“Incredibly inspiring, thought-provoking, and informative”: In a meeting at the United Nations General Assembly, CPA UK’s work on tackling modern slavery and human trafficking in sport was presented alongside international leaders and experts.

On 27^th September 2022, Adeline Dumoulin, the Strategic Lead for CPA UK’s work on tackling modern slavery and human trafficking, was invited by Mission 89 to attend a meeting on the issue of trafficked children in sports. To an audience of international leaders and experts, Adeline told the story of how one Kenyan MP raised awareness of football trafficking, capturing the attention of 100 football clubs and reaching 1000 children, parents, and sports coaches in a single event.

This story belongs to Hon. Jared Okelo MP, who organised a successful football tournament in the Western region of Kenya, to increase awareness of the hidden prevalence of football trafficking. Prior to this, Hon. Jared Okelo MP attended a workshop organised by CPA UK for parliamentarians on addressing sport trafficking. From then on, he acted to raise awareness of this issue.

Informative awareness-raising events, such as those attended by Hon. Jared Okelo MP, are copious within CPA UK’s wider work in addressing sports trafficking. Highlighting the breadth of work done by CPA UK, Adeline Dumoulin elaborated on the powerful position held by parliamentarians in addressing sports trafficking. She noted that “politicians are uniquely placed to inspire and lead the journey towards the eradication of exploitation”, and given their unique positions, it is imperative that there are communication bridges established across sectors: “Building trust and confidence is the only way the issue can be addressed successfully.”

In her speech, Adeline Dumoulin also highlighted an often under-looked part of addressing sport trafficking: The inside knowledge and experiences of survivors. “This is not optional: This is absolutely essential. They understand the issue of trafficking beyond their own experiences and are able to shed light on the underlying systems of exploitation.”

Completing this point, Adeline drew a clear line of connection between survivors and parliamentarians: “Use your voice to amplify theirs.” This is indeed reflective of much of CPA UK’s own work, such as: The Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking Newsletter, which provides in-depth examinations of the complex issue of human trafficking and modern slavery from experts on sport trafficking; and an animation video on how sports trafficking happens, which was based on research and insights from survivors. 

Chairing the panel was Professor Parosha Chandran, who thanked Adeline for her speech, and remarked that it was “incredibly inspiring, thought-provoking, and informative”.

You can watch the full video here.

Learn more about our work on addressing modern slavery and human trafficking here, and see our tailored resources for the public, parliamentarians, and border officials here.