microsoft and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced the launch of 6Degree.org, the first crowdfunding portal that enables the public to directly support the voluntary return and sustainable reintegration of individual victims of human trafficking. Backed by the Microsoft Azure cloud-computing platform, 6Degree was developed by IOM’s human trafficking awareness campaign, IOM X, which is carried out with the support of USAID.

Of the approximately 21 million people globally living in exploited conditions, 56 percent are found in the Asia Pacific Region, with Southeast Asia and South Asia representing key sub-regions that supply trafficking victims. Internet and communications technology are tools that can be used to amplify counter human-trafficking efforts. Migrants seeking economic opportunity in nearby countries are extremely vulnerable to exploitation – a situation that puts the countries of ASEAN on the front lines of combatting this crime as the region seeks to expand economic opportunities through the ASEAN Community. 

Read Ambassador Hachigian’s remarks.