Matthew Friedman

An expert on international human trafficking, Matthew Friedman is the CEO of The Mekong Club, a Hong Kong-based organization aimed at engaging, inspiring and supporting the private sector to lead in the fight against modern slavery. From 2006 to 2012, he was the regional project manager of the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP) in Thailand, an inter-agency coordinating body that links the United Nations system with governments and civil society groups in China, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. From 1991 to 2006, he worked for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Thailand, Bangladesh and Nepal. For over a decade, he designed and managed both domestic and regional human trafficking programs. He also helped establish a counter-trafficking regional training center, participated in resource mobilization, and produced two award-winning international films about sex trafficking. He is a technical advisor to numerous governments and is the author of nine books.