Colombian armed groups recruiting child soldiers

The Colombian government's 41-year war against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) has become increasingly dangerous for children.

The group is looking more and more at child soldiers - boys and girls below the age of 18 - as it seeks to recruit new fighters.

The Colombian government says there are 9,000 soldiers in that age group in irregular armies, but independent sources say the number is closer to 11,000.

Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo reports from San Jose de Guaviare in Colombia.

LexisNexis & Polaris Project Fight Trafficking

Anti-human trafficking partnership between LexisNexis and the Polaris Project. These organizations have partnered to help combat human trafficking such as forced labor and sex slavery.

Rally to STOP Forced Child Labor in Uzbekistan’s Cotton Fields

On Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 the AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers, Child Labor Coalition, International Labor Rights Forum, Not for Sale Campaign, SEIU, Workers United are hosting a rally at the Embassy of Uzbekistan to protest forced child labor in Uzbekistan.

According to The Department of Labor's List of Goods Produced by Child or Forced Labor, released in September of 2009, the cotton industry in Uzbekistan continues to use child labor and forced labor. The International Labor Rights Forum states that Uzbekistan is the second largest exporter of cotton around the world. While this industry is profitable for some, "Thousands of children as young as seven work in the cotton fields instead of attending school in order to meet government-imposed cotton production quota. . . Some children are conscripted to work in remote areas where they are forced to stay in dormitories while they pick cotton."

In 2007 the BBC released a story about reporter Simon Ostrovsky who investigated the path cotton takes from "the clothes rack to the factory and back to the fields where the cotton has been harvested." While retailers were disturbed to learn that products that they sell were made with forced labor, the practice continues. The articles recounts the story of a "nine-year-old girl who has to work from eight in the morning until sunset, [who] said: 'They have closed the school - that's why I'm picking cotton.'" According to the article, each year the schools are closed during the cotton harvest.

The US State Department placed Uzbekistan on the Tier Two Watch List of the latest Trafficking in Persons Report for the second year in a row, up from Tier Three in 2006 and 2007. The report states that Uzbekistan is a source country for women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation in "UAE, India, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkey, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, and Israel." Men are trafficked to Russia and Kazakhstan for forced labor. People are also trafficked internally in Uzbekistan for forced labor and sexual exploitation, including "Many school-age children, college students, and faculty [who] are forced to pick cotton during the annual harvest."

The TIP report states that Uzbekistan has issued a formal ban on forced child labor and created an action plan to address trafficking. However, the report also states that "Uzbekistan did not make significant efforts to eliminate the use of forced labor of adults and children in the cotton harvest and did not make efforts to investigate, prosecute, or convict government officials complicit in the use of forced labor during the harvest." Moreover, the state-enforced quota system for the cotton harvest has remained in place.

Cotton products that people buy may be tainted with forced labor, including forced child labor, particularly given that Uzbekistan is the second largest exporter of cotton.

What: Rally to STOP Forced Child Labor in Uzbekistan’s Cotton Fields

When: Wednesday, October 14th, Noon – 1 PM
Where:
Embassy of Uzbekistan
1746 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC
(Near Dupont Circle)

Sponsored by AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers, Child Labor Coalition, International Labor Rights Forum, Not for Sale Campaign, SEIU, Workers United.

For more information and to RSVP, visit http://www.unionvoice.org/laborrights/events/stopuzbekchildlabor/details.tcl

You can also sign a petition urging the Uzbek Government to stop forced child labor.

Image taken from the Rally to STOP Forced Child Labor in Uzbekistan’s Cotton Fields' flyer.

Amnesty International Hobart Action Centre: Comfort Women Event

On the 1st of August, Amnesty International Hobart Action centre ran an action on the grounds of Parliament House, Hobart, in an effort to raise awareness for the "comfort women", a body of women put into sexual slavery by the Japanese Military during World War II.

World War II saw one of the largest cases of human trafficking in the 20th century.

Thousands of 'comfort women' were coerced into providing sexual services for Japanese armed forces across the Asia Pacific.

Many of these women are in their later years now, and are still campaigning for some sense of acknowledgment or compensation from the Japanese Government.

