Today we Americans gather and celebrate as a nation, our independence our freedom, taking pride in our country and our history. We honor those who have fought and died to give us the ability to walk this land without fear of persecution. A nation built on the back of injustice, a nation with dark slave past (mention here and link to slave apology). We celebrate today a nation which stands for justice, the right to free speech, the right of religious choice, the right to live our lives how we choose to live. However while we may not always agree with each other, and our country is not by far perfect, it is known that our children and their children live, and will continue to live, in a country where their opportunities are endless. Yet lets us also not forget that our freedoms have all come at a price, and that they do not befall upon us, but yet are the inheritance of our forefathers and foremothers. And while freedom is ours, it is still heavily guarded by those men and women, who serve in our military, work in our government, human rights workers and everyday citizens who have ensured that these rights continue to remain for us and future generations.

Take a moment from your BBQ’s and parties, and with your friends and family, and reflect for a moment to remember that countless millions of men, women and children around the globe are not so fortunate. For there are some 27 million people around the world who continue to remain affected by modern slavery, and that millions of children around the world who are faced with the daily ravages of war and conflict. Millions of children continue to face gender inequality; are denied an education, our sexually exploited, suffer needlessly from preventable diseases and poverty. Forget not that these children are not always in some land far away, but here in our own back yard…here in the land of freedom.

Use your freedom and your voice to help those who cannot celebrate today among the summer fun of BBQ’s and sit under the night sky ablaze with fireworks. Remember that freedom is not free, and it is the right of every man, woman and child.

Human trafficking is the worlds fastest growing industry, according to the 2009 State Department Trafficking in Persons Report over 80% of those victimized by transnational trafficking are women and children. According to the International Labor Organization (End of Child Labor Within Reach 2006), each year, some 1.2 million children are trafficked for the purposes of labor, while another 1 million are trafficked into the sex trade.

Do watch the news, read news articles, or my blog posts and question what you can actually do that will make a difference?  Feel you are stretched for time or don’t have any money to give?  Well there is something that you can do today to help end child trafficking.  Help those in the field, and other concerned citizens like yourself to pass the Child Protection Compact Act of 2009 (HR 2737).  The bill was introduced by Chris Smith, U.S. Representative for New Jersey’s 4th District, a leader in the fight against modern slavery. However the introduction of the CPCA is only the beginning in what is often a long legislative process, one that can only be successful with a united voice of the American voter.

Now is your chance to use your voice and put your vote to the test, as when it comes down to it the voice that is heard on the hill begins with you. Members of Congress look to their constituents for direction and support, and we need you to take the opportunity now to let your representatives know what matters most not only in your district, but across the country. Therefore let us all unite together to urge Members of Congress to support the Child Protection Compact Act (CPCA)of 2009, and together we can see that we move one step closer to bringing an end to modern slavery.

What does the Child Protection Compact Act (HR 2737) mean?
This groundbreaking legislation seeks to eradicate trafficking in children by focusing on assistance and collaboration with eligible individual countries through the implementation of Child Protection Compacts.  Many countries have passed anti-trafficking, child labor, child marriage, and similar laws to combat modern slavery, however there is not always the means to enforce these laws.  The lack of enforcement of such laws continues to leave children unprotected.  The CPCA would help enforce anti-trafficking laws in targeted countries by providing them with technical assistance and training. These target countries are ones who have shown a level of political will to fight human trafficking, but have been without adequate resources, know-how, and the capacity to follow up with survivors.  Therefore if enacted, the CPCA will offer additional resources for the targeted countries law enforcement, victim protection services, and deterrence through the apprehension and prosecution of human traffickers.

SEC. 6. CHILD PROTECTION COMPACT.

(a) Compact- The Secretary, acting through the Ambassador, may provide assistance for a country only if the country enters into an agreement with the United States, to be known as a ‘Child Protection Compact’, that establishes a 3-year plan for achieving shared objectives in furtherance of the purposes of this Act.

