Join the leadership of the D.C. Bar’s Human Rights and Immigration Subcommittee (part of the International Law Community) in a stimulating conversation with two leaders in the anti-human trafficking movement. This program is particularly timely at the 25-year mark of the criminalization of human trafficking under U.S. law. Additionally, during the past two decades, survivors have successfully held their traffickers accountable through filing action in district court (frequently with the assistance of pro bono attorneys) under a civil remedy provision. We hope that this program will motivate D.C. Bar members to serve as pro bono attorneys in this significant area of the law.

Guests:

Martina Vandenberg (President and Founder) and Evelyn Chumbow (Advocacy and Survivor Leadership Director) at the Human Trafficking Legal Center in Washington, D.C. Evelyn is a survivor of forced labor who was trafficked from Cameroon to the U.S. as a young child. She spent years in involuntary servitude in Maryland to a Cameroonian national, enduring treatment described by the Justice Department as “modern-day slavery.” Since 2015, Evelyn has served on the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking.

Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar, its Board of Governors or co-sponsoring Communities and organizations.

Repressive regimes throughout the world are increasingly relying on political imprisonment to silence opposition and dissent. In this episode, Brian Tronic, Director of the Fred Hiatt Program to Free Political Prisoners at Freedom House, will discuss what a "political prisoner" is; the prevalence of political imprisonment and key countries of concern; common issues political prisoners face and violations they experience; and advocacy strategies for their release. He will be joined by Talia Khattak, the daughter of Pakistani political prisoner Idris Khattak, who will share her father's story and what it is like when a family member becomes a political prisoner.

To learn more or get involved, email tronic@freedomhouse.org.

Please note, the positions and opinions expressed by the speakers are strictly their own, and do not necessarily represent the views of their employers, nor those of the D.C. Bar, its Board of Governors or co-sponsoring Communities and organizations.