Japan still refuses to officially acknowledge its responsibility or legal liability for these crimes.

More info on comfort women

Restore NYC on Broadway

Some of Broadways stars are teaming up to raise awareness about human trafficking and donations for Restore NYC, an anti-trafficking organization. On Monday, October 26th, Jeff Kready (Les Miserables, Billy Elliot) will host an evening of songs from beloved Broadway musicals. Proceeds from ticket sales will go the Restore NYC's after-care services for international survivors of sex trafficking in New York City.

The event, which will be held at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre, will include performances by Sierra Boggess (The Little Mermaid, Phantom of the Opera), Tituss Burgess (Jersey Boys, The Little Mermaid), Nikki Renee Daniels (Aida, Les Misérables), Bryce Ryness (Hair), Ann Sanders (Beauty and the Beast, Avenue Q), cellist Summer Boggess (The Little Mermaid, Carnegie Hall) and pianist Alexander Rovang. Tickets are $75 and can be purchased at Symphony Space Ticketing or by calling the box office at 212-864-5400.

According to Restore NYC, New York is a significant hub for sex trafficking in the US; JFK International Airport has been identified by the Justice Department as one of the main entry points into the US for international sex trafficked victims. Moreover, the number of victims and the scope of the problem are growing. Their website states "While there is a great need for effective services caring for women rescued from sex trafficking in New York City, there is currently no organization solely providing long-term holistic aftercare services and housing for international women escaping sex trafficking." Restore NYC aims to address this growing need.

Restore NYC began as an idea in 2004; in February of 2009, they began working with clients. They primarily work with Chinese, Korean, and other foreign national victims and surivivors of sex trafficking in New York. The organization provides housing, case management, educational and vocational services, and assistance with medical and legal services. Their aim is to provide holistic, long-term services to survivors in addition to services to meet the women's immediate needs when they are rescued.

Restore NYC is currently seeking volunteers to help with mentoring, accounting, and case-management. People can also support the organization by attending the Broadway event:

Monday, October 26th at 7pm
Peter Jay Sharp Theatre
Tickets: $75
New York, New York

Human Trafficking Book Awarded the Dayton Literary Peace Prize

The 2009 Dayton Literary Peace Prize winners were announced on September 23, and this year's winner in the nonfiction category is A Crime So Monstrous: Face-to-Face with Modern-Day Slavery, by Benjamin Skinner (published by Simon & Schuster).

The book is based on the author's experiences reporting in Haiti, Sudan, India, Eastern Europe, The Netherlands, and suburban America, and according to the Dayton Literary Peace Prize press release, "is both a shocking expose of the horrors of contemporary slavery and an inspiring call to make ending this crime a global priority."

Stated Skinner: "By highlighting modern-day slavery and the fight for its abolition, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize committee pushed forward the 'unfinished work' that President Lincoln spoke about that Thursday afternoon in Gettysburg....There are more slaves today than at any point in human history, and I'm deeply honored, and humbled, to be recognized by the committee as being among those working for their freedom." Skinner will be donating the $10,000 award to Free the Slaves.

The book was published in March 2008, and has received high praise from The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bill Clinton, and John McCain, among others.

The runner-ups included Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan (Little, Brown, & Company), a collection of short stories which focus on hardships facing children in Africa, including child trafficking. Say You're One of Them was recently announced as Oprah Winfrey's latest book club pick.

War Child: "I Got Soul" by the Young Soul Rebels

About the Music
Official video for 'I Got Soul' - War Child's single recorded by the 'Young Soul Rebels'

The track, a new, re-written version of the stirring Killers anthem "All These Things That I've Done", will be released on October 19th on Island Records. Proceeds go to help War Child's vital work protecting children from the brutal effects of war.

The Young Soul Rebels are:
N-Dubz
Pixie Lott
Tinchy Stryder
Frankmusik
V.V. Brown
Kid British
Chipmunk
Mpho
McLean
Ironik
Domino Go
Bashy
Egypt
London Community Gospel Choir

About War Child
War Child International is a network of independent organisations, working across the world to help children affected by war.

War Child was founded upon a fundamental goal: to advance the cause of peace through investing hope in the lives of children caught up in the horrors of war.

More info on War Child