On November 24, 2025, the world witnessed a powerful and deeply significant moment. Shamere McKenzie, CEO of Sun Gate and one of the most influential survivor leaders of our time, addressed the United Nations General Assembly during the Fourth Appraisal of the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons.
Before world leaders, diplomats, and global advocates, Shamere spoke not only as a survivor but as a visionary, an architect of change, who has transformed her lived experience into a force capable of shifting systems, shaping policy, and inspiring millions.
This was more than a speech.
It was a declaration of truth.
A call to courage.
And a reminder that survivor leadership is no longer optional; it is essential.
A Voice Once Silenced Now Echoes Across the World
In her address, Shamere stood boldly as Jamaica’s Anti-Trafficking Ambassador, a global expert, and a woman of deep faith and purpose. She shared her journey from exploitation to becoming a loud, resolute, and strategic voice for freedom, one that is shaping international policy at the highest level.
Her message was rooted in truth and urgency:
- Human trafficking is evolving faster than our responses.
- Children and vulnerable groups remain at extreme risk.
- Survivors are still too often left out of the solutions created to protect them.
She challenged the Assembly to move beyond symbolic gestures and embrace bold, evidence-driven, survivor-informed action that saves lives and dismantles systems of exploitation.
Championing Survivor Leadership on the Global Stage
Shamere’s words electrified the room as she declared:
“Survivors are not here to inspire pity. We are here to inspire policy.”
She emphasized that survivors are strategists, analysts, leaders, and innovators whose expertise is central to ending human trafficking, not supplementary. She called on Member States to fully integrate survivor leaders into every phase of policy and program development, not as tokens, but as respected, compensated experts.
A Call to Action: Courage, Coordination, and Commitment
Shamere challenged nations to confront hard truths and take courageous action, including:
- Strengthening protections for victims who are criminalized under coercion
- Investing in long-term healing, economic empowerment, and stability
- Modernizing identification tools and referral pathways
- Matching traffickers’ global coordination with equal or greater collective action
- Training every professional who may encounter victims: healthcare workers, educators, law enforcement, social services, transportation, and corporate sectors, to recognize and respond effectively
Her message was clear: ending trafficking requires political courage, innovation, and relentless commitment.
A Proud Moment for Sun Gate and Survivor Advocates Worldwide
For Sun Gate, this historic address represents the heart of our work, survivors leading at the highest levels, influencing the global agenda, and redefining what leadership looks like in the anti-trafficking movement.
Shamere’s presence at the General Assembly signals a shift, survivor leaders are not the future, we are the now.
Her voice affirmed that lived experience is not a limitation; it is a form of expertise that the world urgently needs.
Shamere’s message to the United Nations was a global call to action, one we intend to carry forward with unwavering purpose.
A Moment That Will Inspire Generations
As Shamere stood before the world, she represented every survivor who has ever felt unseen, unheard, or undervalued. She reminded the Assembly, and all of us, that:
Human trafficking is not too big to solve. It is only as powerful as our inaction.
In her closing remarks at the High-Level Meeting on the Appraisal of the United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, the President of the General Assembly, H.E. Annalena Baerbock, highlighted the powerful impact of Sun Gate CEO Shamere McKenzie’s address. Quoting directly from Shamere’s speech, she emphasized the urgency of the global response, stating:
“As survivor and advocate Shamere McKenzie put it so starkly yesterday, ‘Human trafficking is succeeding because governments are moving too slowly.’”
President Baerbock further reaffirmed the importance of Shamere’s message by revisiting the challenge she delivered to Member States:
“Allow me to recall again the bold challenge Ms. McKenzie issued to us all: ‘Are we doing enough? Are we acting with the urgency this crisis deserves? Are we willing to be bold?’”
Shamere’s words continue to resonate across the international community, reminding global leaders of the courage, clarity, and conviction required to end human trafficking.
Click here to watch Shamere’s full speech, beginning at 48:50.
Sun Gate is honored, proud, and deeply moved to have our CEO leading the way with courage, truth, and a vision for a world where freedom is not the exception but the norm.
This is more than a milestone.
This is a movement.
And we are just getting started.
