GAATW Member Organisations Member organisations, individuals who work on trafficking and other related issues within a human rights framework and who have been associated with GAATW and like-minded networks and organisations, provide input to the strategic agenda of the Alliance. They meet every three years to review and analyze their work and decide on priorities for the next three years.
The Member Organisations (MO) are groups who fulfil membership conditions and adhere to the Basic Principles of GAATW; they co-implement the projects formulated under the Strategic Plan with support from the Working Groups and the International Secretariat (IS).
Within the member organisations, GAATW has two Regional Chapters. These chapters can be formed by member organisations in a particular region who wish to coordinate their own regional activities. Currently GAATW has two regional chapters, both in the Americas:
GAATW Canada, which is a non-profit, activist based organisation that focuses on trafficking in Canada
REDLAC, the GAATW Chapter in Latin-America and the Caribbean, which formed by 16 organizations from Argentina (1), Brazil (7), Colombia (1), Dominican Republic (4), Guatemala (1), Honduras (1) and Suriname (1)
For more information you can contact:
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The Working Groups are temporary units formed by representatives from GAATW’s member organisations, International Board and International Secretariat who support GAATW by reviewing and strengthening the organisational structure of the Alliance and its membership. The Working Group members are nominated by the International Board or the International Secretariat or any Member Organisation of the Alliance. There are currently two Working Groups, which focus on membership and on decision-making processes.
The GAATW International Board (IB)meets once a year. It monitors the implementation of the strategic plan, and the functioning of the International Secretariat in this regard. It nominates new IB members; nominates an Executive Committee (Ex-Co) which directly oversees the daily running of the International Secretariat with regard to financial, personnel and legal matters. The Ex-Co meets at least twice a year and more if necessary.
Currently the GAATW International Board has 11 members with representations from every region of the world. The following are the names of our current Board members:
• Mr Thongbai Thongpao, Thailand – Chair Former Senator, human rights lawyer and activist; Ramon Magsaysay Award winner
• Ms Nelia Sancho, Philippines – Vice-Chair Executive Director of the Buhay Foundation
• Ms Varaporn Chamsanit, Thailand – Secretary Professor, Human Rights Programme, Mahidol University
• Ms. Thipsuda Taweesaengsuksakul (Ching), Thailand – Treasurer Office Manager, Terre Des Hommes – Germany, South-East Asia Regional Office
• Dr. Jyoti Sanghera, Canada Deputy Resident Representative of UN OHCHR, Nepal
• Ms Stana Buchowska, Poland National Coordinator, La Strada, Poland
• Ms Jacqueline Leite, Brasil Coordinator, Centro Humanitario de Apoio a Multher – CHAME
• Ms Eni Lestari Andayani Adi, Indonesia & Hong Kong Chairperson, ATKI-HK
• Ms Sunita Danuwar, Nepal Program Coordinator, Shakti Samuha
• Ms Victoria Nwogu, Nigeria Programme Specialist, UNIFEM West Africa
• Ms Bandana Pattanaik, India Representative of the GAATW-IS
GAATW's International Secretariatis based in Bangkok, Thailand. Its core functions are to service and support the members of the Alliance by:
Making local issues internationally visible, and supporting members in their advocacy efforts
Helping to apply international policies and standards locally
Facilitating local, regional and international representation of members at relevant fora
Building, facilitating and maintaining mutual exchanges, communications and learning with and between Alliance members
Collecting, processing, disseminating and making easily accessible to members, essential documents on trafficking, as well as generally relevant information, in support of their activities
Developing and making available training modules on trafficking, gender, globalisation and informal economies, rights-based advocacy, as well as on relevant research methodologies to address these issues
Facilitating training in capacity building and organising conceptual clarity sessions for Alliance members as well as non-members upon request
International Secretariat Staff Meet the staff at GAATW International Secretariat:
Alfie Gordo, Production and Communications Officer Alfie joined the communications and information unit of GAATW secretariat in January 2005. She is currently Production and Communications Officer. She is responsible for managing information technology including the GAATW website, layout and design of print materials, and visual documentation. She is also involved in doing video advocacy projects that aim to help highlight the advocacy work of members on migration and related issues. Alfie’s previous work experiences include her work as program associate for the Asian Women’s Human Rights Council (AWHRC)-Manila and with the Philippine Congress.
