Today, on the 2nd of December 2019, we celebrate the International Day for the abolition of slavery. Slavery was not left behind in history. It still exists today, as more than 40 million people are victims of modern slavery, worldwide (International Labour Organisation - ILO).
The 2nd of December marks the adoption of the United Nations Convention for the suppression of the traffic in persons and the exploitation of the prostitution of others by the General Assembly; (resolution 317(IV) in 1949.On this day we focus on eradicating form of slavery in our society today, such as trafficking in persons, sexual exploitation, the worst forms of child labour, forced marriage, and the forced recruitment of children for use in armed conflict.
Slavery refers to the exploitation of any individual, where this individual cannot refuse or leave because of continuous threats, violence, coercion, deception and/or abuse of power. Shockingly, there are currently still an estimated 21 million forced labour victims worldwide, creating US$ 150 billion in illegal profits in the private economy each year (International Labour Organization (ILO)).
Important facts regarding modern slavery:
*More than 150 million children worldwide are subject to child labour; almost 1 in 10 children.
*An estimated 40.3 million people are in modern slavery, including 24.9 in forced labour and 15.4 million in forced marriage.
*There are 5.4 victims of modern slavery for every 1,000 people in the world.
*1 in 4 victims of modern slavery is children.
*Out of 24.9 million people trapped in forced labour (16 million people are exploited in the private sector such as domestic work, construction or agriculture; 4.8 million people in forced sexual exploitation, and 4 million people in forced labour imposed by state authorities).
*Women and girls are disproportionately affected by forced labour, accounting for 99% of victims in the commercial sex industry, and 58% in other sectors.
In November 2019, the ILO adopted a legally binding protocol to strengthen the global efforts in eliminating forced labour. The campaign “50 for Freedom” aims to gain support from at least 50 countries to ratify the Forced Labour by the end of 2019.
Join us and celebrate this day, by celebrating our progress and continuous efforts to eradicate slavery worldwide.
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