On 2 December the United Nations marked the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery.

UN Secretary General Kofi Anan announced, "this year marks the 75th anniversary of the international community's decision to abolish slavery everywhere and to adopt the first international convention intended to do so…. These modern forms of slavery affect every continent, demonstrating our collective failure to implement the provisions of Article 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that 'no one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms,'"

He continued that major steps had recently been taken with the adoption of key legislation, such as the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, but that "implementation of international treaties is the true test".

The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery is more than a day of commemoration; it is a call for action, to end the slavery that affects millions of women, children and men throughout the world.

Governments must make ending this violation of human rights a higher national and international priority. On 2 December, Anti-Slavery and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)¹, launched a recently co-published report, Forced Labour in the 21st Century² , which confirms that millions of people around the world are forced to work in modern forms of slavery like bonded labour, trafficking in people and the worst forms of child labour.

The Anti-Slavery/ICFTU report highlights cases in a variety of countries including Nepal, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, India, Gabon, Haiti, Burma and the United Kingdom. It also quotes figures which reveals the scale of the problem, including a 1999 United Nations estimate that there were 20 million bonded labourers world-wide. It also refers to a report by the United States Center for the Study of Intelligence in 2000, which calculates that at least 700,000 women and children are victims of cross-border human trafficking each year.

"The 1926 Slavery Convention requires all signatories to abolish all forms of slavery as soon as possible, but 75 years later this is still no nearer to being achieved. Trafficking in people and other forms of slavery affect every continent in the world and all governments need to prioritise action to prohibit these unacceptable practices and provide protection and support to victims. Tackling the root causes of slavery such as poverty and discrimination is also essential to achieving a world without slavery," said Mike Dottridge, Director of Anti-Slavery International.

The ICFTU, the world's leading umbrella body for national trade union centres, highlighted that trade unions around the world had a specific responsibility to combat slavery and other forms of forced labour.

"As one of the core labour standards promoted by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the world-wide elimination of forced labour and slavery ranks among our top priorities", said ICFTU General Secretary Bill Jordan.

The ICFTU is currently involved in fighting forced labour in Burma, Pakistan, Mauritania and the UAE and is planning further action concerning a number of countries in Africa and Latin America.

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¹The ICFTU was set up in 1949 and campaigns on issues such as trade union and workers rights and the eradication of forced and child labour. It has a membership of 155 million people.

²The report Forced Labour in the 21st Century is published in English, French and Spanish. To obtain a copy please contact Anti-Slavery (for English copies) or ICFTU (for French or Spanish).