Marrakech Hosts Freedom From Slavery Forum

Marrakech – Morocco’s Marrakech is hosting this year’s Freedom From Slavery Forum, with NGOs and government representatives from more than 30 countries coming together to fight modern slavery.

The event, taking place from March 27 – 30 in Marrakech, aims to offer grassroots movements the opportunity to coordinate efforts in fighting slavery and help them gain momentum.

The event also sees activists against modern slavery and survivors of it, share their stories and expertise in the area.

Organized by NGO Free the Slaves, the forum includes a ceremony to acknowledge two survivors of modern slavery, and the work of activists from Africa, Grace Mwangangi, and Francisca Awah Mbuli.

The forum also included an award for best local advocate survivor and best local NGO working to eradicate slavery.

Several Moroccan government officials participated in panel discussions on the second day of the event, which also looked at measures to fight human trafficking and forced labor.

Slavery is as old as humanity, and throughout history, it has had many forms.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with regional conflicts have all aggravated modern slavery. Human trafficking rings eye conflict zones for their operations, Adrian Alexander, a modern slavery activist told Morocco World News during the event.

Slavery does not come in one form, with local activism paramount to eradicating it, Professor Tim McCarthy, historian and board chairman at Free the Slaves said during the event.

“Morocco’s Human Rights Watch is putting the fight against modern slavery at the forefront of its efforts,” President of the Marrakech’s Regional Commission for Human Rights, Mohammed Mustapha Laarissa said at the opening session of the forum.

“We are playing a pivotal role in advising policymakers to formulate relevant laws pertaining to fighting modern slavery under all its forms,” he added.

“Our most relevant work was to help policymakers formulate definitions and broaden the definition of labor exploitation to include mental, and economic exploitation. Setting the right definitions for modern slavery paved the way for the creation of legal frameworks,” Laarissa told Morocco World News.

We consider modern slavery to be the highest crime against humanity as it causes physical and mental harm to victims, the official concluded.