November 9, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MCCC STUDENTS VISIT U.N. FOR BRIEFING
ON WORLDWIDE PROBLEM OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING

MONROE, Mich. – A group of Monroe County Community College students recently returned from a special briefing at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York City that detailed the worldwide problem of human trafficking.

The 14 students were accompanied on the trip by Dr. Joanna Sabo, MCCC professor of political science.  The group was made of students in the International Relations course at MCCC and the International Studies student club.

The briefing was led by Anke Strauss of Germany, a liaison officer for the International Organization of Migration.  IOM, the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration, helps to ensure the orderly and humane management of migration, promotes international cooperation on migration issues, assists in the search for practical solutions to migration problems and provides humanitarian assistance to migrants in need, including refugees and internally displaced people.

The students learned that human trafficking is the coerced exploitation of people for all types of uncompensated or unjust labor, from forced prostitution to children who are used as slaves on fishing boats. 
They also learned about what IOM is doing to help reduce human trafficking, even in the U.S.

After the briefing, the students were led on a tour of the U.N. headquarters by a native Kenyan who quizzed them about what they had learned.  They then visited Ground Zero to view the new construction that has begun at that site.

This is the fourth MCCC student group Dr. Sabo has taken to the U.N.  Previous groups attended briefings about terrorism, the U.N. Security Council and the European Union. 

“The trips to the U.N. headquarters give students a greater appreciation of the work done there and for the importance of international law,” Sabo said.  “Students also get to see a major city teeming with multicultural influences.”

The trips are funded by a combination of the students’ own funds, the college, The Foundation at MCCC and fundraising. 

For further information, please contact Dr. Sabo at (734) 384-4297.