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Apivart (Nong) Chaison, Finance Officer Nong is from Nakorn Phanom, the Northeastern province in Thailand bordering Laos. She is the Finance Officer. Having started work with GAATW in 1997, she is now the most senior staff member at GAATW-IS. Nong is responsible for handling finance procedures and liaising with the external auditor.
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Bandana Pattanaik, International Coordinator Bandana is the current International Coordinator of GAATW, responsible for the overall coordination of GAATW programmes and the International Secretariat’s personnel. Bandana has at GAATW since 1999 doing research, training, and working with self-organised groups. She holds an MA in English Literature as well as an MA in Women’s Studies. She started out her career as a university lecturer in India and taught for at the tertiary level for several years. Leaving academia and entering the NGO sector to start work with GAATW was both a change of place and profession for her, and she hoped to be able to strengthen the links between academia and activism by mixing academic rigor with political understanding. After eleven years of work with GAATW, meeting so many strong and brave women in the most unlikely of places, reading numerous reports on trafficking and migration, and writing a few herself, Bandana feels that when it comes to ‘understanding’ migrant and trafficked people we must still look to the writers and artists. Because creative writers do not ‘simplify’, do not judge and do not propose an easy solution, and just by showing the reality around us, they help us in imagining possible solutions. Over the next few years, Bandana hopes to try and persuade her colleagues to be politically a little more imaginative, a little more daring to question the dominant paradigms and a little less self-righteous.
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Caroline Hames, International Advocacy Officer At the GAATW-IS Caroline’s role is to lead advocacy efforts, working on the basis of member campaigns and priorities to raise issues at international fora with states, officials and other relevant bodies. Before coming to GAATW-IS she worked for UNIFEM Afghanistan, coordinating their Women in Leadership programme working with female political and civil society representatives. Prior to this she worked as an adviser to the Liberal Democrat Defence Spokesperson in the UK Parliament where her work involved research for policy, media and speeches. She has a Masters in Development Studies from the Institute of Development Studies (UK) where her research interests lay in notions of empowerment, power and participatory democracy.
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Fleur Dewar, Advocacy and Communications Officer Fleur’s role involves working with the International Advocacy Officer to facilitate the engagement of our member organisations in international advocacy activities and to make UN processes relevant and accessible for community-based organisations, while channeling grassroots-level information into international fora. Her work in the communications team involves coordinating publications, campaigns and other communications. Prior to joining GAATW-IS Fleur worked for a number of NGOs in both New Zealand the United Kingdom, in project management and campaigning roles. She has a Masters Degree in Sociology, specialising in International Development.
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Julie Ham, Programme Coordinator
Julie re-joined the GAATW IS team in October 2009 as Programme Coordinator and is responsible for ensuring coordination between the IS's programme and communication units and monitoring progress on GAATW action plans. In 2007, she coordinated the Realising Rights programme at GAATW which supports GAATW's self-organised groups (i.e. groups led by women with direct experience with the issue they're working on, e.g. domestic worker-led groups, groups led by trafficking survivors). Julie comes from Canada and has a background in psychology and social work, with an emphasis on anti-oppressive practice. Prior to re-joining GAATW, she worked with community-based research projects and community-based organisations in Canada working with and for women in sex work, immigrant and refugee populations, women substance users, low-income populations, and anti-violence organisations.
