Positive initiatives
Today,
as in the past, people of different faiths and cultures, all over the world,
are working to end slavery for good. They don’t seem to be more successful than
in the past. The first
international document against slavery [1]
was adopted in 1815. Since then more than 300 international agreements and many
more national legislatures have adopted motions to suppress slavery. The 1957
UN Convention [2] is the
most important. However, they lack adequate institutions and procedures to
ensure their enforcement. Legislation is
needed but it is not enough. Now is
the time for implementation!
Campaigns and organizations, including Religious are
active in ending slavery. Efforts from all sides are being made, for instance, ex-slaves are working to
free others, men risk their lives to
rescue children, and different groups of women help women and girls
to escape from slavery. Solwodi
(Solidarity with Women in Distress) started by Lea Ackerman (MSOLA) in Mombasa,
Kenya, in 1985 and later on in Germany to protect and council women who were
victims of human trafficking, forced prostitution, domestic violence, abuse, or
escaping from forced marriage.
Many governments have a
department to combat trafficking. UNODC [3]
has a model law that helps member States to prepare national laws. The UN has a Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking [4]. In Africa, governments are
passing legislation and civil society is working directly with the victims,
rescuing and welcoming them. The community watch system in Benin prevents the abduction of some 1,000
children per year.
Though still very few, a number of corporations are
fighting slavery, human trafficking, and child labour, by improving working
conditions all along the supply chain. Some hotel chains carry out advocacy
campaigns against sex trafficking.
The preventive measures taken in Germany (2006) and
South Africa (2010) for the Football World Cup, and, now in the UK for the
Olympic Games, prevents an increase in the trafficking of women and children
for prostitution.
The way forward
Greater
efforts are needed to end slavery definitively. Everyone has a role to play:
governments, international organizations, corporations, consumers, the victims,
the population and YOU. The political, economic and social dimensions of the
slave labour system need to be addressed. The needed political will come only
as a result of public demand. We have to work at the root causes to create a
society and an economy at the service of life for all, where the human being is
at the centre and creation is respected (Kingdom of God). This demands advocacy
work to change the minds and attitudes that will eliminate any segregation. It
is necessary to advocate for a change of policies, structures and economics
that will bring a fairer distribution of wealth and the eradication of poverty.
Respect for the rule of law is also essential. It is the lack of commitment in
these areas that are the main causes of slavery. YOUR commitment is needed.
National-international
legislation has to be passed, together with mechanisms and means for
implementation. Business executives and companies must be legally accountable
for extra-territorial breaches of international law.
What we can do
- Open our eyes to see and denounce situations of slavery and injustice. Circulate the information to create awareness in religious, the public and the media.
- Collaborate with organizations working against slavery. Join their campaigns.
- Make sure not to invest, not to buy, nor to use products from companies benefiting from forced labour.
- Lobby governments to implement their anti-slavery laws and to make the fight against slavery a priority.
- Look out for the implementation of international commitments, and respect for Human rights.
- Fight against any law, agreement, institution and structure that create inequality.
Begoña Iñarra, MSOLA
