In 1981, Mauritania became the last country in the world to abolish slavery, but at the present time.there are still millions of men, women and children worldwide trapped in conditions that can be considered slavery; ranging from situations of forced labour to sexual exploitation. Estimates vary significantly with the ILO predicting that 21 million people worldwide are still in conditions of slavery, whereas the Global Slavery Index estimates that the number is closer to the 36 million.

UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, issued a message for the international community on the day: "in the 19th century, the international community came together to declare slavery an affront to our common humanity. Today, governments, civil society and the private sector must unite to eradicate all contemporary forms of slavery, including forced labour”.

At this moment, Mr Biram Dah Abeid – international anti-slavery activist, UN Human Rights Prize Laureate and UNPO Presidency Member – is being held in detention in Mauritania for voicing his concerns about the persistence of slavery within the country. Mauritania has the highest number of slaves in the world by percentage of its national population and there are serious concerns about its lack of commitment to tackling the issue. Even though slavery was made illegal in Mauritania in 1981, it did not actually become a punishable offence until 2007. Even now, when the legislation is in place to combat slave ownership, there has still only been one conviction for the crime of slavery, and the man convicted was pardoned by the President soon after.

UNPO hopes that the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery can be used by the international community not only to raise awareness on the issue of slavery, but also help gain support for the activists who are currently struggling to secure rights for slaves and yet are being persecuted for their actions. Moreover, through its International Campaign Against Slavery (iCAS), UNPO confirms its commitment to
putting the issue of modern slavery on the international agenda, not only on this particular day, but every day.

Photo Courtesy of National Museum of American History Smithsonian Institution@flickr