Remembering the Slave Trade
23 August 2007
Today is the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its
Abolition. This day in 1791 saw an uprising of slaves in St Domingue (now Haiti
and the Dominican Republic) that would play a major part in the eventual
abolition of this inhuman trade. The anniversary is an occasion for remembering
the victims of slavery, but, with at least 12 million people in forced labour
today, and human trafficking now the fastest growing international crime, we
must do more than simply remember the past.
Continuing the fight against slavery
 This
year's International Day has a particular resonance, because 2007 is the
Bicentenary of the Abolition of
the Slave Trade Act, which saw an end to legal slavery in the British
Empire. Throughout 2007, the Government and civil society are supporting a range
of events that remember the suffering caused by the transatlantic slave trade
and commemorate those who fought for its abolition, but also address its legacy
and the need to fight against the slavery that still exists in the world today.
Earlier this year, DFID launched a publication called
"Breaking the Chains:
eliminating slavery, ending poverty" (1
mb). This highlights the close links
between contemporary slavery and trafficking and global poverty, and sets out
what DFID is doing to tackle the problem. And, on 30th October, together with
the
 Foreign
and Commonwealth Office,
Anti-Slavery
International and the
International
Labour Organisation, DFID is sponsoring a Conference on Slavery, Poverty and
Social Exclusion. This high-level event will examine how the fight against
poverty can support the eradication of forced labour and slavery.
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Related events
Events and activities taking place to coincide with these anniversaries include:
- The opening today of the new
International
Museum of Slavery in Liverpool.
- The
Notting
Hill Carnival in London, Sunday 26 to Monday 27 August, which this year
has the theme "Set All Free". The Carnival will celebrate the bicentenary
and remind us that slavery, in various forms, continues to this day in many
parts of the world.
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