The American Human Rights Council (AHRC-USA) joins the United Nations and the world community to remember and honor the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition on August 23, 2017. This is a day in observance by the United Nations to recognize the historical trauma of the slave trade over the centuries and to remember the abolition of slavery.
As we honor and remember this day, we must also remember that many people around the world are still suffering in human bondage. Human Trafficking or “modern day slavery” is a multi-billion-dollar global crime against humanity operating in every corner of the world. Today there are as many as 20.9 million people enslaved worldwide.
“Slavery is a violation of our core human values, our basic consciousness, and a violation of human rights and human dignity,” said Imad Hamad, AHRC Executive Director. “Though slavery has been legally abolished around the world, many people from vulnerable populations and people living in the United States are living in bondage, living with the threat or fear of bondage and exploitation, or have died trying to escape it.”
International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is intended to inscribe the tragedy of the slave trade in the memory of all peoples. In accordance with the goals of the intercultural project “The Slave Route”, it should offer an opportunity for collective consideration of the historic causes, the methods and the consequences of this tragedy, and for an analysis of the interactions to which it has given rise between Africa, Europe, the Americas and the Caribbean.
AHRC encourages all people worldwide to observe this important day of remembrance and to learn more about human trafficking to get involved in eliminating human bondage permanently.
To learn more about the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, please visit http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/slave-route/right-box/related-information/23-august-international-day-for-the-remembrance-of-the-slave-trade-and-its-abolition/ or to learn more about human trafficking and how to get involved, please visit End Slavery at http://www.endslaverynow.org/.