Tuesday 21 April 2026 | Doughty Street Chambers, London
6-8.30 pm | Panel Discussion from 6-7.30 pm followed by networking drinks to 8.30 pm
Organ trafficking is an urgent and complex global challenge that demands closer examination through the lenses of international human rights, business and human rights and public health. The World Health Organization estimates that 5 to 10 per cent of organ transplants worldwide used organs which were illegally sourced. The actual number may be much higher. Driven by a global shortage of legally transplanted organs, individuals who have been trafficked, coerced, or exploited for their organs often face lifelong physical harm, alongside severe psychological consequences and social stigma, which can deepen poverty and expose them to further exploitation.
Organ trafficking encompasses various illegal activities including the black-market organ trade, transplant tourism and forced organ harvesting. In situations of civil unrest, armed conflict, and within totalitarian or authoritarian countries, systems of oversight and protection often collapse, creating conditions in which forced organ harvesting can flourish. The use of prisoners and prisoners of conscience, ethnic minority groups and other vulnerable populations for forced organ removal raises grave concerns as such practices amount to serious violations of human rights. These concerns extend to businesses dealing with high-risk countries engaged in organ trafficking. The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights makes clear that both states and businesses have an obligation to protect human rights.
This panel event, organised by the Bar Human Rights Committee of England & Wales (BHRC), will examine the legal and policy dimensions of organ trafficking and forced organ harvesting in the context of international human rights norms and standards. Drawing on interdisciplinary expertise, it will explore pathways for accountability, prevention and victim-survivor protection, and consider the role of states, businesses, international organisations and civil society in addressing global human rights violations.
The event will be hosted at Doughty Street Chambers in London. Speakers will be announced shortly.
Register here (in-person).
Register here (Zoom).
