The attendees included officials of the U.S. Congress, Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Transportation, USAID, employees of a number of American Airlines, as well as Ambassadors and representatives of the diplomatic corps in Washington.

Among the keynote speakers were Olexander Motsyk, Ambassador of Ukraine to the U.S., Christopher Smith, Congressman, Co-chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe and Special Representative on Human Trafficking for the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, and Nancy Rivard, President of American NGO Airline Ambassadors International.

The major aim of the event was to draw attention to the need to enhance international cooperation in the sphere of combating human trafficking, as well as to highlight the efforts have been made by the Ukrainian Chairmanship of the OSCE in this field.

In his welcoming remarks, Ambassador of Ukraine O.Motsyk emphasized the priority for the Ukrainian Chairmanship of the OSCE to strengthen international cooperation in fighting human trafficking, highlighting close cooperation between Ukraine and the United States in this area. The Ambassador informed the audience of the international conference on combating human trafficking to be held in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 10-11, 2013.

Congressman Ch.Smith welcomed the leading role of Ukraine in enhancing international cooperation in fighting this crime and stressed the importance of achieving concrete practical results in this area. The congressman believes, Ukraine’s efforts in the framework of the OSCE will bring international cooperation in fighting human trafficking to a brand new level.

Also, Nancy Rivard presented the initiative of American non-governmental organization Airline Ambassadors to identify potential victims of human trafficking by airlines crews. The initiative considered as an example of possible practical cooperation in this field in the framework of the OSCE. President of the Airline Ambassadors welcomed Ukraine’s role in drawing attention of the international community to intensify efforts in fighting trafficking in human beings.

In the photo: Minister-Counselor and Deputy Chief of Mission Yaroslav Brisiuck, Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.S. Olexander Motsyk, Christopher Smith, Congressman, Co-chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe and Special Representative on Human Trafficking for the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, and Nancy Rivard, President of American NGO Airline Ambassadors International