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2022 Assembly

 

Social Media Impact Awards 2016 Activate, Educate & Inspire

 

Amongst the winning films at the recently held Social Media Impact Awards (SIMA Awards), a number of films which cover the themes of exploitation of workers, prostitution, the migrant crisis in Europe and the ”jungle” at Calais, France were amongst the winners.
The films range in length from short (8 minutes) to full length (104 minutes), with the following being particularly relevant to our own work:
1. ”Dream Catcher” (104 minutes), about human trafficking, prostitution and exploitation. Awarded Best Director (Kim Longinotto).
2. ”The True Cost” (92 mins), about the human and environmental cost of the clothing industry. Jury Prize Winner & Special Mention Award.
3. ”Transit Zone” (32 mins), about refugees in Calais, France. Best Sound Editing Award and also received Special Mention.
4. ”Men Buy Sex” (8 mins), directed by Alice Russell. Best Creative Activism Award.
Video clips of the above are available on www.simaawards.org and also at info@truecostmovie.com
 
Prepared by Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications Person

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, 2 December 2015

 

“This year’s International Day for the Abolition of Slavery comes as the international community is intensifying efforts to eradicate poverty and forge a post-2015 development agenda. In pursuing these goals, it is vital that we give special consideration to ending modern-day slavery and servitude which affects the poorest, most socially excluded groups  including migrants, women, discriminated ethnic groups, minorities and indigenous peoples.
There has been important progress in the last year. A number of countries have acted to combat slavery through stronger domestic legislation and greater coordination. More and more businesses are working to ensure their activities do not cause or contribute to contemporary forms of slavery in the workplace and their supply chains.”
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Message for the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery 2 December 2013
The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, 2 December, marks the date of the adoption, by the General Assembly of the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (-> resolution 317(IV) of 2 December 1949).
The focus of this day is on eradicating contemporary forms of slavery, such as trafficking in persons, sexual exploitation, child labour, forced marriage, slavery at sea and the forced recruitment of children for use in armed conflict.
These types of slavery are global problems and contravene Art. 4 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.’’
A number of awareness-raising activities are taking place worldwide, to mark the day.
For more information, please see:
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/2013/international-day-for-the-abolition-of-slavery.html
http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=16815&LangID=E
http://www.walkfree.org/
 
Prepared by Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications Person

Ian Urbina, New York Times Journalist Shares with us Some Developments

 

Ian Urbina, New York Times journalist shares with us some small developments related (at least tangentially) to The Outlaw Ocean series, which has featured as News items on the RENATE website during the Summer months, 2015. (29th July, 2015: Criminality at Sea, Involving Trafficking and the Exploitation of Human Beings)

Firstly, the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry recently offered more insight on his hopes and plans for improving policing at sea. He gave this input in a couple of interviews with the Times. During the ‘’Our Ocean’’ conference in Chile, he also riffed a little on the sea slaves story. But more importantly he ended by saying that he intends to make the topic a focus of next year’s conference.

The US Senate caucus on Human Trafficking held a fascinating panel on the role the U.S. government might play through marketplace leverage. Two ideas discussed: stricter traceability rules on seafood imported to the U.S., and raising the bar on transparency and labour standards for the more than $300 million worth of seafood bought by U.S. agencies.

Lastly, this week, a court in Sao Tome and Principe convicted the three officers of the Thunder. This was the pirate fishing ship at the top of Interpol’s Most Wanted list and which the Sea Shepherd pursued relentlessly on the high seas.

A conviction such as this is a fairly rare occurrence, since so few of these notorious scofflaws are apprehended or prosecuted. It is heartening to know that some of the documents seized on The Thunder are now being used by Spain and other countries to target the criminal syndicates tied to illegal fishing on the high seas.

 

Adapted and compiled by Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications Person

Criminality at Sea, Involving Trafficking and the Exploitation of Human Beings

 

An Outlaw Ocean series of investigative journalism draws attention to criminality at sea, involving trafficking and the exploitation of human beings

Writing for The Outlaw Ocean Series in the New York Times this summer, 2015, investigation journalist Ian Urbina’ s articles encapsulates the complex web of criminality on the high seas.
Alarming insights are presented on how violence at sea and on land are handled differently and how little regard there is for the dignity of the human person when shipping vessels become places of detention, exploitation and even death by foul means.
To feed the demands of the global economy, 90% of the world’s goods are transported on the high seas. Often, maritime laws are not as extensive as those governing air, road and rail transportation.
Tens of thousands are enslaved on boats each year – many of them minors –because of debt payments or coercion or fleeing from war. Frequently, they are subjected to inhumane conditions without respite or sufficient food to survive.
In Men and laws, thrown overboard, which featured on the 17th July 2015, we read of the exploitation and harsh realities for those on board the Dona Liberta, a rusty, refrigerated cargo vessel which has a record of regularly switching off its mandatory satellite tracking signal, dumping oil and pollutants into the seas, abandoning crew members, abusing stowaways and turning a blind eye to people traffickers.
For more, see: www.nytimes.com/2015/07/19/world/stowaway-crime-scofflaw-ship.html?_r=0
In the second series of articles, Murder at Sea: Captured on Video but Killers Go Free, Urbina writes of lawlessness and unaccounted for murder at sea. We read of armed gangs running protection rackets and ruthless pirates attacking container ships; human traffickers transporting refugees and migrants in less than seaworthy boats, in addition to violence amongst fishing boats competing against each other in the rush greedily to harvest the sea.
On a cautionary note, the article includes some disturbing video content, which only serves to heighten awareness of the additional, enormous risks for migrants and trafficked persons, innocent victims of the inhumanity of persons to persons.
You can access the latest article on: www.nytimes.com/2015/07/20/world/middleeast/murder-at-sea-captured-on-video-but-killers-go-free.html

 

Adapted & compiled by Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications Person

 

 

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