ANTI-SLAVERY DAY

BySCEME

ANTI-SLAVERY DAY

Today marks Anti-Slavery Day, a time when various communities throughout the world unite in order to remember those who died in the slave trade as well as raise awareness for the many people who still suffer at the brutal hands of modern-day slavery.

In addition to this, it is also EU Anti-Trafficking Day and yesterday an event was held in Austria in order to discuss the best ways to tackle global trafficking. Austria has made recent developments in the fight against human-trafficking worldwide, and the event that was organized by the Austrian government, acted as a platform from which people could voice their concerns. Government representatives were eager to discuss better ways that the victims of trafficking could be protected whilst coming up with more harsh punishments for traffickers themselves.

Emily Jupp of the Independent reported the sentiments of General William Lacy, Director of the International Organization for Migration who said: “For too long the belief has been that human trafficking can only be tackled in source countries…human trafficking is driven by the demand for unreasonably cheap labor and goods across the world, including in the UK.” He was eager to highlight that no country is free from Human-Trafficking; it is a global problem that needs to be addressed immediately.

This coming November, SCEME will release a report that shows the findings of our investigation into trafficking in the Arab world. We hope that today, people will spare a thought for those who continue to be victims of modern day slavery and feel that creating an active dialogue around this subject is vital if we are to fight against it.