FreedomUnited.org

Monday February 17, 2020

Bangladesh film screening brings attention to labor issues in garment industry

On Thursday night, Freedom United supporters gathered in New York City for a screening of Rubaiyat Hossain’s new docudrama Made in Bangladesh, co-hosted with our partners at the United Nations Association of New York. The film follows a group of women working in exploitative labor conditions in one of Bangladesh’s fast fashion factories. When Shimu, the headstrong protagonist, discovers that she earns pennies sewing clothes that sell for high prices in Western markets, she leads her coworkers in a struggle to unionize and demand their labor rights. Made in Bangladesh

joanna ewart-james, miriam karmali at sheffield conference

Survivor Stories

Friday February 7, 2020

Imagine your worst experience. How would you want your story told?

In January the Freedom United team ran its first My Story, My Dignity workshop at the Faith and Anti-trafficking conference organized by the Universities of Sheffield and Leeds. Led by our team members, Joanna Ewart-James and Miriam Karmali, and collaborating photographer Jeremy Abrahams, the workshop focused on giving participants practical skills to represent modern slavery with accuracy, respect and dignity. My Story, My Dignity was the first campaign launched under Freedom United. It began by calling on large media houses to show the importance of treating modern slavery

Imagine taken by the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations

Forced Labor

Thursday January 16, 2020

France and Côte d’Ivoire make a strong commitment to ending forced labor

Freedom United gathers roundtable discussion in New York UN staff and NGO workers came together today for a lively roundtable discussion on international commitments to ending forced labor. The event was organized by Freedom United and hosted by the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations in New York. The Permanent Representative of France, H.E. Nicolas de Rivière, and the Deputy Permanent Representative of Côte d’Ivoire, H.E. Tiemoko Moriko, made opening remarks along with our Advocacy Officer, Herrana Addisu. Both countries stressed their countries’

Other slavery

Friday January 10, 2020

Debunking common myths about human trafficking

It is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month and Freedom United is raising awareness this January by debunking some common myths about human trafficking and modern slavery. Human trafficking is one form of modern slavery amongst others, such as debt bondage, forced marriage, and child slavery. According to the Palermo Protocol, trafficking is defined as “recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons […] through threats, use of force or other forms of coercion […] for the purpose of exploitation. The Global Slavery Index estimates that

Forced Labor

Wednesday December 18, 2019

International Law on Forced Labor (C29)

International Labour Organization (ILO) Forced Labour Convention 29 (C29) was introduced in 2014 to update the outdated 1930 Forced Labour Convention No. 29. How did the Forced Labour Protocol come about? International laws against forced labor have actually existed for more than 90 years. The Forced Labour Convention of the International Labour Organization (C29) was created back in 1930 to protect workers around the world. But according to estimates, more than 40 million people today still live in modern-day slavery. The Convention didn’t achieve its goal. It has outdated language,

Speak free