The United Nations has designated December 2 as The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, and according to former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, this means slavery in all its forms. Unfortunately, despite all efforts to the contrary, human exploitation shows no sign of abating. Still most vulnerable to trafficking are women and children who may find themselves abducted from their families or in some cases sold by them into slavery—not only as prostitutes but alternatively as laborers or soldiers.
Child Soldiers
The majority of wars today are intrastate conflicts fought with small arms. And the disturbing news is that wherever such conflicts take place, many of those fighting are children.
Reclaiming Their Youth
Michael Wessells has dedicated his life to transitioning child soldiers away from violence and into peaceful, age-appropriate civilian roles. He speaks with Vision's Michelle Steel about the challenges faced by these boys and girls whose childhood has been cut short.
Hope Springs Eternal
Ishmael Beah was 12 years old when Sierra Leone's brutal, decade-long civil war reached his village in January 1993. Soon he found himself swept up into the army, a child soldier.
On Abolishing Slavery (Again)
Kevin Bales is president of Free the Slaves in Washington, D.C., and a professor of sociology at Roehampton University in London. He is considered the world’s leading expert on contemporary slavery, and his book Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy has become a recognized manual on the subject.
A Quest to Free the World of Slavery
Book Review: Ending Slavery: How We Free Today’s Slaves. Kevin Bales. 2007. University of California Press Berkley and Los Angeles, California. 261 pages.
Repercussions of Revenge
Book Review: A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. Ishmael Beah. 2007. Sarah Crichton Books, New York.
Down to Slavery
The year 2007 marked the 200th anniversary of British and American legislation outlawing human trafficking. Yet, in those nations and throughout the world, slavery and the slave trade are flourishing realities.
William Wilberforce: The Persevering Parliamentarian
The hope of William Wilberforce was to abolish slavery throughout the British Empire.
Child Soldiers Global Report 2008
This site provides the third edition of a report produced by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, an independent global organization that monitors and works toward eliminating the use of children in war. "Child Soldiers Global Report 2008" exposes the fact that despite what the coalition calls a "near global consensus that children should not be used as soldiers . . . strenuous international efforts have failed to protect tens of thousands of children from war." This deep site presents meticulously gathered facts and figures for individual nations while allowing the children to speak for themselves.
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