FreedomUnited.org

Monday September 7, 2020

Eritrea and forced labor: a history in photos

Photo essay by guest contributor Martin Plaut, a fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, the former BBC World Service Africa editor, and the author of 'Understanding Eritrea.' You can hear him speak with Eritrea Focus chairman Habte Hagos in a special webinar with Freedom United in early October. More details coming soon. Eritrea, on the Red Sea, has been ruled by many nations. The Greeks, Egyptians, Turks and then the Italians held some or all of it. Eritrea has been Ethiopia’s gateway to the Red Sea. In 1935 the Italians, under the fascist rule of Benito Mussolini attacked

Human trafficking

Wednesday September 2, 2020

OPINION: Forced organ harvesting could be coming into the UK health system

This article was originally published in Thomson Reuters Foundation. Forced organ harvesting and organ trafficking are interlinked crimes not often associated with the UK. Yet medicines manufactured with human tissue from forced organ harvesting victims could be imported into the National Health Service due to the absence of consent and comprehensive traceability regulations. Victims of forced organ harvesting are subject to abuse and torture. Organs are forcibly removed without consent or through coercion, to then be used in transplants. They are sold illegally to a market of buyers

Forced Labor

Wednesday August 19, 2020

Western Australia accepts our call to action to fight against forced labor

UPDATE April 2022: Big news! Australia finally ratifies the Forced Labour Protocol. We handed in 100,000+ Freedom United petition signatures to Australia’s UN Ambassador Mitch Fifield and sent our petition to the Western Australian parliament. They have responded to our collective voice! Now the Forced Labour Protocol is signed, we look forward to the benefits of stronger protections. Western Australian Minister for Industrial Relations Bill Johnston, received a petition calling on the Western Australian Parliament to pass the changes in the Industrial Relations Legislation

Forced Labor

Friday July 31, 2020

World Day Against Trafficking in Persons: Calling for an end to forced labor

UPDATE April 2022: Big news! Australia finally ratifies the Forced Labour Protocol. We handed in 100,000+ Freedom United petition signatures to Australia’s UN Ambassador Mitch Fifield and sent our petition to the Western Australian parliament. They have responded to our collective voice! Now the Forced Labour Protocol is signed, we look forward to the benefits of stronger protections. On World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, members of the Freedom United community joined as we conducted our first-ever virtual petition hand-in. Together, we delivered over 100,000 signatures

Supply Chain

Thursday July 16, 2020

Mobilizing consumers to push Boohoo to #GoTransparent

In recent weeks fast-fashion company Boohoo has come under fire for labor abuses allegedly occurring in their suppliers’ factories in Leicester, central England. The “Boohoo & COVID-19” report by Labour Behind the Label published in June 2020 and a subsequent investigation by the Sunday Times uncovered disturbing exploitation, including immigrant workers with symptoms of COVID-19 being forced to work or risk losing their jobs, as well as workers being paid just £3.50 an hour, well below the minimum wage in Britain of £8.72. In Labour Behind the Label’s report, they point to

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