Follow the Money

According to the ILO (International Labour Organization) slavery generates $150 billion profit each year. Traffickers illegally launder illicit gains, take advantage of informal banking systems and benefit when investors unknowingly back companies that profit from slavery in their supply chains. On the other hand people with limited access to cash and credit become vulnerable to human trafficking and forced labour. A new campaign initiated by the principality of Liechtenstein aims to aims to fight money laundering by traffickers, promote ethical investment and offer opportunities to people vulnerable to slavery. “Following the money can not only lead us to the perpetrators but also deny them the resources they need to commit such crimes in the first place,” said Aurelia Frick, Liechtenstein’s foreign affairs minister, at launch of the financial sector commission at U.N. headquarters in New York.

Coined the Liechtenstein initiative, the financial sector commission was launched by Liechtenstein and Australia, along with the U.N. University. “This commission will make a major contribution to undermining the primary goal of the human traffickers and those who would enslave another human being – the money they make out of human misery,” said Marise Payne, Australia’s minister for foreign affairs. Read more…