Liyana Mayerling Pavón Lugo, Regional Programme Officer – The Americas Before coming to the GAATW-IS, Liyana worked as a Project Officer at COIN, a GAATW member in Dominican Republic, providing direct assistance, and also working on prevention, advocacy and regional research. Her past regional experience has been participating on regional activities of the Latin American and Caribbean Network for GAATW (GAATW-REDLAC). Liyana is a lawyer from the Iberoamerican University (DR) and has experience in representing trafficking and family cases. She has volunteered for youth advocacy movements and has been a member of academic and studies organizations, including the Latin American Council of Studies of International and Comparative Law (COLADIC). At the GAATW-IS Liyana is responsible for representing the region of North America, Latin America and the Caribbean at the IS and for the [region’s] membership. She also oversees GAATW’s work in the region and facilitates regional activities and programmes, aiming for an active and involved membership.
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Michelle Taguinod, Communications Officer Michelle has been involved in migration studies in Asia, particularly on topics dealing with migration policies, migration and the family. She completed a research study on the work and life aspirations of left behind children of migrants from the Philippines and the pre-migration experiences of overseas Filipino workers. Prior to joining GAATW-IS, her she worked on migration research and foreign affairs in the Philippines. At GAATW, Michelle is responsible for coordinating membership matters, general communications, information management, and events management and organisation. She is also the IS representative to the Working Group that will look into the issues around membership.
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Naetima (Mui) Kosolsaksakul, Accountant Mui joined the GAATW IS in 2004 as a part-time consultant in finance and accounting. She is responsible for ensuring that the financial aspect of GAATW’s work is carried out in accordance with international accounting standards.
Nerea Bilbatua, Regional Programme Officer - Europe Nerea is part of GAATW-IS’s Programme Team, and is the regional programme officer for Europe. She joined the GAATW International Secretariat in 2006 and has previously coordinated regional work and networking in Africa and LAC, and also coordinated the Access to Justice Programme. Nerea comes from Madrid, Spain and has a background in Sociology with a specialization in Human Rights Law. Prior to joining GAATW-IS, Nerea worked for three years with UNESCO in Cambodia. She has also volunteered for Human Rights NGOs both in Spain and Cambodia.
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Nkirote Laiboni, Regional Programme Officer - Africa Nkirote joined GAATW-IS in 2008, and also works on GAATW's Access to Justice programme. Nkirote’s previous experience includes her work as Kenya Project Officer for JustWorld International, which mainly focused on community development issues in the Kibagare slum of Nairobi. She has a Masters degree in International Law and Human Rights from the University for Peace (Costa Rica) where her research interests lay in the impact of cultural practices in her home country, like male circumcision, on human rights. She also has a Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) from the University of Nairobi, and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the United States International University – Africa (USIU-Africa).
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Nuttikan Boonpanyaroj (Kae), Office and Logistics Assistant
Kae is from Chiang Mai, the North province in Thailand. She is the Office and Logistics Assistant. Having started work with GAATW in March 2010, she is now the new staff member at GAATW-IS., Kae is also part of the finance and office team to responsible for handling publication orders.
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Rebecca Napier-Moore, Programme Officer for Research and Training Before coming to the GAATW-IS, Rebecca worked on refugee and internally displaced people issues in the United States, Ghana and Uganda. She has a Masters in Philosophy in Development Studies from the Institute of Development Studies (UK) and a Bachelors Degree in Sociology and Religion. Past research and consultancy work has been on donor-concepts of women’s empowerment; power analysis in NGOs and social movements; human rights in forced displacement; and labour migration and conditions. At the GAATW-IS Rebecca is responsible for developing a training module that explores trafficking within wider migration and labour debates, as well as planning for and coordinating upcoming research activities.
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Xenia Commandeur, Communications and Research Programme Officer Xenia joined GAATW-IS in April 2007. As part of the Research team she works on the linkages between trafficking, migration, labour and gender. She is also part of the Communications unit, and supports system-setting. Previously, she worked for two years in GAATW’s Finance and Administration unit. Xenia holds a MA in Development Studies, followed by a post-graduate program in the same field. Prior to joining the International Secretariat, Xenia worked for three years with Dutch donor organization ICCO in the Netherlands.
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