(b) Elements- The Compact should take into account the national child protection strategy of the country and shall contain–

(1) the specific objectives that the country and the United States expect to achieve during the term of the Compact;

(2) the responsibilities of the country and the United States in the achievement of such objectives;

(3) the particular programs or initiatives to be undertaken in the achievement of such objectives and the amount of funding to be allocated to each program or initiative;

(4) regular benchmarks to measure, where appropriate, progress toward achieving such objectives, including benchmarks for each program or initiative;

(10) the strategy of the country to sustain progress made toward achieving such objectives after expiration of the Compact.

What can you do?
Get a meeting with, call, write, e-mail the Congressional Representative and,or Senators in your home state and district. Let them know how important it is to you that we abolish modern-day slavery in our time, and give a voice to children across our country that have been silenced by the invisible chains of modern slavery. This is essential in all 50 states as we work to get this bill to the next stage of life, and closer to being a reality.

If you have reason to suspect that someone is a victim of human trafficking, please call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline on 1-888-373-7888. Multilingual call specialists are on standby 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All calls are confidential.

Today is World Day Against Child Labor, and this year we have reached historical importance of the day as in 2009 we are also celebrate the 10th anniversary of the adoption of ILO Convention No. 182, which addresses the need for action to eliminate the worst forms of child labor.

Today marks the 2008 World Day Against Child Labor, this years theme is: ‘Education: The right response to child labor’. This year the ILO’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) has established the campaign to tackle the right to education for all children to brake the chain of child labour that envelops millions of children worldwide.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO) there is an estimated 165 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 actively involved in child labour. Children are often forced to work long hours and are often forced to work in harsh and dangerous conditions. Child labour has a direct link to poverty, and provides a substantial barrier to a child’s education…thus enabling a barrier to a child’s education and increasing the literacy gap. Education is often taken for granted in developing nations, however many poor and impoverished families are forced to face the choose to send their child to school or work to help the family…it is that choice that has sent millions of children out of the classroom, often disparagingly girls, to toil in fields, factories, homes and the streets.

This years theme is, Give Girls a Chance: End Child Labor, which addresses the need for action to tackle the worst forms of child labour. Whilst celebrating progress made during the past ten years, the World Day will highlight the continuing challenges, with a focus on exploitation of girls in child labour. This years campaign has three main goals:

• Policy responses to address the causes of child labour, paying particular attention to the situation of girls.
• Urgent action to tackle the worst forms of child labour.
• Greater attention to the education and skills training needs of adolescent girls - a key action point in tackling child labour and providing a pathway for girls to gain Decent Work as adults.

Child labor continues across the globe in various forms, and is seen in all industires.  This week, International Labor Rights Forum’s (ILRF), Executive Director Bama Athreya was in Geneva at the ILO’s annual gathering, where they helped to organize an event yesterday about the continued use of forced child labor in Uzbekistan’s cotton industry. The event featured speakers including Kailash Satyarthi of the Global March Against Child Labor as well as many other leading figures from human rights and labor organizations, government officials and companies.  The agenda from the event is available online here , you can also see my previous posts; A Call for a Boycott on Child Picked Uzbek Cotton and Child Picked Cotton…Central Asia’s Child Labor, for more information.  The event in Geneva comes less than a week after ILRF released a new report detailing how forced child labor continues to be used in the most recent cotton harvest in Uzbekistan. Additionally, Uzbek human rights advocates just released a new call for an international boycott of Uzbek cotton.

Other industries which have been brought into the public spotlight include the cocoa industry, as seen in the following posts.  Currently the ILRF is working with US and Liberia-based organizations to fight the use of child labor and abuse of workers’ rights on a rubber plantation in Liberia operated by the Firestone tire company. You can see more and join the fight at the Stop Firestone campaign, as well as the following article which describs the ongoing problems and click here for recent articles in regards to the environmental problems caused by Firestone’s practices.

