The Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST) supports the nomination on John Cotton Richmond to be the next ambassador-at-large to combat human trafficking and modern slavery. In his post, he will also direct the U.S. State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP).

Richmond is a founding director of the Human Trafficking Institute, which is an ATEST member.
In his confirmation hearing testimony, Richmond pledged to promote a rigorous and balanced approach:

“If confirmed, I will bring to office my experience working international and domestic trafficking cases, labor and sex trafficking cases, involving minors, adults, citizens, and foreign nationals from around the world. If confirmed, I will work to ensure the continued integrity of the TIP Report, the gold standard in diplomatic tools for engaging governments on human trafficking. If confirmed, I will passionately advocate for the rights of individuals to be free from traffickers and for survivors to have access [to] services to help them recover and rebuild.”

ATEST works with ambassadors to advocate for policies and practices that address the root causes of trafficking, taking a holistic approach with a survivor centered focus that address both sex and labor trafficking.

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