Cecilia Flores-Oebanda, founding President and Executive Director of the Visayan Forum Foundation, received the 2005 Anti-Slavery Award on 29 November for her outstanding work to protect migrant workers, particularly child domestics, in the Philippines and the surrounding region.

Lord Bill Brett, Director of the International Labour Organization London, presented the Award at a ceremony at Chatham House, London.

During her week-long visit, Cecilia met key decision makers, including at the Foreign Office and the Philippine Embassy, and was widely interviewed by the British and international media on such programmes as Woman's Hour, Everywoman, BBC World's HARDTalk, Asia Today and in
The Scotsman, enabling her to increase understanding of child domestic work and strengthen support for her fight to help these children.

During Cecilia's visit, Reporter editor Beth Herzfeld interviewed her to find out what key influences lay behind her activism and the challenges that lie ahead.

Q: How old were you when you began organising people to demand their rights?
A: When I was 14 and still living in the Visayas in central Philippines, I began organising agricultural workers as well as young people in my local community. Through the Church, I helped organise them to negotiate better pay and land rights.

Q: What were your greatest influences?
A: Apart from these experiences, when I was 17, I became an insurgent and commanded a small unit in the struggle against Ferdinand Marcos's dictatorship to demand our rights and call for democracy. The skills of organising and empowering marginalised people have translated into my current work.

Q: How did you start the Visayan Forum Foundation?
A: After being released, I stayed in the capital Manila. It was clear that the people of the Visayas made up a large proportion of rural-urban migrants and that there was a need for an organisation to bring these migrants together, to represent their interests and work for the development of the Visayas region. To achieve this, we started the Foundation in 1991. Our work focussed on addressing the root causes that led marginalised people in the Visayas to migrate, such as poverty, landlessness, armed conflict, inequality and cultural factors. A year later, we started campaigning against child labour, mainly working with street children and children trafficked for domestic work.

Q: What difference will receiving the Anti-Slavery Award make
to you?
A: It provides the opportunity to elevate the issue of domestic workers in the Philippines and all over the world. Receiving the Award has already helped my work. When I spoke to JK Rowling, who unfortunately was unable to come to the ceremony, she told me of her commitment to helping us end this abuse. She has generously donated £50,000, which has enabled us to begin setting up a safe house for abused domestic workers and trafficking victims; a significant contribution towards a vital part of our work. Personally, the Award has served as a challenge to me to work more for the liberation of domestic workers.

Q: What challenges lie ahead?
A: There are many, but I am optimistic. To help these children, people's attitudes need to change. They need to recognise that child domestic workers are children and that they have rights. The Philippine Government can help by ensuring the Domestic Workers' Bill becomes law and takes action against those who abuse these children. And, where the international community is concerned, we hope to see the day when UN bodies, especially the International Labour Organization, and other members of the international community, will institutionalise their commitment by adopting and seriously implementing a global standard for the protection and development of domestic work, and recognise that domestic work is decent work.

You too can help make a difference

Read Cecilia's acceptance speech

Between 1986 and 2002, thousands of people were abducted and enslaved in Sudan. In November, James Aguer, Chairperson of the Dinka Chiefs Committee, visited Anti-Slavery International and told Africa Programme Officer Asim Turkawi about the latest challenges for securing their release and returning them home.

The civil war between the Sudan Government and south's Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army, which raged until 2003, fuelled the conditions that led to so many men, women and children being forced into slavery. The raids and subsequent abductions across villages in north and western Bahr El Gazal in southern Sudan, were carried out by government-supported militias.

"The Arabic-speaking militias, the Murahaleen, had their own agendas; they had the chance to abduct boys whom they used to tend cattle and young girls to be used as sex slaves, wives or given as gifts. As time went on, more and more boys were abducted to be used as labour," James said.

This number, James says, is far greater than the original estimate of those abducted because it takes into account the children born to those who were forced into slavery who will also have been used as forced labour.

Despite there now being peace between the north and south, many obstacles to their return remain, particularly as a result of issues of memory, cultural factors and funding.

Cultural tensions have also surfaced from the returns. Many of the children born into slavery have been raised as Muslims and fears of their being Christianised after being taken to the south initially led to tensions. But involvement of local leaders helped ease the tension.

Lack of funds has been the greatest impediment to return. In 2004, the Dinka Committee made some progress. "We successfully lobbied the Government to fund its agency, the Committee for the Eradication of Abductions of Women and Children (CEAWC), in order to help the return process," James said. But money for reintegration and for the development of measures to help and protect returnees has not materialised. "When abductees are taken to the south, there are no basic services. No hospitals, schools or other facilities that will help returnees."

The issue of prosecutions will also not be addressed for some time to come. "Penalties and prosecutions against those who have perpetuated these crimes must and will come, but only when it is safe to do so. This process should not impede finding, registering and releasing people," James said. "First, systems to achieve this must be in place so that slaves are safe. Prosecution is part of CEAWC's mandate, and we will press for them to happen to ensure justice is carried out; but we have to wait until it is safe," he continued.

However many obstacles to releasing, returning and integrating slaves there are, James is optimistic about the future: "Through the new government the large obstacles can be overcome; it is definitely not easy, but it is possible."