The use of child labor impacts children’s rights in a multitude of aspects, the most detrimental in the long term is often seen in a childs right to education.  In order to meet the UN’s Millennium Development Goals by 2015, which has set to see that all children receive and complete a full their primary education, regardless of gender. However if the goals are to be meet then we must work to see that education is free, an issue which many families still struggle to attain funds for or are forced to choose between funds for school or often food for the family. Other issues of major priority include; gender equality in all levels of education, education and awareness about the issues and facts of child labour, and teacher shortages.

Education is not only a human right for all children, but the gateway out of poverty, as education is empowerment and empowerment is the key to brake the cycle of poverty.

About 75 million children, worldwide, do not have the privilege of basic primary education. The International Labor Organization, at its on-going 97th conference, noted that education was critical to breaking the cycle of child labor and poverty, as well as eradicating child labor in its worst forms by 2016…”  http://www.vanguardngr.com/index.php?opt…)

For more information and resources on this years campaign to end child labor see:

The International Labor Organization (ILO)

International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF)

WHAT YOU CAN DO?

*ASK HERSHEY, MARS & NESTLE TO STOP USING CHILD LABOR: After you have asked Hershey, Mars and Nestle know that you want them to stop child labor in their cocoa supply chains, then ask 5 friends to join you?  Click here to tell your friends!

* CREATE MORE AWARENESS WITH CHILD LABOR POSTERS: Click here to see ILRF’s child labor campaign posters and to find out how to order some.

* USE ILRF’S CHILD LABOR CLASSROOM RESOURCES: Help spread the word in your community be using our educational resources here. The ILO and Education International have additional classroom materials specifically for World Day Against Child Labor 2009 available here.

* MAKE GOOD PURCHASES: To support companies that respect labor rights, check out our Chocolate Company Scorecard and the Shop with a Conscience Consumer Guide.

* ASK YOUR FRIENDS TO JOIN THE ACTION LIST: The best way to get the latest information about child labor and new ways to take action is to sign up for ILRF’s urgent action list.  As we launch new campaign efforts in the coming months, we need more voices calling for change.

Earlier this month Nicolas Kristof, a long time advocate on all forms of modern slavery, wrote a piece entitled, Girls on Our Streets, in which he sought not to bring attention to modern slavery itself, but to the plight of young girls right here in our own backyard.  American teenage girls continue to work the streets largely because of the lack of interest shown by authorities and society as a whole.

The issue of modern slavery is nothing new; it has been making headlines for some time now. In general as a society we have become more open and aware of the issues of modern slavery, and if you ask someone do they know about modern slavery, they do quite often know, but the issues isn’t that they are aware of modern slavery it is what aspects they are aware of and what they are not aware of. The response is most often you mean like what they have in Russia, or Asia, and if they are thinking of slavery here in the United States, they are thinking of immigrant girls and women sold in to sex slavery, and all of course this is all a harsh reality, but it is not the only and full reality.

However were we have continued to remain in the dark is in regards the slavery which is covering our own streets. The real face of modern slavery is not one face; the face of modern slavery could be anyone of any class and race, however we often fail to see the many faces of slavery which are lost in the crowd. The faces of young American Latino and African American girls on our streets are seen instantly as prostitutes, they are not looked upon as victims of slavery; however the average of entry into prostitution in the United States is 12-13 years-old.

We live in a world of denial…“it doesn’t happen to here…”, or “it couldn’t happen to me or someone I know”, but the reality is that it does happen here, and it could happen to anyone. Therefore to answer the question, “Are we still clueless about modern slavery?”, “Yes”, but “why” is the question that we really need to answer. We have allowed pimping and a Hip Hop culture to glamorize the pimp life style and thus we as a society have allowed ourselves to turn a blind eye to modern slavery on our streets and in our backyards. The business of pimping is the business of slavery, and as a society if we see slavery as outlandish on the streets of Bangkok, then why are we not outraged to see it on our own streets? If we begin to look through the lens of slavery without the glamorized tint we would see that pimps are nothing other than slave owners.

