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UN officials call for combating modern forms of slavery
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned today that contemporary forms of slavery remain a grave and unresolved problem across all continents.
trafficking victims
Marking the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, December 2nd, he called for greater efforts to address poverty and social inequalities, which leave people vulnerable to enslavement. These contemporary forms of slavery, he says, include debt bondage, forced labour, child labour, trafficking of persons, sexual slavery, forced marriage, and the use of child soldiers.
The Secretary-General noted that combating slavery means not only its direct prohibition by law but also fighting against poverty, illiteracy, economic and social disparities, gender discrimination and violence against women and children.
The independent United Nations expert on contemporary forms of slavery, Gulnara Shahinian, in her message for the day, highlighted the plight of domestic workers, who are overworked, underpaid and subject to abuse and are effectively being treated as slaves. She stressed that this form of slavery takes place all over the world, especially among migrant workers.
Bissera Kostova, United Nations
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