Media and Trafficking in Human Beings Guidelines, was authored by the Ethical Journalism Network as part of a project funded by the European Union and implemented by an international consortium led by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD). © 2017. Republished with permission. 

Links and Contacts

ACRONYMS

• ILO International Labour Organisation
• ICAT Inter-Agency Co-ordination Group Against Trafficking
• MMD Migration and Mobility Dialogue (Africa)
• OSCE Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe
• ICMPD International Centre for Migration Policy Development
• UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
• IOM International Organisation for Migration
• OHCHR Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
• IDMC International Displacement Monitoring Centre
• ICRMW Convention on Protection of Rights of Migrant Workers
• GMG Global Migration Group
• GCIM Global Commission on International Migration
• CERD UN Commission on Elimination of Racial Discrimination
• PICUM Platform International Co-operation on Undocumented Migrants

Some key political initiatives and resources from international agencies which journalists and media should be aware of:

• Rabat Process The Euro African Dialogue on Migration and Development https://www.rabat-process.org/en/
• Khartoum Process The European Union Horn of Africa Migration Route Initiative Africa Continental Dialogue within the Migration and Mobility Dialogue (MMD) https://www.khartoumprocess.net/
• Budapest Process A consultative process among 50 countries for orderly migration https://www.budapestprocess.org/
• Prague Process Targeted migration dialogue among countries of the European Union, Schengen Area, Eastern Partnership,Western Balkans, Central Asia, Russia and Turkey https://www.pragueprocess.eu/en/
• Mediterranean Transit Migration Dialogue A consultative dialogue among officials dealing withmigration and related issues https://www.icmpd.org/our-work/migration-dialogues/mtm/
• Global Compact for Migration A United Nations initiative for a holistic approach to migration. http://refugeesmigrants.un.org/migration-compact
• Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons The United Nations strategy for dealing with humantrafficking http://www.un.org/pga/72/event-latest/global-plan-ofaction-to-combat-trafficking-in-persons/
• International Labour Organisation Key UN organisation on forced labour and child labour http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/forced-labour/lang–en/index.htm
• Inter-Agency Coordination Group Against Trafficking in Persons The UN agencies working together to combat trafficking http://icat.network/
• Alliance Against Trafficking in Persons Broad international forum set up by the Organisations for Security and Co-operation in Europe http://www.osce.org/secretariat/107221
• Alliance 8.7 International alliance to combat child labour http://www.alliance87.org/
• Migration Newsdesk Established for journalists by International Organisation for Migration https://www.iom.int/press-room/newsdesk
• Migration Stories Briefings from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees http://www.unhcr.org/uk/news-and-stories.html
• Anti-trafficking projects Summary of actions from the International Centre for Migration Policy Development which conducts robust and policy-orientated research in this area, particularly on human trafficking. https://www.icmpd.org/our-work/capacity-building/trafficking-in-human-beings

Media Links:

• https://www.freetheslaves.net/about-slavery/faqs-glossary/ One of many international NGOs doing excellent work with advice for journalists.
• https://gijn.org/human-trafficking-resources-best-practices-in-reporting/ : Excellent resource with examples of good practice and advice for journalists and media organisations from the Global Investigative Journalists Network.

More Examples of Good Coverage:

• http://programm.ard.de/TV/Themenschwerpunkte/Politik/Aktuelle-Reportagen/Startseite/?sendung=28487337027833 : An ARD documentary about modern slavery in Germany, covering forced labour, domestic servitude and sexual exploitation. Reporters talk to survivors, social workers, NGOs and police to find ways to stop modern slavery in Germany.
• http://www.zeit.de/wirtschaft/2016-05/sklaverei-ausbeutung-global-slavery-index-komplexitaet/komplettansicht : A detailed article about modern slavery from May 31 2016, deals with how the refugee crisis creates new challenges, focuses on the issue of how forced labour has become part of a global business strategy to keep costs of consumer goods low.
• http://youtu.be/APN4Q62uatk : A powerful documentary about modern slavery in France by an independent filmmaker, paid for by France television, aired on France5 in 2016.
• https://www.theguardian.com/membership/audio/2016/may/23/patrick-kingsley-on-europes-refugee-crisis-guardian-live-event Patrick Kingsley, of The Guardianand one of Britain’s leading journalists, reflects on the challenges of reporting the refugee crisis.
• https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/24/libyas-people-smugglers-how-will-they-catch-us-theyll-soon-move-on A Guardian investigation reveals how Libya’s fishing economy was overwhelmed by people smugglers who have snapped up boats to carry migrants and refugees across the Mediterranean.

A Selection of Existing Guidelines:

• http://www.who.int/mip/2003/other_documents/en/Ethical_Safety-GWH.pdf World Health Organization’s (WHO) Ethical and Safety Recommendations for Interviewing Trafficked Women, 2003. Besides background material as a justification for these recommendations, the WHO’s document contains “Ten Guiding Principles to the Ethical and Safe Conduct of Interviews with Women Who Have Been Trafficked”
• https://www.unicef.org/media/media_tools_guidelines.html UNICEF Principles and Guidelines on Ethical Reporting on Children. The purpose of this document is to “help media to cover children in an age-appropriate and sensitive manner. The guidelines are meant to support the best intentions of ethical reporters: serving the public interest without compromising the rights of children”
• https://www.unodc.org/documents/human-trafficking/2008/BP012TheRoleoftheMedia.pdf The United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Trafficking (UN.GIFT) produced astudy aiming to educate journalists and improve the quality of reporting – The Role of the Media in Building Images (2008)
• http://www.astra.org.rs/en/pdf/novinari08ENG.pdf A Human Trafficking Manual for Journalists (2008). A manual for journalists developed by Serbian NGO (Astra), to help the Media to address human trafficking; also useful for other countries meeting similar challenges.
• http://mirpal.org/files/files/Torgovlya_lyudmi.pdf In 2013, the Union of Russian Journalists (NGO) and the Faculty of Journalism, Moscow State University, supported by the OSCE, published a Russian language handbook for students and post-graduates of Media faculties “СМИ против ТЛ”, 2013
• https://ethicaljournalismnetwork.org Published Migration Reporting Guidelines for journalists and two international reports in 2016 and 2017 on how media report on migration covering 30 countries across the wider Mediterranean region.

Educational resources for children

• How to Talk about Human Trafficking with Children and Adolescents (online EdD program from Baylor University)