On June 22nd, 2007, the US Senate passed a resolution designating January 11th as National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Human trafficking is modern day slavery that involves the sexual and labor exploitation of millions of men, women and children worldwide. Human trafficking has no borders. It is estimated that 800,000individuals are trafficked across international borders worldwide. In the United States alone, 18,000-20,000 victims are trafficked into or within this country every year. It is estimated that nearly 80% of those individuals are children.
UN Involvement:
The UN is actively involved in the fight against human trafficking. In July 2010, the General Assembly adopted the United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, which urges governments to take coordinated, comprehensive and consistent steps to combat such trafficking and to adopt a human rights-based approach. 
To support the action plan, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons with humanitarian activists Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, the following November. The Trust Fund is administered by the UNODC which is additionally advised by a Board of Trustees appointed by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The Fund provides humanitarian, legal and financial aid to victims of human trafficking with the aim of increasing the number of victims who are rescued and supported, and broadening the extent of assistance they receive.
What you can do today:
Today, anti-trafficking organizations across the U.S. are hosting events to raise awareness for the issue of trafficking. There will be several events held here in Boston- we would love to see you if you are around!
Not For Sale Massachusetts will be staging a FREEZE to raise awareness of modern day slavery on 1.11.11. A FREEZE is where a large group of people stand completely still in a natural pose for three minutes starting at the same exact second. After the three minutes are up, everyone walks away normally and we will hand out flyers with more information.
Date: January 11, 2011
Time: 12:00-1:00pm, lunch hour
Location: Faneuil Hall Marketplace -inside Quincy Market
4 South Market Building
Boston, MA
RSVP and learn more here.
UNA-GB is also a signatory on an open letter to Boston residents about the prevalence of human trafficking and what can be done to combat it. The Human Trafficking Awareness Day letter and Suggested Action Steps can be found online here.
You can also stay posted on events today by following #HTAD2011 or the Not For Sale campaign on Twitter.
We hope to see you at today’s events!
-Alex.