Slave labour generates 150 billion US dollars annually. Of the 21 million slaves worldwide, 26 percent are minors and children. To mark the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the campaign "End Child Slavery Week" draws attention to this deplorable state of affairs.
On 20 November 2014, the world will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In the same week, the campaign "End Child Slavery Week" (20-26 November 2014) calls for an end to slave labour as one of the greatest crimes against children and young people. Between 1450 and 1900 there were 11.3 million slaves in the world. Today there are 21 million. Among them are 5.5 million underage youths and children.
Make your mark and sign the "End Child Slavery Week" petition for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.
150 projects against slave-like working conditions
All Terre des hommes organisations together support 150 projects worldwide in which young migrants are protected from slave-like working conditions. This is why the International Federation Terre des hommes and its international migration campaign Destination Unknown are joining the "End Child Slavery Week".
Only the USA, Somalia and Southern Sudan do not want to sign
The Convention on the Rights of the Child has been ratified by 194 countries and has the greatest support among all human rights conventions. The states that have still not ratified the convention are Somalia, Southern Sudan and the USA. Much has been achieved in the last 25 years, for example, child mortality has been massively reduced. One of the major problems, however, is still that children and young people have to work under exploitative, dangerous and violent conditions.
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