Programs and Events

Dr. Robin Haarr Leads Workshops on Trafficking in Persons in Laos

From right: Mr. Kiengkham Inphengthavong, President of the Secretariat to the Lao National Steering Committee on Human Trafficking; Dr. Robin N. Haarr, Associate Professor, Criminal Justice & Police Studies, College of Justice & Safety, Eastern Kentucky University; and Souvanno Sphabmixay, U.S. Embassy interpreter

From June 11-20, Dr. Robin Haarr led a series of workshops, lectures, and roundtable discussions on trafficking in persons for audiences totaling more than 150 government officials, NGO leaders, and students. The Public Diplomacy Section of the U.S. Embassy, in collaboration with the Secretariat to the Lao National Steering Committee on Human Trafficking, hosted the events.

At the workshops, Dr. Haarr, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice & Police Studies at Eastern Kentucky University, reviewed the internationally-accepted definitions of trafficking and described the dynamics, causes, and impact of human trafficking on individuals and communities. She reminded audiences that men as well as women can be trafficking victims. Workshops in Vientiane and in the provincial capital of Savannakhet attracted audiences from the Lao National Steering Committee on Human Trafficking; the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Public Security, and Labor and Social Welfare; the Lao Women’s Union; the Lao Youth Union; and other organizations.

In Vientiane, the President of the Secretariat to the Lao National Steering Committee on Human Trafficking, Mr. Kiengkham Inphengthavong, gave a talk describing the trafficking situation in Laos and the government’s attempt to control the problem. At the workshop in Savannakhet Province, widely considered the source of the greatest number of Lao trafficking victims, provincial officials, local immigration and law enforcement officials, and others who work to combat human trafficking shared perspectives with Dr. Haarr. At both events, Dr. Haarr explained the purpose and impact of the “Trafficking in Persons Report” issued by the U.S. Department of State, noting that the 2007 report (http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2007/) had just been issued that week..

Dr. Haarr also conducted roundtable discussions with international organizations and non-governmental organizations working in the field of human trafficking, gave a lecture at the Faculty of Law and Political Science at the National University of Laos, and visited a shelter for trafficking victims run by the Lao Women's Union.