Ms. Beate Andrees
Senior Policy Officer, Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour, ILO (on behalf of UNGIFT)

Beate Andrees is a senior policy officer at ILO’s Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour where she coordinates programmes against human trafficking and ILO’s Global Business Alliance against Forced Labour and Trafficking. She also represents ILO in the UN.GIFT Steering Committee. Her academic background is in Political Science, with a special focus on international migration and development. She has published in various academic journals and books on migration and human trafficking issues. She is a co-editor of the recently published book: “Forced labour: coercion and exploitation in the private economy” (2009).
 

Ms. Cindy Dyer
Senior Director, Human Rights, Vital Voices Global Partnership

Cindy Dyer is the Senior Director for Human Rights Programs at Vital Voices Global partnership. Prior to her current position, Cindy Dyer served as the Director of the United States Department of Justice, Office on Violence against Women. As Director, Ms. Dyer served as the liaison between the Department of Justice and Federal, State and International governments on the crimes of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking. In this role, she was responsible for handling the Department's legal and policy issues regarding the implementation of the Violence against Women Act and oversaw an annual budget of almost $400 million.
 

Ms. Nili Safavi
Consultant, Det Norske Veritas

Nili Safavi is currently a Corporate Social Responsibility Consultant with Det Norske Veritas (DNV) at their offices in London. A graduate of Princeton University with a BA in Philosophy, she has further degrees in law, international relations and human rights.
Ms. Safavi provides CSR advisory and verification services to multinational clients in the finance, telecoms, extraction, construction, and food & beverage sectors, in accordance with the GRI G3 and AA1000 assurance standards.

Mr.Auret van Heerden
President & CEO
Fair Labor Association

Auret van Heerden brings More than 30 years experience in international human and labor rights to the FLA. He began campaigning for workers’ rights as a young student in apartheid South Africa and co-authored a book in 1976 that called for trade union rights for black workers. He served two terms as president of the National Union of South African Students. After graduating in industrial sociology from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, he founded an institute that provided research and training services to trade unions and civil society groups. He was forced into exile in May 1987 after long periods of solitary confinement and torture.
 

Mr. Brent Wilton
International Organization of Employers

A lawyer by profession, Brent Wilton has had twenty-five years’ experience in assisting companies with their industrial relations and human resources issues. Brent worked in private legal practice before joining the Auckland Employers’ Association in New Zealand as an industrial advocate. During his thirteen years with the Association he was involved in national, regional and enterprise-based bargaining and represented employers in a range of legal matters, both in mediation and in the Labour Court.

 

Ms. Ursula Wynhoven
Head, Policy & Legal, United Nations Global Compact Office

Ursula Wynhoven is the Head, Policy & Legal and Special Assistant to the Executive Director of the United Nations Global Compact Office. The UN Global Compact is the UN’s voluntary corporate sustainability initiative focused on the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption. In addition to handling the Global Compact Office’s legal affairs and policy matters, Ursula leads the Global Compact Office’s work programmes on the human rights and labour principles.