The 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was December 10th, 2009. There is indeed much to be celebrated as there has been substantial strides made into protecting human rights over those 60 years. From enactment of several key legislation, worldwide, to just larger awareness of the importance and need to define and protect our human rights.
However, that same week, MSNBC had a series running called Sex Slaves in America and one of the first introductory lines was that sex slavery alone is a $1billion industry. That’s nuts. Beyond that. And sex slavery is just one form of human trafficking. The list goes on and on and on. Just about anything can fall under human trafficking. It was not until I took a course in Human Trafficking that I fully understand how extensive, lucrative and expansive the sex slave industry was and still is. The development and progression of human trafficking is just one visible form of human rights being violated. There remains people grappling with the direst forms of oppression and poverty. There remains inadequate and unfair health and labor practices. Although it was and is great we have come far and should celebrate the great efforts of the past 60 years, lets not assume we are done; I think it’s safe to say our work has just begun.
Check out Part One of MSNBC’s segment on Sex Slaves in America:
After you check out that snippet of the MSNBC special, check out this really great piece on the 60th Anniversary of UNDHR.(I rarely ever do this so you know I must have felt it’s well worth the read.).READ HERE
Lastly, If you want to do something, whether it’s just learning more about the human rights struggle or you want to report any violations then check out these various sources:
District of Columbia Human Rights Office
International Labor Organization
-Selamawit
