CORRUPTION

Interview with Matthew Friedman
International Affairs Forum
What is missing from the current fight against
human trafficking?
Two important factors are missing from the fight
against human trafficking. If these were to be
improved, our overall response could be more
efficient and effective.
• Engage new sectors and stakeholders:
Understanding that this issue requires skills
and experience that are not always available
in the traditional NGO and UN world, we need
to bring the private sector into the mix. This
includes working with private companies to
help them look at their own supply chains
to identify forced labor cases and address
them; working with banks to help them put in
place accounting systems and procedures to
identify trafficking and close it down; and using
the skills found within the technology and
communications world to come up with new
and innovative solutions.
• Packaging of interventions: Many anti-human
trafficking efforts are done in isolation. Instead
of working in collaboration, organizations do
their own thing. The main reasons for this
lack of collaboration often include fear that
collaboration will help other organizations
to get a funding advantage; interagency
differences in perspective and approach; and
a lack of understanding of the importance of
collaboration. One of the best ways to increase
the efficiency and effectiveness of a counterhuman
trafficking effort is to link the efforts of
different organizations together.
Can you elaborate on the “business-tobusiness”
approach that your organization,
the Mekong Club, uses in combating human
trafficking?
The Mekong Club is one of the first not-forprofit
organizations of its kind in Asia to use
a business-to-business approach to fighting
slavery. Bridging the gap between the public
and private sectors, the Mekong Club helps
companies of all sizes to understand the
complexities of human trafficking and to reduce
their vulnerability within their supply chains.
Together with business partners, we are
spearheading innovative and strategic projects
to achieve a slave-free world. Our organization
comprises leading experts in slavery and human
trafficking, as well as a broad coalition of private
sector consultants who are committed to helping
other businesses eliminate slavery from their
supply chain.
The Mekong Club uses a membership structure
that includes organizations from four working
groups: Banking and Financial Services, Apparel
and Footwear, Hospitality, and Retail. Each of
these groups meets four times a year to identify
what is needed within their sector to address
the problem. We offer a supportive business
approach that includes the following measures:
• Educating the business community about the
prevalence, brutality, and consequences of
slavery and how human trafficking impacts
businesses of all sizes;
• Providing a full range of technical and logistical
services to aid businesses in their efforts to
address slavery, including awareness training,
crisis and issue management, research and
data analysis and best-practice sharing,
stakeholder relationship management, and
campaigns within the private sector;
• Delivering targeted training and technical
assistance on how to identify risk and ensure
slave-free supply chains;
• Connecting the private sector with leading
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