(Photo credit: World Bank Photo Collection, (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0))

The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre invites you to the 8th annual event in the Mary Robinson Speaker Series on Business & Human Rights in New York City:

“Modern slavery in the Americas: From here to elimination"

Introduction by Mary Robinson, President, Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice

Keynote speaker:

Leonardo Sakamoto, President, Repórter Brasil

The keynote speech will be followed by a panel discussion.

Much of the recent global spotlight on modern slavery has been on Asia and the Middle East. However, throughout the Americas, workers also fall victim to modern slavery and human trafficking – in tomato, sugar cane, and strawberry fields, in factories, in hotels, on construction sites, and in many other industries. Meanwhile, modern slavery is the sharp edge of a far more endemic problem: deep inequality that leads to widespread exploitation of workers, many of whom are migrants and refugees who face intimidation in a climate of growing xenophobia. Efforts to ensure worker voice and strengthen due diligence in global supply chains will be critical to address both of these issues.

The next few years represent a window of opportunity to bring an end to modern slavery. Recognition of modern slavery is on the rise, and a range of important actions have been taken to address it. Governments have passed new laws, such as the End Modern Slavery Initiative and California Transparency in Supply Chains Act in the United States, and the Modern Slavery Act in the United Kingdom. From Brasilia to Bangkok, civil society is mobilized to sustain pressure for action by companies and governments. And worker-driven approaches such as the Fair Food Program have secured tangible commitments from brands to prevent abuse.

This event will shine a spotlight on the reality of workers’ rights in the Americas and stimulate further action to end slavery once and for all.

About Leonardo Sakamoto

Leonardo Sakamoto is a journalist and PhD in Political Science at the University of São Paulo. As a journalist, he covered armed conflicts in several countries and disrespect for human rights in Brazil. He is director of the NGO Repórter Brasil (one of the most important organizations dedicated to fight against slavery and human trafficking in Brazil) and a board member of the United Nations Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery. He’s also a board member of the Brazilian National Commission for the Eradication of Slave Labor and was the writer of the Brazilian National Plan for the Eradication of Slave Labor. He is a Professor of Journalism at Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP), and he was visiting scholar at the Policy Department of the New School in New York (2015-2016). Sakamoto writes daily about politics and human rights at UOL, the largest Brazilian news site.

We hope you can make it!

The global team at the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre