Left to Right on Stage: Amy O’Neill Richard, Amb. Cindy Dyer (Ret.), Nasreen Sheikh, Jessica Roberts, and Baroness Theresa May.
NEW YORK (September 29, 2026) – The McCain Institute at Arizona State University (ASU) co-hosted an event, Aligning for Action: Transformative Partnerships to Combat Human Trafficking, with Justice & Care, Hogan Lovells Cadwalader, and the Global Commission on Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking.
McCain Institute Chief Program Officer Ambassador Cindy Dyer and Human Rights & Freedom Senior Director Amy O’Neill Richard spoke at the New York event on September 23 on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. The event focused on how organizations can collaborate to drive solutions that safeguard victims of human trafficking and strengthen justice.
The event brought together cross-sector voices, including the chair of the Global Commission on Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking, Baroness Theresa May; founder of Empowerment Collective, Nasreen Sheikh; Justice & Care Vice President for Global Partnerships, Jessica Roberts; and the founder of the Human Thread Foundation, humanitarian photographer Lisa Kristine.
“Human trafficking is an assault on the rule of law, freedom, and human dignity. It undermines U.S. values of liberty, justice, and dignity for every person,” said McCain Institute Chief Program Officer Amb. Cindy Dyer. “Traffickers rely on bribery, extortion, and corruption to operate, thereby weakening state institutions, eroding public trust, and fostering instability. Profits from trafficking are laundered and finance other illicit activities such as drug and arms trafficking. It needs to be an everyday tabletop issue of discussion.”
The event reflected on 25 years since the ratification of the UN Palermo Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish trafficking in Persons especially Women and Children, and looked at how the next 25 years will require the joint strengths of government, business, civil society, survivors, law enforcement, and the legal community to combat human trafficking.
McCain Institute Human Rights & Freedom Senior Director Amy O’Neill Richard emphasized the event theme that while key progress has been achieved over the last two and a half decades, too many individuals remain beyond the reach of protection and justice. It is mission-critical that partnership move beyond aspiration to how we work together.
To learn more about the McCain Institute’s Human Rights and Freedom program, click HERE.
About the McCain Institute at Arizona State University
The McCain Institute is a nonpartisan organization inspired by Senator John McCain and his family’s dedication to public service. We are part of Arizona State University and based in Washington, D.C. Our programs defend democracy, advance human rights and freedom, and empower character-driven leaders. Our unique power to convene leaders across the global political spectrum enables us to make a real impact on the world’s most pressing challenges. Our goal is action, not talk, and like Senator McCain, we are fighting to create a free, safe, and just world for all.
About Arizona State University
Arizona State University has developed a new model for the American research university, creating an institution that is committed to access, excellence and impact. ASU measures itself by those it includes, not by those it excludes. As the prototype for a New American University, ASU pursues research that contributes to the public good, and ASU assumes major responsibility for the economic, social and cultural vitality of the communities that surround it.