Slavery is defined as someone, held by force, fraud or coercion…Pimps on the streets of New York, as in the brothel owners in Phom Pen, use the same tactics, each prey on the more vulnerable members of society, they use false relationships of friendship, family and love to lure and hold young girls, while slowly wearing that their mental fiber. Once their hold begins they increase their strength and hold with the use beatings, the threat of violence…they instill fear and use humiliation to chain their ‘slaves’.

Self-esteem is both the chain that binds girls to slavery, but it is also the key that can free them. An impressionable then, or adult for that matter, can find either hope and joy, or suffering and pain, thanks to those who guide them in life. In the wrong hands an impressionable child can become a weapon of war, a tool or a commodity. However in the right hands they can become quite literally anything they want to be. The key to the future…the key to unlocking the chains of slavery is empowerment and self-worth, is the foundation of empowerment. If girls, or any person, are led to believe that they are not worth anything, then they no longer strive for anything further. When day in and day out you are told you cannot reach the high shelf you soon begin to believe it, and maybe you couldn’t reach the top shelf, but in time you would either grow on your own, or given encouragement you would soon begin to seek ways and solutions to help you reach it. Therefore if one is held down for too long no longer do you try to reach, thus you no longer strive for better things in your life.

Pimps and traffickers know that empowerment is detrimental to their ‘business’, thus why they seek out and prey on the most vulnerable, so that they can easily manipulate and breakdown their victims’ and turn them into one of the most profitable commodities in the world. So how does this dynamic continue to grow in spite of the obvious detrimental and illegal nature? Has our society literally kept its self in the dark despite the fact that modern slavery is the second leading trade over the arms trade, surpassing the drug trade, and it is estimated that in two years that the human trade will be number one?

it is the reality of some 100,000 and 3 million minors involved in prostitution every year in the United States (Department of Justice estimates). No longer can we look at these girls as criminals, but we must see them for what they are victims and treat them as such, so that they may become survivors. Please see GEMS to learn more about the program, and how you can support Rachel and all the very young girls who have been victimized by sex trafficking in the United States.

Then how do we permanently turn on the lights and show the full scope and detriment that this plague, this human flesh trade, has become? We must continue to increase awareness that it is a crime that affects us all, seek to address demand, increase funding for rescue and restore programs, including police training and task forces, and most importantly to brake the cycle of the trade we must invest in the empowerment of both at-risk populations and survivors.

If you have reason to suspect that someone is a victim of human trafficking, please call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline on 1-888-373-7888. Multilingual call specialists are on standby 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All calls are confidential.

We are happy to inform you that the Foreign Policy Association’s Children’s Rights Writer/Blogger, Cassandra Clifford, will now also be writing on Human Rights for the Examiner. Cassandra will not be leaving the FPA, but working with the Examiner to expand upon the reach and awareness of Human Rights using a unique local perspective. Cassandra is the new DC Human Rights Examiner, for which she plans to cover events and conduct interviews with those working on the ground in the Greater Washington DC area.

See some of Cassandra’s first stories on the Examiner, such as those listed below, click here.

The Dark Side of The Washington Post
Friday, April 17th, 2009
Katherine Chon, the Co-Founder and President of DC based Polaris Project, has recently posted a two part blog The Washington Post: A Paper Pimp?…

Emancipation Day, reflecting on our slave past, but what about slaves today?
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009
Today Washington, D.C., celebrates Emancipation Day, a day which commemorates the day on which in 1862, President Abraham…

The human trade
Sunday, April 12th, 2009
Modern slavery, otherwise known as Human Trafficking, holds some 27 million men, women and children by force or …

If you have a great story idea, event or interview for the Examiner or the FPA please contact Cassandra at,  cassandra.clifford at gmail.com

Slavery Monument in Zanzibar

Yesterday, March 25th, the UN marked the second annual International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

The story of the end of the slave trade deserves to be told here at the United Nations.  Indeed, the defense of human rights is at the heart of this Organization’s global mission.  Our Charter proclaims equal rights.  The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “no one shall be held in slavery or servitude”.  -Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon

However, as we take a moment to remember the some 12-17 million victims of the Transatlantic slave trade, let us remember and never forget our horrendous past, but let us also remember that we have not fully escaped the ghosts of slavery.

