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About Anti-Slavery International

Anti-Slavery International Anti-Slavery International For a world free from slavery Founded in 1839, we are the oldest international human rights organisation in the world. Today, we draw on our experience to work to eliminate all forms of slavery and slavery like practices throughout the world. We are not interested in easy solutions. Instead, we deal with the root causes of slavery and its consequences to achieve sustainable change. Our history Slave ship, Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Slave ship during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Over 175 years of fighting slavery 17 April 1839 The Anti-Slavery Society is formed by Thomas Clarkson, Thomas Fowell Buxton and other abolitionists to campaign against slavery worldwide. 1840 Convened the world’s first anti-slavery convention in London. 1841 - first international slavery conference Anti-Slavery organised the first ever international slavery convention. 1850 Developed ‘slave-free produce’ consumer action groups, promoting alternatives to slave plantation sugar. 1890 Helped establish the Brussels Act, the first comprehensive anti-slavery treaty, which allowed the inspection of ships and the arrest of anyone transporting slaves. 1904 – 1913 Campaigned against slavery practices perpetrated in the Congo Free State by King Leopold II of Belgium. The campaign eventually helped bring an end to Leopold’s tyranny. Man with the hand and foot of his five year old daughter. Alice Seeley Harris, who documented Belgian Congo abuses for Anti-Slavery Society. Nsala of Wala with the hand and foot of his five year old little girl. Photograph taken by Alice Seeley Harris, who documented Belgian Congo abuses for Anti-Slavery Society. 1920 Helped end the indentured labour system in the British colonies after campaigning against the use of Indian and Chinese “coolies”. 1921 Played a pivotal role in ending the activities of the Peruvian Amazon Company, which was using indigenous slave labour in rubber production. Peruvian Amazon Company Slavery One of Anti-Slavery’s biggest successes of early 20th century was ending slavery of indigenous people in Peru by the Peruvian Amazon Company. 1926 Successfully lobbied for the League of Nations inquiry into slavery, which resulted in the 1926 Slavery Convention that obliged all ratifying states to end slavery. 1956 Influenced the content of the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery. 1984 Helped establish the Human Rights Fund for Indigenous People. 1995 Supported an Indian NGO initiative for the establishment of the Rugmark Foundation. 1994 An original supporter of the End Child Prostitution, Pornography and Trafficking campaign (ECPAT) and helped set up the UK branch. 1998 One of the organisers of the 1998 Global March against Child Labour, which helped lead to the adoption of a new ILO Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, 1999 (No. 182). Young boy working in brick kiln in India Young boy working in a brick kiln in India. Anti-Slavery successfully campaigned for the adoption of the ILO Child Labour Convention 2000 Successfully campaigned for the abolishment of bonded labour practices in Nepal. 2003 With local NGO Timidria conducted a survey that led to the criminalisation of slavery in Niger. 2003 Lobbied the Brazilian government to introduce a National Plan for the Eradication of Slavery. 2004 Successfully lobbied to make trafficking of sexual and labour exploitation a criminal offence in the UK. 2005 Organised a major campaign which resulted in the United Arab Emirates freeing over 3,000 children trafficked to be used as camel jockeys, and UAE, Qatar and Kuwait abolishing the practice. Child camel jockey in the United Arab Emirates. Child camel jockey in the United Arab Emirates. Thanks to our campaign children have been replaced by robots to ride the camels at the races. 2005 Influenced the development of the Council of Europe Convention against trafficking in human beings, which is the first international standard to guarantee trafficked people minimum standards of protection and support. The convention was ratified by the UK government at the end of 2008. 2007 Helped push for the appointment of a UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery. 2007 We successfully campaigned to criminalise slavery in Mauritania (2007). 2008 The United Nations’ decision to create a new Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery. They will report directly to the UN Human Rights Council on measures that Governments need to take to tackle slavery practices in their respective countries. This is the first new UN mechanism on slavery in over 30 years. 2008 We supported a former slave, Hadijatou Mani in international ECOWAS (the Economic Community Of West African States) court that found the state of Niger guilty of failing to protect her from slavery . The ruling set a legal precedent for Niger and all other ECOWAS state to protect people from slavery. Hadijatou Mani, former slave who took her government to international court In 2008, Anti-Slavery International helped Hadijatou Mani to win a landmark case against the state of Niger for failing to protect her from slavery. 2010 Following the campaign by Anti-Slavery International and Liberty in June, the UK Parliament introduced a criminal offence of forced labour in the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. 2011 Our Home Alone campaign played a big part in persuading the International Labour Organization to adopt a Convention on Decent Work for Domestic Workers in June 2011, which secures the rights of millions of domestic workers across the globe. 