GENEVA, Switzerland — July 30, 2026 — UN Human Rights and Call for Code AI, together with Austin AI Hub, today announced the winners of Call for Code AI: United Against Trafficking, a global innovation challenge mobilizing artificial intelligence to help detect, prevent, and disrupt human trafficking.
The announcement falls on the United Nations World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, and in the centenary year of the 1926 Slavery Convention — the first international commitment to abolish slavery in all its forms. A century later, an estimated 49.6 million people are living in forced labor or forced marriage on any given day. Women and girls account for more than 70 percent of detected victims. Children account for one in three.
UN Human Rights has documented how technology enlarged that marketplace over the past decade, as online forums, social media platforms, and websites became instruments to recruit, advertise, and sell people. This challenge asked a different question: what happens when the same tools are turned back against the trade.
Developers, researchers, and designers from dozens of countries across six continents answered the call. Their work was assessed by a panel of judges drawn from law enforcement, survivor services, human rights law, AI engineering, and UN Human Rights.
In its work on trafficking, UN Human Rights has identified three persistent gaps: communities are not reached before fraudulent offers of employment reach them, victims are not identified early enough, and survivors receive too little support once they are found. The three recognized solutions correspond to each. All are already working.
Winners
Winner — Project TEND, created by Petula Miller
JUSTICE. Many trafficking prosecutions depend on survivors finding the strength to testify in court—often one of the most difficult steps in recovery. Project TEND is a free, anonymous web application that helps survivors prepare emotionally and practically for court in English or Spanish, without requiring a name, email, or phone number. Accessible from any web browser, it has the potential to support survivors worldwide—helping more survivors seek justice with dignity and confidence.
Runner-Up — Sentinel AI, created by Remi Pelta
PREVENTION. Human trafficking often begins with a fraudulent job offer that promises opportunity but leads to exploitation. Sentinel AI analyzes suspicious recruitment advertisements, identifying warning signs such as fake accounts, recycled images, and deceptive claims. Designed for job platforms, NGOs, and investigators, it can help stop trafficking before it begins—protecting vulnerable people before they become victims.
Third Place — TRACE, created by Elke-Esmeralda Dikoume
IDENTIFICATION. The first conversation with a potential trafficking survivor can determine whether they are identified, protected, or overlooked. TRACE gives frontline workers an AI assistant that transforms spoken or written notes into structured case records in five languages, even without an internet connection. By helping identify survivors faster and more consistently, it can connect more people to protection, support, and a pathway to recovery.
"Trafficking happens one person at a time, and it is stopped one person at a time. These three innovations work at exactly that scale — a witness who walks into court prepared, a fraudulent job ad flagged before someone answers it, a survivor identified in the first conversation rather than the tenth. None of it replaces the people already doing this work. It helps them get there in time."
— David Clark, Founder & CEO, Call for Code AI
"The quality and diversity of submissions reaffirmed something important: there is a global community ready to apply AI where it matters most. Together with UN Human Rights and Call for Code AI, we are proud to help build an ecosystem that transforms innovation into meaningful protection for vulnerable populations around the world."
— Mahboubeh 'Mia' Cheraghian, PhD, Director of Strategic Partnerships & Marketing, Austin AI Hub
A Global Call to Action
The challenge was created to bridge the gap between emerging technology and international human rights priorities, bringing together developers, institutions, and partners committed to ensuring AI is deployed responsibly and for the public good. Call for Code AI, UN Human Rights, and Austin AI Hub will continue to advance survivor-centered technologies and to elevate solutions capable of strengthening prevention, protection, and accountability worldwide.
The awards were presented at “AI Against Trafficking: Awards & Networking,” hosted by Austin AI Hub at Capital Factory in downtown Austin. The free public event brought together Austin’s technology community and anti-trafficking leaders for a keynote, a panel discussion, and the awards presentation.
The winner of the Art Against Trafficking Award and the full list of the top ten innovations are available at
HERE.
This initiative is supported by the anti-trafficking organizations Allies Against Slavery, Sentinel Foundation, Magdalene House of Austin, Not On Our Watch, redM, and the UN Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery.
Call for Code AI: United Against Trafficking returns as an annual initiative. The next challenge opens in April 2027; developers and organizations can receive updates through Austin AI Hub.
Three innovations were recognized today. None of them existed a year ago. All three exist now because developers in countries far from Geneva decided that a promise made in 1926 was theirs to keep.
About
Call for Code AI
Call for Code AI is a global framework for trusted AI innovation, bringing together developers, frontier AI companies, industry leaders, governments, academia, and the United Nations to develop solutions addressing the world’s most important challenges. Since its founding, the broader Call for Code movement has mobilized more than one million developers across 190 countries and inspired the creation of more than 50,000 solutions. UN Human Rights serves as Global Impact Partner.
UN Human Rights
UN Human Rights is the leading United Nations entity responsible for promoting and protecting the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all people. Operating in more than 100 countries and serving all 193 UN Member States, UN Human Rights advances dignity, equality, and justice worldwide.
Austin AI Hub
Austin AI Hub is a purpose-driven artificial intelligence community dedicated to advancing inclusive, ethical, and practical AI. Through education, open collaboration, and cross-sector partnerships, Austin AI Hub empowers innovators to apply AI to society’s most pressing challenges, including combating human trafficking.
UN Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery
More than 50 million people around the world remain enslaved today. The UN Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery brings relief to those whose human rights have been severely violated as a result of this affront to human dignity — abolished worldwide, yet persisting in practice. By awarding grants to civil society organizations, the Fund ensures that thousands of men, women, and children subjected to slavery around the world today receive humanitarian, psychological, social, legal, medical, financial, and other assistance.
