UN Secretary-General Message on the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

On the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, we remember past victims, especially the more than 15 million men, women and children across Africa who were seized, shackled and sold into bondage an ocean away – or perished en route.

We recall the painful scars their enslavement left on our societies, including structural inequalities and systemic injustices that have persisted for generations.

We rally to protect the estimated 50 million people now trapped in contemporary forms of slavery around the world, many of them women and children.

And we reiterate our appeal to prevent human rights violations like forced labour and forced marriage from claiming more victims.

Contemporary forms of slavery are perpetuated by crime rings that prey on people struggling to cope with extreme poverty, discrimination or environmental degradation – and by traffickers who exploit people fleeing armed conflict or migrating in search of safety and opportunity. It robs people of their rights, and their humanity.

Governments, businesses, civil society and trade unions must unite to end this crisis once and for all. And they must provide remedy and redress, with real access to justice, fair compensation, rehabilitation, restitution, and guarantees that victims and their families will not suffer again.

2026 marks the 100th anniversary of the Slavery Convention, when the international community made a bold commitment to end slavery in all its forms. We must act with the same resolve to eradicate contemporary forms of slavery. A world built on freedom, dignity and justice for all is not only possible – it is our shared responsibility.