Stop Act of 2016
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Kudos to U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Amy Klobuchar as well as U.S. Representatives Dina Titus and Barbara Comstock.
As part of the FAA Re-Authorization Act this year, both the US House and Senate have acknowledged the important role of front line airline employees (such as flight attendants) to combat the fight against human trafficking.
Stop Trafficking on Planes STOP Act of 2016
March 17, WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and today announced that provisions to help prevent human trafficking passed the Senate Commerce Committee this week. The Stop Trafficking On Planes (STOP) Act which was introduced by Klobuchar and Warner earlier this month would require training for certain airline industry employees to recognize and report suspected human trafficking to law enforcement. The legislation builds on the voluntary Blue Lightning Initiative currently administered by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Transportation. The Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2016, which includes a provision similar to the STOP Act, passed the Commerce Committee this week and will now head to the full Senate for a vote. The STOP ACT has been endorsed by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, and by the anti-trafficking organizations Polaris and ECPAT-USA, and a companion version of the bill has been introduced in the House by Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Barbara Comstock (R-VA).
“As the Senate works to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration, I’m glad that my colleagues on the Commerce Committee agree about the need to do more to prevent human trafficking,” Warner said. “We can and should equip airline personnel to detect and report human trafficking, in order to help save victims and bring perpetrators to justice.”
“Flight attendants are on the front lines in the battle against trafficking. They want to help, and we need to arm them with the tools they need to identify and report these heinous crimes,” Klobuchar said. “This action in the Commerce Committee brings us one step closer to stepping up efforts to stop trafficking wherever it exists – on land, at sea, and in the sky.
” This bill is certainly a step in the right direction”, said AAI President, Nancy Rivard. “Transportation professionals are among the best-placed to identify human trafficking situations. Innocents at Risk brought attention to this issue as early as 2008, and we have been working to educate flight crew since 2010.
AAI has provided 40 trainings on human trafficking awareness in the US and abroad. This year we are planning airport trainings in Las Vegas, San Diego, Houston, Atlanta, Latvia, Amsterdam and Bogota.”
Here is a timeline on trainings to date:
- 2010 June Congressional Briefing to Airlines (Congressman Chris Smith)
- 2010 – Oct. Congressional Briefing to Embassies (Congressman Joe Pitts)
- 2011 Jan. DFW Airport Training with Traffick 911
- 2011 May – IAD Governor McConnell (AAI coordinated IAD meeting for signing of VA Trafficking Bills)
- 2011 June Testimony to House Committee on Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights
- 2011 Sept. Sacramento – ITMI (International Tourism and Management Institute – Annual Conference)
- 2012 Nov. HNL Training at Honolulu International Airport)
- 2012 Jan SFO San Francisco International Airport – Congresswoman Jackie Spears
- 2012 March DCA Washington National International Airport (words from Congressman Chris Smith)
- 2012 AAI provided monthly classes for 9 months at ITMI International Tourism and Management – Classroom)
- 2012 Sept. Indianapolis – Travelers Aid International conference
- 2013 Jan MSY – Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport
- 2013 May -Embassy of Ukraine, Washington DC – AAI Presentation (Ambassador Motsyk and Congressman Smith)
- 2013 June Kiev, Ukraine, Ministry of Infrastructure OSCE Meeting (Congressman Smith)
- 2013 Oct. Interpol, Human Trafficking Conference in Lyon – AAI presentation
- 2013 – Sept. 2013 Sept ASIS, Chicago – Security Conference presentation with DHS
- 2014 – Jan Testimony to House Committee on Foreign Affairs – Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights
- 2014 Jan. SJC – San Jose Airport training, California (Congressman Honda)
- 2014 April 2014 Oakland Airport Training , California (Congresswoman Barbara Bell)
- 2014 April AAI Members Meeting Washington DC – Provided sample training and 1st NGO to sign ECPAT Code)
- 2014 April – Train the Trainers Meeting in Washington DC at United Nations Foundation
- 2014, June – London, DISPAX Conference Human Trafficking Awareness Training
- 2014 June – Humanitarian Summit – United Nations, NY
- 2014 Sept. SAC, Sacramento International Airport Training, CA – Airport Authority
- 2014 Feb PHX – Phoenix Airport Training, AZ (pre SuperBowl with Innocents at Risk)
- 2014, Aug – TPA – Tampa Training with Innocents at Risk.
- 2014 Oct. Safe Conference, Training in Chicago ORD, Chicago
- 2014 Dec. Spectrum Group – AAI coordinated meeting on Human Trafficking Awareness in the Airline Industry
- 2015 Jan MSP Training 1 for Airport Police Minneapolis International Airport
- 2015 Jan MSP Training 2 for Airport Police – Minneapolis International Airport
- 2015 Feb 2015 ORD – Chicago O’Hare Intl. Airport (Training for group1) Dept of Aviation City of Chicago
- 2015 – Feb ORD Chicago O’Hare Intl. Airport (Training for group 2) Dept of Aviation City of Chicago
- 2015 Apr. Las Vegas – Training for Association of Flight Attendants Board of Directors
- 2015 April – Train the Trainers Meeting in Las Vegas, NV
- 2015 June EWR Training at Newark International Airport (Association of Flight Attendants)
- 2015 July DFW Training at Dallas Ft. Worth International Airport (Association of Professional Flight Attendants)
- 2015 Oct Training in Budapest, Hungary with Government of Hungary)
- 2015 Oct Training in Budapest, Hungary with Government of Hungary)
- 2016 Jan. San Francisco International Airport Training – pre SuperBowl)
- 2016 Jan. San Francisco International Airport Training – pre SuperBowl)
- 2016 Jan. Norman Minetta International Airport Training – pre SuperBowl)
- 2016 Jan. Norman Minetta International Airport Training – pre SuperBowl)
- 2016 Jan. Oakland International Airport Training – pre SuperBowl)
Budapest Anti-Trafficking Training
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
See this Report on the Training from Ministry of Interior regarding Airline Ambassadors Awareness Training in Budapest, Hungary on Oct. 14 & 15, 2015.
