On this day in 1949, the United Nations passed Resolution 317(IV), calling for an International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, abolishing slavery and human trafficking worldwide.  It was a nice gesture, and the United Nations is to be commended for all of its fine work in uncovering and exposing slavery when it is found, but how far have we come?

We’ve all read the horrific accounts of slavery in the United States’ not-so-distant past.  Over 12 Million African men, women and children were forcibly removed from their villages, shipped like cattle and sold at auction.  Did you know that almost 11 Million Africans were shipped off to enormous plantations in Brazil?  America enslaved just over 645,000 of these poor souls.  By the 1860 census, the population of slaves in America had grown to well over 4 Million.

Of course, slavery was abolished by our Thirteenth Amendment, but what about the rest of the World? How has it come along on this issue?  Are there fewer slaves in the World? How are we doing?

Slavery worldwide is still an enormous issue

This last October, Hillary Clinton visited Pakistan to strengthen relations with our military ally in the Middle East.  One of the items on her agenda was Human Rights.  It is estimated that there are over 1 Million families in the Sindh District alone living in slave-like conditions, indebted to landlords for as little as $12 and having worked for years to no avail.  One-third of these slaves are children.  Other estimates by Pakistani newspapers put the number at millions across Pakistan.  In just one nation.

Pleas to the Pakistani courts have done little, and at least one advocate for the slaves has been enslaved himself.  Pakistan’s Bonded Labour System Act requires a 5-year sentence for violations; however, despite millions of violations, not one conviction has occurred.  Fully supported by the government’s blind eye, Pakistani landowners have killed those that have spoken up for themselves.  And herein lies the biggest issue – we need the government of this nation to succeed in our efforts in the Middle East, and it is difficult to reprimand someone while asking for a handout…

The State Department’s Tier System

The U.S. State Department does try.  It has a 3-tier system for ranking nations’ upholding of basic human rights. Tier One is for nations that work diligently to uphold its citizen’s rights.  Tier two is for those nations with human rights laws, but not necessarily a vigor to uphold them. Tier three is for nations that ignore basic human rights.

The State Department recently downgraded Pakistan to Tier Two on its Human Rights Watch List because of its ongoing problems with slavery.  The nation will drop to Tier Three after 3 more years if it does not improve, causing automatic sanctions.  So it looks like Pakistan has been told it has 3 years to enjoy the fruits of forced labor before we begin to whine a little louder at them, which could in turn drag on for a decade.  Children on these farms will grow up in the darkness of forced labor.  I suppose if the two-front wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ever end, we might get around to putting more pressure on the Pakistani government…?

The financial recession doesn’t help

In recessions, the trafficking of humans historically rises.  These tough times are no exception.  The State Department estimates that including forced labor, forced prostitution and organ stealing (yes, organ stealing,) over 12.3 million people are being trafficked against their will.  Wasn’t that the same number of Africans shipped around the World in our distant past?  It would appear that the misery has just spread around the World a bit more uniformly…

Largely developed nations fill the roster of Tier One states, showing the most effort in combating trafficking.  This year, both Iran and North Korea, as well as a half-dozen other nations, have joined the roster of Tier 3 states (showing the least effort to resolve the issue.)  In Iraq, mothers have been found publicly pimping out their daughters.  In Cambodia, little children are openly used for sex, and thousands of men are kidnapped for forced labor, where they are beaten to death if they refuse to comply.  In isolated locales, people are waking up, groggy from forced sedation, to find mysterious scars on their bellies, organs removed to be provided to wealthy but sick people.

How does the U.S. size up on slavery?

Did you know that the United States does not list its own issues with human trafficking on this annual report?  Things are about to change, according to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  Clinton has revealed that beginning next year, the Obama Administration will be ranking “its own efforts at combatting trafficking along with the rest of the world.”

The Department of Labor continues to prosecute individuals and companies for imprisoning and forcing into servitude illegal immigrants, in order to pay off typically trumped-up debts owed to those that brought them into the country.  In the Immokalee region of Florida, since 1997 over 1,000 indentured slaves have been freed from the enormous tomato plantations that provide must of the tomatoes you and I eat.  The CIA estimates that each and every year, over 50,000 women and children are forced into our country for sexual exploitation.

We have a lot of cleaning to do in our own backyard, in order to help other nations deal with the issue of slavery.  I applaud the United Nations, the U.S. State Department, and countless other organizations working each and every day to free the continued victims of slavery, forced prostitution , physical and emotional thievery.

So how can you help? There are a variety of organizations on the Web…

HelpStopChildSlavery.Org – they fund a variety of anti-slavery organizations, and recommend you donate your website’s homepage to them, so ad revenue can help.

WorldVision.Org - allows you to sponsor children who are freed from slavery, so they can get back on their feet, and/or return to their families.

SaveTheChildren.Org – provides community awareness, economic alternatives, education and shelter.

CATWInternational.Org - The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women – promotes women’s rights by combatting sexual exploitation.

Take a little time to read about these organizations, and see about advertising one of them in your blog, on your website, or in Social Media.  Help remember the millions who are hidden from the rest of us…