The Latest Breaking News from Slavery

U.N. expert concludes 'forced labour' has taken place in Xinjiang

It is "reasonable to conclude" that forced labour of members of minority groups has taken place in China's western Xinjiang region, the UN's top expert on slavery said in a report released this week, prompting a fierce response from Beijing.

Reuters · Aug 18, 2022

‘Reasonable to conclude’ forced labour in China: UN expert

Special rapporteur on slavery says some abuses in Xinjiang could amount to “crime against humanity”.

Al Jazeera · Aug 18, 2022

Commentary: American history is a parade of horrors — and also heroes

As a historian in the age of the 1619 Project and the debates over “critical race theory,” I find many of the audiences I address fall into one of two camps. Some celebrate American exceptionalism and resist dwelling on horrors like slavery or settler colonialism. Others primarily see a centuries-long…

Los Angeles Times · Aug 17, 2022

Commentary: California’s never-ending secessionist movement — and its grim ties to slavery in the state

Here we go again. Another county — this time San Bernardino — is threatening to break away from California to form its own state. Petitions and plots of this sort pop up almost annually but then invariably fizzle. Yet however quixotic state division may seem, it has a much deeper,…

Los Angeles Times · Aug 10, 2022

Are the Commonwealth Games a joyful extravaganza – or anachronistic, offensive and a waste of time?

The legacy of colonialism looms large – isn’t a history of empire and exploitation, slavery and subjugation to be condemned, not celebrated?

The Guardian - AU · Aug 9, 2022

Bogeyman review – Haiti and the price of revolution

The first country to abolish slavery has been demonised and minimised, as Emily Aboud’s alternately fascinating and frustrating play reveals

The Guardian - UK · Aug 7, 2022

Special unit set up to beat modern slavery and human trafficking

Team will support victims of serious and organised crime

Manchester Evening News · Aug 5, 2022

Friday essay: a slave state - how blackbirding in colonial Australia created a legacy of racism

In July 2021, Jack Dempsey, the mayor of Bundaberg, delivered an official apology for Northern Queensland’s past reliance on the indentured labour of Pacific Islanders, many of whom were kidnapped (or “blackbirded”) and forced to work on the state’s cane plantations. “To say sorry,” explained Dempsey, “is a start in…

The Conversation · Aug 4, 2022

Fighting the modern slavery that is hiding in plain sight is more important that pulling down old statues

Owner of car wash taken to court over pay and conditions of migrant workers

Daily Mirror · Aug 4, 2022

Trevor Noah on drone strike: ‘America never forgets … unless it’s slavery’

Late-night hosts discuss the killing of al-Qaida’s Ayman al-Zawahiri in Afghanistan and Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan

The Guardian - US · Aug 3, 2022