Modern Day Slavery and What We Buy

Statement from Ambassador Luis CdeBaca

According to a 2014 International Labour Organisation (ILO) report forced labour generates around $150 billion in illegal profits per year. Victims of forced labour are held in conditions of slavery in a variety of jobs.  Goods and services tainted by forced labour can be the food we eat, the clothes we wear or a variety of other goods we purchase.

At the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Hearing in July 2014 Luis CdeBaca, Ambassador-at-Large, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, delivered a statement entitled Modern day slavery and what we buy.  Ambassador CdeBaca comments,” We have a responsibility to the 20-plus million people around the world to break that cycle of human trafficking that forms the basis of so many products and goods to drive out a supply chain the patterns of vulnerabilities to forced labor, and to address socio-economic foundations of poverty that ensnare so many into these exploitative situations.” (Photo: US Department of State)  Read more…