It has been 150 years since the Emancipation Proclamation helped to end slavery in the U.S., but there are 27 million slaves around the world today hoping for that same freedom.
Last spring, more than 73,000 Americans called upon President Obama to make combating slavery a priority. And on September 25, he confirmed he was listening--announcing an Executive Order to end trafficking in U.S. government overseas contracts, and speaking up for an end to slavery.
To keep the movement going, we need the U.S. to keep standing for freedom in the next four years. International Justice Mission is asking 25,000 Americans to call on President Obama and Governor Romney to adopt a bold strategy for ending slavery in our lifetime.
Check out the letter to the candidates. Add your name today. And urge our next president to make slavery history.
Dear President Obama and Governor Romney:
We write to ask you, if elected, to commit your presidency to confronting and eradicating modern-day slavery at home and abroad.
[Your comment will be added here]
It has been 150 years since the Emancipation Proclamation helped to end slavery in the U.S., but there are more slaves today than during the entire 400-year trans-Atlantic slave trade.
Americans want to end slavery once and for all. We are morally opposed to the sale of human beings, and we are concerned about its destabilizing impact on countries around the world. Human trafficking, like trafficking in weapons and drugs, is a borderless crime. Ending this crime strengthens the international community as much as it strengthens our own nation.
Earlier this decade, the United States led the world in taking major action to address the global HIV pandemic. President George W. Bush, along with Congress, initiated the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief--committing billions of dollars to programs that have saved tens of millions of lives.
We want to see similar presidential leadership and bipartisan collaboration on a bold strategy to end slavery.
We urge you to designate 15 focus countries in which to fund and test robust initiatives to free children, men and women from forced labor and sexual exploitation, and measurably reduce the incidence of human trafficking within specific geographic areas. We urge you to budget for a Presidential Fund to Eradicate Slavery, and we urge you to make slavery eradication a diplomatic priority in every single country where it exists.
It is time to proclaim emancipation for a new generation--and bring an end to slavery in our lifetime.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
