If you’ve never had a chance to read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, today is a good time to do it.
December 10th is Human Rights Day, a date proclaimed by the U.N. in 1950 to focus global attention on the declaration as “the common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.”
The declaration, approved in 1948, is very clear about slavery and trafficking. Abolishing both is near the top of the list.
Article 4 states: “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.”
Of course, declaring that slavery should be abolished and actually ending it are two different things. Current research estimates that 21-30 million people are still enslaved around the globe.
As this year’s Human Rights Day unfolds, you can do your part by spreading the word that slavery still exists. Tell your coworkers, classmates, neighbors, family members and friends.
Equally important: tell them that slavery can be overcome if we all act together. Reduce consumer demand for products manufactured by slaves or made with slavery-tainted components or raw materials. Check out KnowTheChain to see what major companies are doing about slavery in product supply chains.
And help Free the Slaves work on the supply side of the problem, too. We help stem the flow of vulnerable people into systems of slavery in trafficking hot spots.
It’s Human Rights Day. Get smart about slavery. Then get active to bring it to an end.
