UNU Institute in Macau contributed to the report by submitting good practices and lessons learned from our research, with the aim of supporting the work of the UN system and its member states. Through the findings of the institute’s ongoing project Apprise, a multilingual expert system for the proactive and consistent screening of vulnerable populations including migrant workers, the institute's researchers demonstrated how digital technology can play a role in anti-slavery efforts today.
In addition, the report mentions the Institute’s policy brief “Apprise: Using sentinel surveillance for human trafficking and labor exploitation” (2019) by Dr. Hannah Thinyane and Francisca Sassetti, which puts forward a proactive approach towards combatting modern slavery and human trafficking. In doing so, it motivates the use of sentinel surveillance to identify changing patterns of exploitation over time, location and sector.
The Mekong Club, the Institute’s partner in the Apprise project, is also featured in the report for its local efforts in mobilizing the private sector in the fight against modern slavery.
In September 2019, the “Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences” will be presented at the 42nd session of the Human Rights Council.
The Institute applauds the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery for bringing together member states and civil society organisations to elaborate on such a key strategic document to combat modern slavery.
The Institute’s researchers who contributed to the report were Principal Research Fellow Dr. Hannah Thinyane, Senior Research Assistant Don Rodney Junio, and Research Assistant Francisca Sassetti.
Read the full report here.
Read the full contribution from UNU Institute in Macau here.