International Day for the Abolition of Slavery is observed annually on December 2.

Around the world 21 million women, men and children are forced into slavery.  The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery focuses on the eradication of slavery in its contemporary forms including the worst forms of child labor, forced marriage and all forms of human trafficking.

Article 4 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

HISTORY

The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery marks the date of December 2, 1942, the day the United Nations General Assembly’s first Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others.