Anti-slavery organizations around the world are commemorating today’s International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, including Free the Slaves. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a coalition of our front-line partner organizations, called COSCAE, marked the occasion with events to build public awareness of modern-day slavery and programs to end it.
About 500 COSCAE members from 11 organizations joined with the Orange Company and DRC police for an awareness-raising carnival.
The COSCAE board met with Goma’s mayor to foster stronger relations between civil society and the government.
The board then briefed 15 journalists from five local radio stations and two television channels about the role that the news media can play in combatting slavery.
The activities were a first for the young coalition. They demonstrate that Free the Slaves and its partners are gaining ground in the effort to gain broad-based support for programs to bring slavery in the Congo to an end.
Learn more about our work in the DRC on our Congo webpage. You can read our research reports that unearth widespread slavery in mining communities, watch a video that establishes the connection between Congo slavery and everyday electronic products sold in Europe and the U.S., and see a video that features survivors who have broken free from slavery with our help.
