On this episode of International Reporters Roundtable, UNICEF reports “human trafficking, modern slavery” is the second largest criminal industry in the world, raking in over $32 billion a year. Hundreds of thousands are coming through the open U.S.-Mexico border. Children are abandoned, used as drug mules, and trafficked. In China, religious minorities are jailed and tortured, used as forced labor, and robbed of their organs at a frightening pace. And in Africa, home of the original transatlantic slave trade, business is booming in child labor and organ harvesting, including babies.
It’s Human Trafficking Prevention Month in the USA, a country that fought to abolish slavery. What are we doing now to stop it? Journalists Todd Bensman, Kay Rubacek, and Eric Caron join NTD host Steve Lance to discuss this widespread but rarely spotlighted issue: the human rights violations that occur in the modern slave trade.
If there’s a child you know who may be at risk, here’s a resource to help: The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.