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The Athens Ethical Principles were adopted by business companies in Athens on 23 January 2006, to combat human trafficking worldwide by focusing on seven main areas.

In January 2006, Suzanne Mubarak Women’s International Peace Movement, under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, brought together CEOs from the private sector, representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), international organizations, and governments, and individuals to share their expertise and develop measures to counter human trafficking.

The Athens Ethical Principles contain seven main values:
1/ Demonstrate the position of zero tolerance towards trafficking in human beings, especially women and children for sexual exploitation (Policy Setting)
2/ Contribute to prevention of trafficking in human beings including awareness-raising campaigns and education (Public Awareness-Raising)
3/ Develop a corporate strategy for an anti-trafficking policy which will permeate all our activities (Strategic Planning)
4/ Ensure that our personnel fully comply with our anti-trafficking policy (Personnel Policy Enforcement)
5/ Encourage business partners, including suppliers, to apply ethical principles against human trafficking (Supply Chain Tracing)
6/ In an effort to increase enforcement it is necessary to call on governments to initiate a process of revision of laws and regulations that are directly or indirectly related to enhancing anti-trafficking policies (Government Advocacy)
7/ Report and share information on best practices (Transparency)

Hundreds of companies have agreed to abide by these principles, but it is their implementation by businesses that will contribute to the eradication of human trafficking worldwide. Moreover, experience of many corporations suggests that the commitment to ethical business actually improves the bottom line.