“Despairingly credible comparisons of scale and suffering may be drawn with the trans-Atlantic trade in Africans in the Americas in which more than 12 million people were forcibly transported over the ocean in four hundred years. It is to our great shame that if today’s statistics are correct, and 700, 000 people are now being trafficked across borders into slavery annually, we will have equaled that total in a mere 20 years.” - Mrs. Ndioro Ndiaye Deputy Director General International Organization of Migration (IOM)

The figures in the statement by Mrs. Ndiaye and the IOM leave the figure for modern slavery at 14 million, however leaders in the modern anti-slavery movement, such as Kevin Bales, President and Co-founder of Free the Slaves,  cite the figures as some 27 million.  Figures for the Atlantic Slave trade and modern slavery are both undoubtedly underestimated, regardless of the exact number any number of persons held in any form of slavery is plainly unacceptable.   It is clear that we have not fully learned the lessons from the legacy of the 400-year slave trade.

The establishment of the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade will hopefully serve to bring more awareness to the issue and increase the pressure on states to increase awareness and educate on the the issue of both historic and modern slavery.  Thus this day, along with the work of countless modern abolitionists, charities, states and the passing of more and more legislation against these modern crimes, will aid in the prevention of modern slavery, and see that future generations never have to hear the word slavery, but in that of a historic context.

To learn more about Human Trafficking/Modern Slavery see the following resource pages: Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Links

Human Trafficking Conventions and Laws

Slavery and Trafficking Related Books

Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery Reports and Publications

Human Trafficking and Slavery Related Movies and Documentaries

Also see my other posts on Child Trafficking, Slavery, and Child Soldiers

If you have reason to suspect that someone is a victim of human trafficking, please call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline on (1-888-373-7888). Multilingual call specialists are on standby 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All calls are confidential.

On Saturday, May 23, 2009, at 10:00 AM, ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes) will be holding a Run for Children’s Rights on Roosevelt Island
New York, NY 10044

When: Saturday, May 23, 2009
Time: 10:00 AM
Venue: Roosevelt Island
Address: New York, NY 10044
Brief Description:
This family-oriented 5K run/walk is a fundraiser and awareness-raising event to support the work of ECPAT-USA, a non-profit organization whose mission is to protect all children from commercial sexual exploitation. ECPAT-USA fights to end child pornography, prostitution, and trafficking through research, training, public education, advocacy, and policy implementation. By supporting this event, you are helping to protect and empower children all over the world.

Additional Information:
RUN or WALK for ADULTS and CHILDREN… *follow signs to event from subway (F train to Roosevelt Island stop). 9am - registration opens (t-shirts, day-of registration), 10am - run/walk begins, 11am - post-event food, entertainment, raffle
Fees: $20.00 (includes t-shirt)

Online Registration Closes: 05/20/09 11:00 AM

Website:
http://www.ecpatusa.org
Online Donations:
Click here to donate to Run for Children’s Rights

Today is International Woman’s Day,  was first observed on 28 February 1909, in the United States. Since its emergence to bring attention to working conditions and rights, in the beginning of the  20th century, the day has since become more than a political event, but an opportunity to bring to light the many needs and plights of women and girls across the globe that continue to remain marginalized and oppressed.  In many countries, such as much of the Former Soviet states, International Women’s Day has even become a national holiday.

Help women and girls this International Women’s day, go to the Blue Heart Campaign and help bring much needed awareness to the heinous crime of human trafficking and modern slavery.

