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	Slavery is a $32bn industry so why aren"t we following the money trail? by Mary Goudie Humanity United   All too often slavery in some of its more contemporary manifestations – human trafficking, the exploitation of migrant workers, the buying and selling of women and girls into the sex trade – is considered a labour or human rights issue. Ultimately, though, modern-day slavery is at heart a booming economy – a thriving business in human life.   Unless this discrepancy is recognised and addressed in the same way as other global crimes, such as those involving drugs and arms, there is no hope of combating the issue.   Legislation is in place to try to curtail modern-day slavery, a multibillion-dollar industry that operates almost entirely by cash and is estimated by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to earn profits of $32bn each year. However, while a number of conventions and laws have been passed internationally in the past 10 years to try to stop the business – such as the Council of Europe convention, 2005 and the EU directive on trafficking, 2011 – there is no consistent will to implement these measures fully or support them with proper budgets.   Across the board, there has been a fundamental failure to address the reality of modern-day slavery – an estimated 21 million people are trapped in some form.   UN member states and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime do not effectively implement the UN convention against human trafficking, signed in Palermo in December 2000, which could be making a real difference in combating the issue.   The World Bank could be more insistent in its approach to money laundering across the globe. Although cross-border legislation exists, there seems to be no real push to find out where the cash is being banked and confiscate it.   Due to the scale of human trafficking, we know there are huge profits being made. At the same time, the ILO has estimated that global slavery is responsible for more than $21bn of unpaid wages each year. Yet no one is making consistent strides to confiscate the profits and prosecute the ringleaders profiteering from the sale of human beings. Without strong action, criminals will continue to pursue this crime because of the enormous proceeds.   Let"s turn to the legislation supposedly in place to prevent trafficking and bring the perpetrators to justice.   The US state department"s Trafficking in Persons report, the principal diplomatic tool to engage foreign governments on human trafficking, is based on the Palermo convention, still considered the backbone of global anti-slavery legislation. The convention does not, however, promote true cross-border action, and there is no mention of the recovery of cash from the profits of human trafficking.   The 2005 Council of Europe convention and the 2011 EU directive on trafficking are much stronger. Both have been consolidated and include cross-border prosecutions and recovery of money. Despite this, only limited work has been done to implement them, with the amount of money recovered very small.   Ultimately, no number of declarations will end the business of human trafficking. We need real investment from governments, and the involvement of people who are trained not only to spot human trafficking but also to follow the money.   At the root of all this inaction is a lack of political will to address global slavery. Many governments remain in denial that the problem even exists. Why? Put bluntly, it is because there is no public demand for money to be spent on the issue. Amid the global economic crisis, the 21 million people who remain trapped in slavery are being ignored.   It isn"t only criminals who are profiteering from the trade in human labour. Modern-day slavery is an underground business, intrinsically linked to global supply chains. Individuals and companies are making a huge amount of money out of this business and can make it extremely hard for campaigners and governments to chase the cash back to its true source.   Dealing with the murky links between forced labour and global supply chains is perhaps the only real chance we have of cracking the business of slavery. All private companies should be required to sign up to the Athens ethical principles against human trafficking. By signing this agreement, they will be contributing to the eradication of human trafficking and emphasising that this form of business will not be tolerated.   Conventions and laws have been passed over the past few years – including the British Finance Act – that incorporate strong legislation to combat money laundering. However, more explicit laws on the route of money sourced from human trafficking are needed.   Until the profits of this business are monitored and confiscated, no real progress can be made towards ending human trafficking. Ultimately, it"s only by cutting off the money that we will stop it.   * Mary Goudie chairs the UN"s women leaders council to fight human trafficking. Visit the related web page
	American outrage at an unjust system - Trayvon Martin verdict by RN, The Nation & agencies USA   20 July 2013   "Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago", says Obama.   President addresses death of unarmed black teenager in personal remarks, and admits US is still not a post-racial society, reports Paul Lewis in Washington.   Barack Obama used a speech at the White House to personally address the debates over race relations that have convulsed America since George Zimmerman was acquitted over the shooting of the unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin.   In remarks immediately interpreted as the most expansive comments on race since he became president, Obama said the US was still not "a post-racial society".   "You know, when Trayvon Martin was first shot I said that this could have been my son. Another way of saying that is: Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago," he said.   "And when you think about why, in the African American community at least, there"s a lot of pain around what happened here, I think it"s important to recognize that the African American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that doesn"t go away."   The president"s intervention surprised Washington. For almost a week, Obama has resisted getting involved the swirling debates over racial discrimination, and was coming under growing criticism for his failure to respond to strong public outrage. However on Friday, Obama surprised reporters by turning up at the briefing to deliver deeply personal remarks.   "There are very few African American men in this country who haven"t had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store. That includes me," he said.   "There are very few African American men who haven"t had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars. That happened to me – at least before I was a senator.   "There are very few African Americans who haven"t had the experience of getting on an elevator and a woman clutching her purse nervously and holding her breath until she had a chance to get off. That happens often."   He added: "And I don"t want to exaggerate this, but those sets of experiences inform how the African American community interprets what happened one night in Florida. And it"s inescapable for people to bring those experiences to bear."   Obama"s remarks were echoed by Jesse Jackson, who told the Guardian in a video interview on Friday that "the stand-your-ground law lends itself to massive interpretations because it is so subjective. It is an incentive to shoot rather than a deterrent."   "We are free, but not equal," Jackson said, highlight the diminished access to healthcare in many black communities.   In taking such a bold stance, Obama risks criticism that he is seeking to politicise the Zimmerman trial. However, the White House is said to have realised the scale of feeling over the Zimmerman case, which has led to sporadic protests in cities including Washington, New York, Miami, Boston, San Francisco and Los Angeles.   On Saturday, another wave of demonstrations are planned outside federal buildings in 100 US cities.   Trayvon Martin"s parents said they were "deeply honoured and moved" by Obama"s remarks, saying they recognised their son"s tragic death has become "a conduit for people to talk about race in America".   "We know that the death of our son Trayvon, the trial and the not guilty verdict have been deeply painful and difficult for many people," Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin said.   "What touches people is that our son, Trayvon Benjamin Martin, could have been their son. President Obama sees himself in Trayvon and identifies with him. This is a beautiful tribute to our boy."   Senior figures in the civil rights movement have told the Guardian that fast-escalating resentment over the treatment of black Americans will result in larger-than-expected crowds descending on Washington next month for the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King"s "I have a dream" speech.   They said the Zimmerman case has compounded a sense among many that America is moving backwards on civil rights issues, particularly in light of a recent supreme court to strike down key sections of a law that protects black voters.   Obama is understood to have been invited to play a central role in the King commemorations, which are likely to be a global spectacle, but has not yet publicly committed himself.   In his remarks on Friday, Obama invoked a line from King"s famous speech when he said Americans should take part in an act of "soul-searching" and ask themselves: "Am I judging people as much as I can, based on not the color of their skin, but the content of their character?"   Obama was careful to temper the comments by recognising the progress that had been made.   "I don"t want us to lose sight that things are getting better," he said. "Each successive generation seems to be making progress in changing attitudes when it comes to race."   He also said African Americans are "not naive" about the social problems that afflict its own community, such as the disproportionate number of young black men who have had experience of the criminal justice system. However, those observations had to be viewed in a historical context and could not justify discrimination, Obama said.   In one particularly pointed observation, Obama said there was a sense among black Americans that "if a white male teen" was involved in the same kind of scenario as Martin, then "both the outcome and the aftermath might have been different".   "I think it"s understandable that there have been demonstrations and vigils and protests, and some of that stuff is just going to have to work its way through. If I see any violence, then I will remind folks that that dishonors what happened to Trayvon Martin and his family."   The president outlined four proposals that he said went "beyond protests or vigils". He said there should be efforts to review the training of police officers across the country "reduce the kind of mistrust in the system that sometimes currently exists", and root out racial bias in policing.   Second, he called for a review of self-defense laws such as those in Florida, that may encourage fatal confrontations when one side in a dispute is armed. Anyone who disagreed, he said, should consider what would have occurred if Martin was of age and armed when he became embroiled in an altercation with Zimmerman.   "Do we actually think that he would have been justified in shooting Mr Zimmerman who had followed him in a car because he felt threatened?" he said. "If the answer to that question is at least ambiguous, then it seems to me that we might want to examine those kinds of laws."   The president"s third proposal was to consider new ways to make young African American men feel that they"re a full part of this society. "There are a lot of kids out there who need help who are getting a lot of negative reinforcement," he said.   He finished by saying that an "appropriate exercise in the wake of this tragedy" was for Americans to look at honestly themselves to ask if they are free of prejudice.   He said the generations of Americans had made significant strides toward rance tolerance, but added: "It doesn"t mean we"re in a post-racial society. It doesn"t mean that racism is eliminated."   July 16, 2013   American outrage at an unjust system - Trayvon Martin verdict, by Ruby Hamad.   The crowds gathering in the streets of New York to protest the acquittal of George Zimmerman were interested not in revenge, but in real, honest justice, writes Ruby Hamad.   And so it goes. Another black American youth is shot dead in the street and no-one is held accountable.   As the news sunk in that George Zimmerman had been acquitted of the murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, Americans took to the streets.   