Basic Information
International Day for the Abolition of Slavery is an annual event observed on December 2 to remind people about the modern slavery.
Observed on: 2 December
Organized by: UN, ILO
Introduced in: 1986
Observed: Worldwide
About International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
Observation of the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery is on every year December 2 to remind people about the modern slavery. This day marks the anniversary of the United Nations adopting the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and the Exploitation of Others, in 1949.
Observation of this day is to fight against modern form of slavery like bonded labour, forced labour, child labour, trafficking people, sexual exploitation, forced marriage, forced recruitment of children for use in armed conflict, etc. Human Rights violation is also consider as a form of slavery. Article four of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that “no one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms”.
Observation of this day is important as according to the International Labour Organization (ILO) more than 40 million people are victims of modern slavery. This include about 25 million in forced labour and more than 15 million in forced marriage. This is also to note the fact that 1 in 4 victims of modern slavery are children.
Activities and Programs on International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
Different organizations around the world observe International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. This include human rights organizations, institutions and groups with different programs and activities. Some of the programs include interviews, discussions, debates, meetings, articles on paper and other news media, programs in broadcast media, etc. regarding human rights issue and modern slavery.
International Labour Organization (ILO) has started a 50 for freedom campaign. The goal of this campaign is to persuade at least 50 countries to ratify the Protocol on Forced Labour by the end of 2018. The social media campaign for the abolition of slavery is with a hashtag #DayForTheAbolitionOfSlavery.
Click here for the List of Important Days or UN Observations