COATNET events
COATNET held its 5th Annual Users Meeting on 14-17 October 2008. Over 40 representatives of Christian organizations involved in combating human
trafficking in Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa and the USA met in Paris to exchange information on the activities carried
out over the last year and plan joint actions for 2009. This event, hosted by Caritas France, was preceded with a one-day
workshop aimed at increasing partners &rsquo competence in addressing various legislative documents on human trafficking and
using them efficiently for advocacy.
In the framework of the meeting, COATNET joined forces with the French Collective Against Trafficking in Human Beings to organise
on 16th October an international symposium entitled: "Fighting trafficking in children: What is to be done in the European Union?".
Set up under the auspices of the French EU Presidency, the advocacy event took place at the Cour de Cassation, Palais de Justice,
on the occasion of the 2nd European Day Against Trafficking in Human Beings, and offered an opportunity for the representatives
of the clerical, political and civil society communities to provide recommendations for more effective fight against trafficking
in human beings, in particular, children and youth, and to contribute to the improvement of cooperation between NGOs and governmental
institutions in the area of combating human trafficking. By the end of the symposium, Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and
Security Jacques Barrot, presented the reactions of the European Commission to the debates. He welcomed the suggestions from the
civil society and underlined that the year 2009 will be an important period for the further development of an EU policy framework
in this area. A photo exhibition on related aspects in the different continents closed the day.
Please follow the link to find presentations and speeches from the public event
