Human Trafficking Awareness Day, January 11

January 11 is designated as Human Trafficking Awareness Day. The PC(USA) Human Trafficking Round Table provides the following information for this day:

January 2012 – Over 12.3 million people are estimated to work in conditions of forced labor world-wide according to the International Labour Organisation.  On January 11^th, consider marking human trafficking day with prayer and action.

Use these liturgical resources suitable for Sunday worship.

Learn more what products of slavery are produced with child and slave labor through this interactive website from Anti-Slavery International. 

Estimate your “slavery footprint”.

Learn about the work of the UN Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking.

Some other useful links from the UN community include:

• International Labour Organization: ILO focuses on forced labor, child labor and migrant workers of human trafficking.
• International Organization for Migration: IOM works on preventing human trafficking, protecting the victims through targeted assistance, and empowering governments and other agencies to combat the crime more effectively.
• Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights: OHCHR’s trafficking program integrates human rights into anti-trafficking initiatives at the legal, political and program levels.
• Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe: OSCE works closely with its 56 participating States to ensure coordination among member States and to emphasize the importance of combating all forms of trafficking in human beings – in countries of origin, transit and destination – at the highest political levels.
• UNICEF: UNICEF works with many partners in all areas – from the grassroots to the highest political levels – to create a protective environment for children from human trafficking and other forms of exploitation.
• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: UNODC provides the legal and conceptual framework and focuses on the criminal justice system response to human trafficking, but includes provisions on victim protection and preventive measures.