UN General Assembly President Al-Nasser calls for end to 'modern-day slavery'

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UN General Assembly President Al-Nasser calls for end to 'modern-day slavery'

2012-03-27 20:14:22 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) -- United Nations (UN) General Assembly President Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser on Monday called for a comprehensive approach to end 'modern-day slavery,' which includes child labor, human trafficking and forced labor.

On the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, Al-Nasser noted that "the terrible impacts" of slavery and the slave trade are still felt to this day. "They have devastated continents and countries," he said. "They have led to profound social and economic inequalities, and have given rise to hatred, racism and prejudice."

Al-Nasser also emphasized that UN Member States must continue to work tirelessly to eradicate modern slave-like practices that have emerged in the forms of racism, human trafficking, sexual exploitation, child labor, forced marriages, and the forced recruitment of children for use in armed conflict.

In remarks delivered on his behalf to a UN General Assembly meeting, Al-Nasser said a comprehensive approach through laws, education and international cooperation is needed to end these forms of modern-day slavery. He also underlined that existing international instruments on slavery should be fully utilized to bring about necessary change in attitudes and customs, to punish the offenders, and to support innocent victims in regaining their lives and dignity.

"Let us learn from the horrors and sacrifices of the past, and ensure through concrete actions and results that slavery in all its forms is forever eliminated," Al-Nasser said.

In 2007, the General Assembly designated March 25 as the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade to honor the 28 million estimated Africans who were violently removed and cast into slavery, mainly in colonies in North America, South America and the West Indies.

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