Clinton Foundation to Highlight Human Trafficking this year: Opportunity for Action!

Bill Clinton speaking on the Today Show. Please watch until the end where trafficking is highlighted.

Today marks the final sessions of the Clinton Global Initiative's Annual Meeting 2009. Former President Bill Clinton and the Clinton Global Initiative have announced that this year CGI will be bringing human trafficking on the agenda as part of their efforts to empower women and girls and build human capital. You can watch the previous sessions as well as today's live sessions here as webcasts.

You can also visit their website to see the resources they are encouraging people to explore as part of the Action Areas on Building Human Capital. The links included are from Free the Slaves, UNODC, End Human Trafficking Now, the ILO, the International Cocoa Initiative, among many others.

While CGI is working towards efforts that end all types of trafficking, one highlighted partnership includes that with the Body Shop. CEO of The Body Shop International, Sophie Gasperment, unveiled a new report addressing the global issue of child sex trafficking on Thursday:

The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) this year is offering a unique opportunity to bring world leaders together to recognize the importance of tackling child sex trafficking, an issue, by its very nature, affecting every country around the world. At the CGI, Ms. Gasperment will unveil an innovative 'Progress Card System' which paints a global picture of how the world's governments are taking action and assesses their progress in their efforts to tackle child sex trafficking in more than 40 countries worldwide.

Another initiative that is teaming up with CGI that was announced at the Annual Meeting was the Alliance to Stop Slavery and End Trafficking (ASSET):

An alliance against human trafficking and forced labor wants companies to examine whether they are indirect sponsors, with leaders at the Clinton Global Initiative saying on Thursday it could even boost business.

Julia Ormond, founder and president of the Alliance to Stop Slavery and End Trafficking, said her organization was seeking to team up with three companies willing to examine their supply chains for any abuses and to share the resulting knowledge widely. She said consumers often seek out products that are made using ethical sources and demand could increase.

"The public will rally behind purchasing product from a clean supply chain," Ormond said.

On ASSET's website, you can take a first step as a consumer to buy products free of slave labor by signing the Consumer Pledge, which not only pledges your commitment to support corporate efforts to free their supply chains of slave-made goods, but also signs you up to receive updates on these efforts and therefore make it easier to live up to this pledge.