By wearing the Blue Heart you raise awareness of this crime and join the campaign to fight it. The Blue Heart represents the sadness of those who are trafficked while reminding us of the cold-heartedness of those who buy and sell fellow human beings. The use of the blue UN colour also demonstrates the commitment of the United Nations to combating this crime against human dignity.

The UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) is the only body of the U.N. which focuses specifically on the criminal justice element of the crimes of human trafficking and modern slavery. The UNODC’s work on anti-trafficking is greatly supported by the Convention on Transnational Organized Crime and its supplementary protocols on trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling

To learn more about Human Trafficking/Modern Slavery see the following resource pages Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Links, Human Trafficking Conventions and Laws, Slavery and Trafficking Related Books, Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery Reports and Publications, Human Trafficking and Slavery Related Movies and Documentaries.

Also see my other posts on Child Trafficking and Slavery

If you have reason to suspect that someone is a victim of human trafficking, please call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline on (1-888-373-7888). Multilingual call specialists are on standby 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All calls are confidential.

Modern day slavery, otherwise known as Human Trafficking, holds some 27 million men, women and children by force (including the threat of force), fraud or coercion…it’s grip is only slightly weaker than that of the arms trade. The ‘human trade’ not only continues to fuel organized crime, and is often tided to it’s power house siblings, the arms and drug trades, continually undermining our global stability, including the security and health.

The human trade is not a new trade, however the past few years have led average citizens to open their eyes to the harsh realities of the increasing sell of humans.  Suddenly one sits down to watch their favorite crime drama and scenes of sex trafficking flash across the screen, but this eye opener is only a tiny window of modern slavery that encompasses child soldiers, forced marriage, debt bondage, domestic servitude, forced labor,  and a multitude of scenarios and situations that can often shock and awe one with their ingenuity, however the reality and types of modern slavery are rarely understood, and it is this misunderstanding and lack of information and knowledge by the public that unwittingly fuels the trade.

According to a new UN Office on Drugs and Crime global report on Human Trafficking, while “tremendous progress” has been realized against people-trafficking in recent years, “it is sick that we should even need to write a report about slavery in the 21st Century,” said a UN spokesman (BBC).

“This Report increases our understanding of modern slave markets, yet it also exposes our ignorance”, Executive Director of UNODC, Antonio Maria Costa said. “We have a big picture, but it is impressionistic and lacks depth. We fear the problem is getting worse, but we can not prove it for lack of data, and many governments are obstructing”, he admitted…  “If we do not overcome this knowledge crisis we will be fighting the problem blindfolded”, he warned.

The Report of 155 countries, showed that the largest form of modern slavery is sexual exploitation (79%), with the majority of victims being women and girls.  The second largest form is forced labor (18%).  Globally some 20% of all victims of modern slavery are children, although in various regions of the world, especially Africa, children make up the majority of victims, even as high as 100% in parts of West Africa.

Awareness and knowledge are the first keys to breaking the cycle of modern slavery, but it will take more than public awareness to see an end to the trade of human flesh, it will strong will and the cooperation of governments, corporate industry and the general community.



To see the full Report click here

To learn more about Human Trafficking/Modern Slavery see the following resource pages Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Links, Human Trafficking Conventions and Laws, Slavery and Trafficking Related Books, Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery Reports and Publications, Human Trafficking and Slavery Related Movies and Documentaries.

Also see my other posts on Child Trafficking, Slavery, and Child Soldiers

If you have reason to suspect that someone is a victim of human trafficking, please call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline on (1-888-373-7888). Multilingual call specialists are on standby 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All calls are confidential.

Are you a young person looking to give your voice to speak out against sexual exploitation? What would you say? Would you say something if you were given one minute to speak out about the sexual exploitation of children? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then please see the theoneminutesJr., a UNICEF project which enables young people across the globe the opportunity to make a one minute video statement about the issues that matter most in their lives.  To learn more, and submit your video, click here.