& Celebration of the 9th EU Anti Trafficking Day
Here are Facebook Posts by the Ministry
Ms Krisztina Berta, Deputy State Secretary for EU and National Anti-Trafficking Coordinator Ministry of Interior opened the conference, followed by remarks by Nancy Rivard, Airline Ambassadors International, Giji Gya, DCAF, Dr. Benedek Mándi, Interpol, Dr. Szonja Szabó, National Bureau of 
Investigation as well as Hungarian Police. The idea of training air crew staff and airport personnel is a social innovation in community policing, providing thousands more eyes and ears to recognize and report Human Trafficking.
The training was especially relevant given the mass migration of Syrian refugees through Hungary. Migrant and desperate populations become vulnerable and recipients were very grateful for the warm coats water and food provided by our team at the border. Participants just wished they could do more to ease the human suffering of this humanitarian crisis. Many thanks for support from the Lantos Institute and LDS Charities.
As well the team visited Szilagyi Erzsebet Gyermekotthon, the same orphanage that AAI visited in 2003 as part of a celebration of the 75th birthday of Congressman Tom Lantos. The kids loved the Angel, coloring books and adorable T shirts from Angels of Hope and a donation was gratefully received from Lantos Foundation and AAI.
Upcoming trainings are planned in the Bay Area – Pre SuperBowl at SFO, SJC and OAK, see this coverage from last year, and with a bit more funding in Houston, Atlanta, Boston and Los Angeles. Stay posted!
AAI Board Member Master of Ceremonies at Peace Award Ceremony in Berlin
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
New York City, NY – AAI Board member Sandy Dhuyvetter was master of ceremonies for this this year’s ITB event in Berlin Germany commemorating the 25th anniversary of the International Institute for Peace through Tourism First Global Conference: Tourism – A Vital Force for Peace.
The IIPT 25th Anniversary event will pay tribute to 10 “Peace Makers” of the past 100 years; highlight achievements of the Peace through Tourism Movement over the past 25 years; and present IIPT planned “legacy projects” of the 25th anniversary year.
The IIPT 25th anniversary commemoration is in support of the “World War I Centenary” with its theme of “No More War” and takes place:
Ms. Dhuyvetter remarked, “I am very honored to be introducing these important peace makers during this time of the 100 year commemoration of World War I. It is a very personal story for me as my father was 12 years old when the invading army came in and took over his home in Belgium.” Dhuyvetter will be returning to Belgium directly after the event to produce a number of short documentaries.
Among the recipients are: Zoltan Somogyi, Executive Director, Program & Coordination, World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), will be a featured speaker and in addition Geoffrey Lipman, President, International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP): Elke Dens, Marketing Director, Visit Flanders; Ivy Chee, Regional Director – East Asia, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA); and Nigel Pilkington, Director, Public Relations & Communications, Skal International. Speakers will share their perspectives on “Building a Culture of Peace through Tourism.”
IIPT Founder and President said, “IIPT is most proud to support the Great War Centenary with its theme of ‘No More War’ – and to welcome Zoltan Somogyi and other leaders of the travel and tourism industry to our 25th anniversary event. As one of the world’s largest and fastest growing industries, the collective voice of travel and tourism leaders can be a powerful force for peace and justice in the 21st century.”
About IIPT
IIPT is dedicated to fostering and facilitating tourism initiatives that contribute to international understanding and cooperation, an improved quality of environment, the preservation of heritage, poverty reduction, and the resolution of conflict – and through these initiatives, help bring about a more peaceful and sustainable world. IIPT is committed to mobilizing travel and tourism, the world’s largest industry, as the world’s first “Global Peace Industry,” an industry that promotes and supports the belief that “Every traveler is potentially an Ambassador for Peace.”
www.iipt.org
About Sandy Dhuyvetter TravelTalkMEDIA
Sandy Dhuyvetter is the executive producer and host of TravelTalkRADIO, BusinessTravelRADIO and Breaking Travel News. Sandy also published TravelTalkMEDIA newsletter. The programming is distributed in 185 countries using satellite feeds to radio stations and online streaming, Sandy combines the sparkle of travel with lifestyle trends and today’s news since 2001. Even arm chair travelers will feel Sandy’s insatiable curiosity breathe life into her programs. Guests and topics are relevant and offer a mix of difficult subjects and serious fun. Sandy is also on the board of directors of Airline Ambassadors International Non profit organization.