When I got to New York"s Union Square just before 6.00pm, a modest crowd of a few hundred were gathered to do the only thing they could: protest. Make no mistake, this group of diverse, but predominantly black Americans, was angry.   But this was not the anger that has fuelled America"s race narrative since slavery was abolished; a tired narrative that positions black men as inherently dangerous, aggressive, threatening.   This was the anger of a population, black and white, that feels, unequivocally, that justice has been denied.   The writing was perhaps already on the wall given it took police six weeks to press charges. Under Florida"s Stand Your Ground laws authorities accepted Zimmerman"s account that he had shot the unarmed Martin in self-defence.   It was late at night. Martin was black. He was wearing a hoodie. Case closed. Six weeks of severe public pressure and media scrutiny led to an arrest, which led to a trial, which led to an acquittal.   Not guilty of second-degree murder. Not guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.   Yes, there was anger towards Zimmerman, but the real outrage was reserved for a justice system that continues to excuse the extra-judicial killing of young black men: every 28 hours, a black man is killed by police or security guards or vigilantes.   Perhaps this is one young black death too many, because the overriding feeling in Union Square was that the justice system had, in the words of one speaker, "declared open season on black people" and they just weren"t going to take it anymore.   At about 7.00pm the rally outgrew the small park and took to the streets in an unplanned march. As the crowd snaked its way down Broadway towards Times Square, curious onlookers joined in and soon the crowd turned into thousands.   Supporters clapped from the footpath. Cars honked, not in anger at stalled traffic, but in agreement. Strangers hugged and high-fived each other. People smelled change in the air.   I feel fortunate to be in New York at a time when something momentous, something historic was taking place. Speaking to the locals, overhearing snippets of conversations, reading their signs, and listening to their speeches left no doubt that this was a crowd that was interested not in revenge, but in real, honest justice.   But whether that justice comes is another matter. "I can"t say I have any stock in the system changing", Chris Jackson, a 25-year-old black man, scoffed at me when I suggested the possibility. Like so many others, he feels less safe than ever. "We"ve never been safe here", his friend Renata Ferdinand added. "This just exemplifies it."   I am also keenly aware of my outsider status. Because this story, although familiar in its universal tale depicting the outrage of the marginalised towards the powerful, is also a quintessentially American story. A story of centuries of slavery, segregation, and racial discrimination.   And so there were placards likening the Stand Your Ground law to the Jim Crow era. There were references to lynchings and to Emmet Till, the 14-year-old from Chicago who, while visiting family in Mississippi in 1955, was tortured and beaten to death, his body discarded in the Tallahatchie River. An all-white, all-male jury took just one hour to find two white men not guilty of his murder.   How far has America come since then? Not very, according to Kelly King, a woman in her forties, who told me she felt compelled to protest because, "As a white woman, I have to say this country is not equal yet."   Of course, some Americans disagree, including the lone Zimmerman supporter I spotted. Jessica, a young white woman barely out of her teens, repeated the mantra of Zimmerman"s defence team and supporters, "It"s not about race," she assured me. "He was defending himself."   It"s hard to get one"s head around Stand Your Ground. Essentially, the fact that Zimmerman admits to instigating the altercation is not relevant to the verdict. It doesn"t matter that, had Zimmerman followed the instructions of the police dispatcher and not stalked Martin in his car, the young man would still be alive. What does matter – legally - is whether or not Zimmerman felt his life was in danger the moment he pulled the trigger.   But as one sign I spotted stated, "Trayvon feared for his life too". What if it were Martin who was standing his ground that night? But the Angry Black Man narrative doesn"t entertain the possibility of black innocence. The defence, when faced with the pesky fact that Martin was unarmed, argued that Martin had "armed himself with the concrete sidewalk."   After an hour camped in Times Square, the crowd began to thin, and lacking a central organiser, speakers took turns with the megaphone as they tried to decide their next move. Some wanted to go back to Union Square, others wanted to stay put, and still others wanted to march to Harlem, about one hundred blocks to the north, because "that is where we are being killed."   Harlem won out and, at about 10.00pm, and once again a crowd of a few hundred, they continued their march, chanting "No justice. No peace."   Later, I would read reports of bottle throwing and arrests, marring what had otherwise being a day of peaceful protests in America"s biggest city.   Tomorrow, I"ll be heading into Union Square again. This time to a screening of a film, Fruitvale Station chronicling the last 24 hours in the life of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old black man from Oakland, California.   In 2009 Grant, face-down and handcuffed, was shot in the back by a white police officer. Like Trayvon Martin, Grant was unarmed. Like Martin, he left behind a devastated family, including a four-year-old daughter.   His killer, acquitted of murder, served less than two years jail for involuntary manslaughter.   * The acquittal of George Zimmerman for the death of Trayvon Martin has sparked protests around America. Bruce Shapiro, Executive Director of the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University discusses the potential ramifications.   http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/bruce-shapiro-reports-on-the-zimmerman-verdict/4824472   Outrage rising against Stand Your Ground Law, by John Nichols: http://www.thenation.com/blog/175312/outrage-rising-florida-and-nationally-against-stand-your-ground? Visit the related web page
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