“The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.“  These are the words of Steve Biko, anti-apartheid activist jailed under the so-called Terrorism Act in South Africa in 1977. For 24 days Biko was interrogated and beaten before recieving hospital treatment; he subsequently died later that year in the custody of the South African Police. [Read more →]

Kenneth Bacon in Cambodia, 2004. Courtesy of Refugees International.

The world lost a leading humanitarian advocate with the passing of Kenneth Bacon, President of Refugees International. Ken was a source of hope and support for millions of refugees and other victims of conflict.  He was steadfast in upholding principles of humanitarian protection and assistance. [Read more →]

The crime of human trafficking happens to people from all walks of life here in the United States. We see past federal cases as concrete evidence. Human trafficking happens to men and to women, to boys and to girls. It happens to US citizens who were born and grew up in the United States, and it happens to people born in other countries who have migrated here to the United States. It happens to people who speak English and to people who don’t. It happens to people from affluent backgrounds, and to people who grew up in poverty. Put simply, it can happen to anyone. [Read more →]

Jean M. Geran, Ph.D., is Senior Fellow at the Legatum Institute in London and former Director for Democracy and Human Rights on the National Security Council.

WASHINGTON AND LONDON — We just finished a trip to four cities in Japan, laying the groundwork for increased dialogue between the US, UK, Japan and other industrialized democracies on best practices to attack their human trafficking problems. These are the trafficking-demand and migration-destination developed-world democracies , or the 4 D countries. [Read more →]

FUKUI, JAPAN – South Korea ended a program of foreign trainees working in the country because of their vulnerability to gross exploitation. I heard firsthand why Japan ought to consider doing the same with its program – the vulnerability to labor abuses which can amount to human trafficking.

The foreign trainee program (“Industrial Training and Technical Internship Program”) is designed to help workers from developing countries come to Japan and gain skills to take back to their country. [Read more →]

OSAKA, JAPAN – While other anti-slavery NGOs focus largely and admirably on the developing world, we at Polaris Project focus on advanced industrial countries, which are wealthy magnets for migrants; generate demand driving human trafficking; and have high-capacity law enforcement which all too often mistake victims for being criminal, undocumented, dirty and disposable. [Read more →]

In a few days, a group of non-government organizations will be meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about a serious human trafficking matter: the veritable enslavement of some domestic servants by diplomats.  On our soil. [Read more →]