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Excerpt from Secretary Kerry’s June 30th statement:
“All 20 million are people just like everybody here. They have names. They have or had families and they are enforced to endure a hell – a living hell in modern times that no human being should ever have to experience:
“Modern slavery doesn’t happen only in warzones. It exists in areas of both darkness and plain sight of people all over the world – even at sea:
“But this story, I regret to tell you, is far from unique. There are many, many stories similar to this where unscrupulous fishermen use the isolation of the sea to hide their crimes. Enslaved crewmembers – most of whom are under 17 years of age – are forced to work 18-to-20-hour days. They’re denied medical care and force-fed amphetamines to help them work through the pain.
“The economic incentives are there, which is precisely why illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing practices have grown into a $20 billion a year industry. And that’s why stopping those practices is going to be a major focus of the oceans conference that I will be hosting here at the State Department on September 15th. A global, coordinated effort is desperately needed and long overdue. And let me tell you something – with the help of the Senate, Bob Corker (R-TN), and Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and others, that is exactly what we intend to do.
“These crimes can be just as hard to detect when they’re happening behind the closed doors of an exploiter’s home:
“That’s the difference these efforts make.
“We are part of a community of nations that lives by and advocates for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The good news is we have the ability to fight back and, believe me, we are determined to do so. This is reflected in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, which include an unprecedented commitment to halt human trafficking. It is reflected in the Palermo Protocol, ratified by nearly 170 nations, and aimed at preventing, suppressing, and punishing these despicable crimes. And it is reflected in the steadily increasing efforts to cooperate and share information among law enforcement authorities on every continent. It is reflected in efforts by the media to cast a spotlight on the shadowy areas where traffickers exist and thrive. And it is reflected in a growing network of NGOs and advocacy groups who work hard every single day to bring modern-day slavery to a permanent end.”
“All 20 million are people just like everybody here. They have names. They have or had families and they are enforced to endure a hell – a living hell in modern times that no human being should ever have to experience:
- STORY: A 34-year-old survivor recalls approaching one of her captors in Syria, a member of the terrorist group Daesh [ISIS]. She pleaded with him to halt the incessant rape of a 12-year-old girl, telling the terrorist, “She’s just a little girl.” And he replied, “No. She’s not a little girl. She’s a slave.”
“Modern slavery doesn’t happen only in warzones. It exists in areas of both darkness and plain sight of people all over the world – even at sea:
- STORY: Lang Long left Cambodia on the promise of a construction job in Thailand. He had dreams of providing for his family. But on arriving in Thailand, Long was forced to work on a fishing vessel. He was beaten regularly with a metal pole, compelled to drink water from fish barrels, allowed little rest. And when he wasn’t working, he was chained by a rusty metal collar around his neck to an anchor post, so that he couldn’t escape. [MAYBE MAKE THE ANCHOR LINK HERE?]It wasn’t until a Cambodian fisherman saw him and paid $750 to secure his release that the shackles were undone. Read more about Lang Long’s story in the New York Times.
“But this story, I regret to tell you, is far from unique. There are many, many stories similar to this where unscrupulous fishermen use the isolation of the sea to hide their crimes. Enslaved crewmembers – most of whom are under 17 years of age – are forced to work 18-to-20-hour days. They’re denied medical care and force-fed amphetamines to help them work through the pain.
“The economic incentives are there, which is precisely why illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing practices have grown into a $20 billion a year industry. And that’s why stopping those practices is going to be a major focus of the oceans conference that I will be hosting here at the State Department on September 15th. A global, coordinated effort is desperately needed and long overdue. And let me tell you something – with the help of the Senate, Bob Corker (R-TN), and Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and others, that is exactly what we intend to do.
“These crimes can be just as hard to detect when they’re happening behind the closed doors of an exploiter’s home:
- STORY: Paul was 14 when he left Nigeria to move in with a British-Nigerian couple in the UK. They promised his family that they were going to look after him, enroll him in school and pay him to help with the housework. But they just lied. They took away his passport, monitored his movements with security cameras, and forced him to work 17-hour days as a servant. He tried to escape, but fear and intimidation, no papers and the inability to move freely kept him enslaved for 24 years -- until he heard a report on the radio about an NGO that was fighting to eradicate modern-day slavery. Summoning his courage, he bravely reached out to the organization, and they helped get him his life back and see that his tormentors were prosecuted
“That’s the difference these efforts make.
“We are part of a community of nations that lives by and advocates for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The good news is we have the ability to fight back and, believe me, we are determined to do so. This is reflected in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, which include an unprecedented commitment to halt human trafficking. It is reflected in the Palermo Protocol, ratified by nearly 170 nations, and aimed at preventing, suppressing, and punishing these despicable crimes. And it is reflected in the steadily increasing efforts to cooperate and share information among law enforcement authorities on every continent. It is reflected in efforts by the media to cast a spotlight on the shadowy areas where traffickers exist and thrive. And it is reflected in a growing network of NGOs and advocacy groups who work hard every single day to bring modern-day slavery to a permanent end.”