New film Buoyancy and #SlaveryFreeSeafood Petition
New film offers a brutal yet realistic depiction of the situation for Cambodian forced laborers, and new certificaton for imported seafood products to Australia.
BUOYANCY tells the story of Chakra (Sarm Heng), a 14-year-old Cambodian boy who leaves home in search of a better life but is sold to a Thai labor broker and enslaved on a fishing trawler. Winner of the Ecumenical Award at the Berlin International Film Festival, the film opened in cinemas in Australia recently. It is also been selected as Australia's submission for the best international feature film at the Oscars.
The filmmakers have joined forces with the organization Be Slavery Free, formerly Stop the Traffik Australia, to call for a labeling system for all seafood sold in Australia to identify where it has come from and under what conditions it was caught. Together, the launched a petition to lobby the Australian Government to implement a certification standard to inform consumers about due diligence importers have taken in relation to modern slavery in imported seafood products.
In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Be Slavery Free points out that change can happen and refers to the case of Thai Union, a major seafood supplier that discovered in 2015 that its supply chain was riddled with unethical practices and set about reforming them. In 2016, Thai Union was among the first to adopt an ethical recruitment policy with help from the Migrant Worker Rights Network (MWRN) to reduce worker debt.
Four years after the Thai seafood industry came under fire for its work practices, the government and private sector have introduced a raft of measures, from worker contracts to tighter laws, to clean up the multi-billion dollar sector, the Thomson Reuters Foundation reported last week.
The challenge now is to continue and protect reforms, as fisheries associations are pushing the Royal Thai Government for a relaxation to the rules. In September, an alliance of 37 NGOs, major retailers, and suppliers have signed an open letter calling Thailand’s prime minister to ensure the preservation and elevation of internationally recognized best practices in both fisheries and labor regulations.
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy updates and news:
A new report from the Women and Foreign Policy program of the Council on Foreign Relations discusses the security implications of human trafficking and offers recommendations to prevent human trafficking and advance U.S. security interests.
The newest episode of the Endling Human Trafficking podcast focuses on the intersection of children’s rights and human trafficking, and a recent opinion piece examines why the SDGs cannot be accomplished without achieving children-related goals and critical actions.
The Global Initiative hosted, participated in and moderated several events held in the margins of the UNGA 74, including the launch of the Africa component of the Organised Crime Index.
The number of British people identified as modern slavery victims has surged by 72 per cent in a year, with victims of ‘county lines’ drug gangs contributing to the rise according to charities
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