Press Releases 2008
U.S. - Greece Consultations on Trafficking in Persons
Athens (September 4, 2008) -- The director of the U.S. State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, Ambassador Mark P. Lagon, visited Athens on September 1-3. During his stop in Greece, part of a regional tour, Ambassador Lagon presented an award to Ms. Emma Skjonsby-Manousaridis of Nea Zoi (New Life), a non-governmental organization that helps victims of sex trafficking. The U.S. Embassy will also host a seminar for the Hellenic Police Anti-Trafficking Unit on September 4-5.
“Sex trafficking would not exist if there weren't clients of prostitution, demanding a constant supply of women and girls,” Ambassador Lagon noted. “NGOs such as Nea Zoi help us see the humanity of people exploited in the commercial sex industry--a life more violent and dehumanizing than most people realize.”
Consultations with the Greek government, the International Organization for Migration, and interested non-governmental organizations also engaged Ambassador Lagon during his time in Athens. His schedule included a meeting with Minister of Justice
Sotiris Hatzigakis, accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to Greece Daniel V. Speckhard, as well as a working session with Greece’s inter-governmental TIP committee hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The award presented to Ms. Skjonsby-Manousaridis, the founder of Greece’s Nea Zoi (New Life) group, is called the 'Hero Acting to End Modern-Day Slavery' award. This year, the State Department gave out eleven such citations worldwide.
Following Ambassador Lagon’s visit, on September 4-5, the U.S. Embassy will host a seminar for the Anti-Trafficking Unit of the Hellenic Police. Two special agents from the Human Trafficking Division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement service will discuss investigative methods and victim awareness. The two American experts will then travel to Cyprus to make a similar presentation.
For more information about the scale and scope of the crime of trafficking in persons, and U.S. efforts to monitor and combat it, visit: http://www.state.gov/g/tip/.