2011 We successfully campaigned to force the UK government to sign up to a new EU anti-trafficking law, providing legal basis for protection and justice for trafficking victims. Delivery of the petition demanding sign up to the EU Trafficking Directive We campaigned for the UK Government to sign up to the EU trafficking law that set the basis for protection of slavery victims in the UK. Today Moulkheir, victim of slavery in MauritaniaWe have a long history of making a difference and we continue to make it today. Check below what we do today to support people like Moulkheir out of slavery and to end this abuse across the world. We want you to join us in making a difference and support our work. Our vision Our vision is a world free from slavery. Our mission Our mission is to work directly and indirectly with beneficiaries and stakeholders from a grassroots to an international level to eradicate slavery and its causes from the world. Our strategy Anti-Slavery International strategy Click on the image to access full organisational strategy 2015-2020 in PDF Anti-Slavery’s strategic priority is to ensure significant progress towards slavery eradication in at least 10 countries by 2020 through working with beneficiaries and stakeholders from grassroots to international level to address slavery and its causes. Our key objectives are to: secure the responsiveness and accountability of duty bearers; empower people affected by slavery to claim their rights; achieve rejection of the social norms and attitudes perpetuating slavery. The evidence based knowledge from our projects underpins local to global advocacy aimed at achieving sustained, systemic change. This uniquely multi-level approach is a distinctive feature of our strategy. According to our 2015-2020 strategic plan, Anti-Slavery will have obtained significant changes in at least 10 countries, through the establishment of new, or effective implementation of existing national laws, policies or practices for the benefit of people affected by or vulnerable to slavery by 2020. Our strategic objectives reflect the key elements of Anti-Slavery’s Theory of Change: 1-Duty bearers are responsive and accountable to the rights and needs of people affected by and vulnerable to slavery: 1.1 – Drawing on demonstrated learning from Anti-Slavery’s partners and programmes, national governments and institutions, including law enforcement and judiciary, have introduced effective anti-slavery measures to address the causes and consequences of slavery in each country; 1.2 – Businesses have adopted effective approaches towards eliminating forced and child labour in business operations and supply chains; 1.3 – Slavery and its causes are recognised internationally as a fundamental development issue. 2-People affected by and vulnerable to slavery are empowered to understand, assert and claim their rights: 2.1 – People affected by and vulnerable to slavery have improved knowledge and understanding of the relevant legal framework, their rights, the corresponding responsibilities of relevant duty bearers, available mechanisms for support and redress, and the potential hazards of a range of livelihood options; 2.2 – People affected by and vulnerable to slavery have improved capacity and confidence to assert and claim their rights, participate in or lead collective representation, seek redress in the case of exploitation and make safer livelihoods choices. 3-The social norms and attitudes that underpin and perpetuate slavery are rejected: 3.1 – Local partner organisations effectively challenge the social norms and attitudes that underpin and perpetuate slavery in their countries and regions; 3.2 – Slavery eradication is recognised as an issue of political economy, requiring fundamental reform of trade and migration policy as well as the advancement of national and international rule of law; 3.3 – The international community recognise child and early marriage as a form of slavery; 3.4 – The international community recognise that discrimination, in particular caste discrimination and gender discrimination, are fundamental causes of slavery. 4-The impact and sustainability of the organisation is maximised: 4.1 – Efficient tools and processes support effective fundraising and communications; 4.2 – Efficient information technology systems and equipment effectively support organisational operations; 4.3 – An efficient organisational knowledge management system supports effective organisational operations and learning; 4.4 – The agreed organisational values are clearly reflected and embedded throughout the organisation. Our values We aim to demonstrate the following values through our work, both internally and externally: Transformative We work at all levels for long-term, sustainable, systemic change, challenging power structures, persisting until our aims have been achieved. Authoritative We are a knowledgeable and reliable organisation whose positions are developed through sustained human rights-based work with affected peoples and communities, and through rigorous, evidence-based research. Ethical We are an independent organisation whose decisions, actions and positions are drawn from a human rights-based approach to driving targeted social change, are consistently applied and are not shaped by vested interests such as governments or corporations. Equitable We are committed to fairness, non-discrimination and mutual respect, both internally and externally, in all of our decisions and actions, and the impartial fulfilment of each person’s human rights and dignity, including where this may involve taking affirmative action in favour of disadvantaged individuals and groups. Accountable We are responsible to a range of groups and individuals, both internally and externally, for the integrity of our actions and decisions, demonstrated through a proactive culture of openness and transparency. Collaborative We are strengthened by working together, through respectful, participatory collaboration and consultation, proactively identifying and involving marginalised and vulnerable groups.
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