ATLANTA - A presentation by Georgia State Law Professor Jonathan Todres on Wednesday, Nov. 4, will conclude a three-week speakers series entitled "Slavery: Not Just a Thing of the Past." The event will take place in room 170 from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m., and lunch will be provided.

The series is hosted by the Center for Ethics and Corporate Responsibility at Georgia State University, in collaboration with the Public Interest Law Association (PILA), the Child Advocacy Society (CAS), the Hispanic Student Bar Association (HSBA), Law Students for Reproductive Justice (LSRJ) and the Association of Women Law Students (AWLS).

The series is organized around the United Nations’ Anti-Trafficking Protocol agenda of "3 Ps": Prosecution/Punishment, Protection, and Prevention. Each week, a different speaker discusses his or her work in a particular area, according to Angela Paola Vela Ramirez, a second-year law student and Graduate Research Assistant for the Center for Ethics and Corporate Responsibility.

According to Todres, the series is an important and valuable learning experience for law students.

"Public awareness followed by public engagement is essential to preventing human trafficking," he said. "Law students are acquiring skills that can be utilized effectively to help combat human trafficking."

Todres’ talk will focus on prevention. A regular advisor to non-governmental organizations working to combat commercial sexual exploitation of children, Todres has held several leadership posts within the ABA Section of International Law, including Chair of the Section’s International Health Law Committee and Vice-Chair of its International Human Rights Committee. 

"We tend to think of slavery and servitude as either a relic of the past or something that occurs far away, but the reality is that it is happening in our own backyard," he said. "Exploitation occurs everywhere, including here in Atlanta."

The first week of the series focused on prosecution/punishment with Mark Hoerrner, Southeast Regional Director of the Not For Sale Campaign, a US-based organization which seeks to end slavery in our lifetime by equipping and mobilizing activists "in our own backyards and across the globe." Hoerrrner’s lecture focused on the rise in human trafficking and how pervasive it is, especially in the Atlanta area.

The second week of the series focused on protection of those who are vulnerable to forms of trafficking such as forced labor. Ivan Vera discussed the protective anti-slavery efforts of multinational companies in the increasingly complex international labor law environment, stressing the importance of corporate social responsibility.

For more information about the series, please contact Angela Paola Vela Ramirez at angela_colombia@hotmail.com.

By Abby Ferrell, Georgia State Law student