18th March, 2014
Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest has joined with religious groups – including the Catholic and Anglican Churches – in launching a new global initiative aimed at ridding the world of slavery by 2020.
Launched on Monday, the Global Freedom Network issued a joint statement in which it called to "action all people of faith and their leaders, all governments and people of goodwill, to join the movement against modern slavery and human trafficking". It is estimated that almost 30 million people live in slavery around the world today.
Parties to sign the agreement founding the network included representatives of Pope Francis, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, Dr Mahmoud Azab – Grand Imam of Al Azhar in Egypt, and Andrew Forrest, founder of the Walk Free Foundation.
The network’s action plan for the first year includes having religious groups "slavery proof" their supply chains and investments and mobilising youth to support programmes to eradicate modern slavery and human trafficking, as well as having government leaders "slavery proof" public sector supply chains and having 50 major multi-national businesses whose CEOs are "people of faith or of goodwill" to commit to doing the same with their supply chains.
The network says it also aims to have 162 governments publicly endorse the establishment of a Global Fund to End Slavery and have 30 heads of state do so by the end of 2014. It is also calling on the G20 to condemn modern slavery and human trafficking and adopt an anti-slavery and human trafficking initiative.
"Our world must be freed of these terrible evils and crimes against humanity," the network says in the joint statement. "Every hand and heart must be joined to bring this freedom to all those who are trapped and suffering. This agreement is a beginning and a pledge – the victims of modern slavery and human trafficking will not be forgotten or ignored: everyone will know their story. We will walk with them to freedom."
– DAVID ADAMS