As much as we would like to believe that slavery and human trafficking are only horrific aspects of our collective past, these tremendous abuses of human rights and human dignity have in some form continued to exist throughout the world: and, in fact, have experience a dramatic resurgence in recent years. The details vary from country to country but, put simply, human trafficking is the coerced use of human beings as objects of commerce. The most known period of slavery and human trafficking was, of course, the antebellum period, when the practice continued into the second half of the 19th century. As slaveholders lost political and economic influence and as more people began to view slavery as morally wrong, the institution of slavery disappeared and its partner, human trafficking, subsided.
After the end of traditional slavery another form of human …show more content…
However, it is important to note that severe forms of contemporary exploitation are about slave holding rather than slave owning. It is more “holding” than “owning” since humans can no longer be owned in the legal sense. But whether it is holding or owning, it is illegal and a violation of one’s human rights. There are many similarities between the past and today. For instance, during slavery, many people from around the world are being held captive and forced to work. Some people are physically beaten to make them work. Some are kidnapped but most people are tricked into becoming slaves – with false promises of money, new jobs, education and better lives. These promises are broken, trapping victims of human trafficking. Recognizing the magnitude of the problem, in December 2000, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime was signed into law, making human trafficking a criminal
After the end of traditional slavery another form of human …show more content…
However, it is important to note that severe forms of contemporary exploitation are about slave holding rather than slave owning. It is more “holding” than “owning” since humans can no longer be owned in the legal sense. But whether it is holding or owning, it is illegal and a violation of one’s human rights. There are many similarities between the past and today. For instance, during slavery, many people from around the world are being held captive and forced to work. Some people are physically beaten to make them work. Some are kidnapped but most people are tricked into becoming slaves – with false promises of money, new jobs, education and better lives. These promises are broken, trapping victims of human trafficking. Recognizing the magnitude of the problem, in December 2000, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime was signed into law, making human trafficking a criminal