Up to 27 million people living in slavery: US

WASHINGTON – Up to 27 million people are living in slavery around the world, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton estimated on Tuesday as the United States unveiled its annual report into human trafficking.

‘The end of legal slavery in the United States and in other countries around the world has not, unfortunately, meant the end of slavery,’ said Clinton.’Today it is estimated as many as 27 million people around the world are victims of modern slavery, what we sometimes call trafficking in persons,’ she said at the unveiling of the report at the State Department.’Those victims of modern slavery are women and men, girls and boys and their stories remind us of the kind of inhumane treatment we are capable of as human beings,’ said Clinton.’Whatever their background, they are the living, breathing reminders that the work to eradicate slavery remains unfinished.’As America prepares to mark the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of the emancipation of US slaves, people must reflect on ‘how much further we have to go to free all these 27 million victims,’ Clinton added.The State Department’s annual report said however that progress was being made on cracking down ‘on the scourge of trafficking in persons’ with more governments bringing prosecutions while setting up systems to help victims.Out of the 185 countries included in the 2012 report, only 33 complied fully with laws in place to end human trafficking, such as the Universal Declaration on Human Rights which prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude.But five countries had moved up from the bottom ranking Tier 3, including Myanmar and Venezuela, to be included among the 42 countries now on a US watchlist.Among the 17 countries on the bottom of the table were Algeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Syria.’Traffickers prey on the hopes and dreams of those seeking a better life,’ said Clinton. ‘Our goal should be to put these hopes and dreams back within reach.’But she hailed the fact that in the 2012 Trafficking in Persons report a total of 29 countries had been upgraded from a lower ranking, ‘which means that their governments are taking the right steps.’Clinton pointed to such things as ‘enacting strong laws, stepping up their investigations and prosecutions, or simply laying out a road map of steps they will take to respond.’Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, from the office to monitor and combat trafficking in persons, told reporters: ‘There is a little bit of movement, which means the countries are passing laws and are starting to address the situation.’While the number of people officially identified as victims of trafficking and slavery had gone up by 28 per cent since last year to 42,291, the numbers of prosecutions in 2012 had also increased by 10 per cent to 3,969, he said.- Nampa-AFP