Introduction
Akuac Malong, a 13-year-old Dinka girl from southern Sudan, was freed after being enslaved for seven years by Arab Muslims in northern Sudan. Tens of thousands of black Christians and followers of tribal religions are thought to be held captive in Sudan. (AP Photo/Jean-Marc Bouju)
|
From the villages of Sudan to the factories, sweatshops and brothels of India and South Asia, slavery and human trafficking still flourish. Some 27 million people worldwide are held in some form of slavery, forced prostitution or bonded labor. Some humanitarian groups buy captives' freedom, but critics say that only encourages slave traders to seize more victims. Meanwhile, nearly a million people are forcibly trafficked across international borders annually and held in captivity. Even in the United States, thousands of women and children from overseas are forced to become sex workers. Congress recently strengthened the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, but critics say it is still not tough enough, and that certain U.S. allies that harbor traffickers are treated with “kid gloves” for political reasons.
|
|
|
 |
Nov. 01, 2013 |
Religious Repression |
 |
May 17, 2013 |
Assisted Suicide |
 |
Oct. 16, 2012 |
Human Trafficking and Slavery |
 |
Sep. 20, 2011 |
Saving Indigenous Peoples |
 |
Oct. 30, 2009 |
Human Rights Issues |
 |
Jul. 25, 2008 |
Human Rights in China |
 |
Mar. 26, 2004 |
Human Trafficking and Slavery |
 |
Apr. 30, 1999 |
Women and Human Rights |
 |
Nov. 13, 1998 |
Human Rights |
 |
Jul. 19, 1985 |
Human Rights in the 1980s |
 |
May 18, 1979 |
Human Rights Policy |
 |
Apr. 03, 1968 |
Human Rights Protection |
 |
Mar. 21, 1956 |
Forced Labor and Slavery |
 |
Apr. 27, 1949 |
Forced Labor |
 |
Jan. 25, 1945 |
Bills of Rights |
| | |
|