Joëlle Milquet, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Equal Opportunities, and Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, spokesperson for the French Government and Minister of Women's RIghts, called for an Inter-Ministerial Conference to assess the application by the EU Member States of the UN Convention for the suppression of the traffic in persons and the exploitation of the prostitution of others, to identify prospects for action and suggest common objectives for more harmonious policies in the fight against human trafficking and the exploitation of others. The UN Convention of 2 December 1949 is, until today, the only international text that refers to this specific topic and it has been interpreted quite differently from country to country.

Mrs. Milquet and Mrs. Vallaud-Belkacem wish to approach the topic from a gender perspective. In her speech "Trafficking in Human Beings and Gender – the EU Perspective", Cecilia Malmström - EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, reminded that both the Directive on human trafficking and the EU Strategy to complement the Directive recognise and address the gender dimension of human trafficking in a number of ways.

All European Ministers of Gender Equality had been invited to the Round Table. Her Majesty the Queen Mathilde of Belgium was also present at the Conference.