November 30, 2017
By Staff, “The Gist”
SLAVERY IN 2017
“Slavery in Libya is a crime against humanity and immediate action is required by ALL, including African governments!”, say African professionals, from across the continent. They are issuing a call-to-action and a list of demands with regards to what they call the “Great Stain of Slavery” in Libya;
- All African countries to recall their ambassadors and diplomatic representatives from Libya, as some have already done.
- Appropriate, responsible and action-oriented responses from the countries of origin of our enslaved African brothers and sisters in Libya, with a clear request for support from the international community where needed.
- Firm action against Libya from the African Union, of which the country is a member, such as suspension from once investigations have been concluded.
- Other African countries to follow Rwanda’s lead and accept African brothers and sisters who are caught in the slave trade in Libya, and pan-African support for these African host countries.
WHO ARE THE ARCHBISHOP TUTU FELLOWS?
The Archbishop Tutu Fellows, of the African Leadership Institute, are a diverse group of leading professionals from 42 African nations working at the forefront of positive change on the continent. They represent various sectors; civil society, government, business, the arts, education, healthcare, media and more. The goal of the program is to impact the future of Africa through building and nurturing the capability of future leaders of the continent – drawing upon the globally-respected leadership values of their patron, Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Since the inaugural class of 2006, the network now boasts 300+ Fellows.
Our ancestors fought slavery over hundreds of years and we cannot bear witness to its evils today and do nothing!
There are 3 Great Stains on humanity; War, Genocide and Slavery. These are Great Stains because they are assaults and crimes against humanity. The prevalence of war, genocide and slavery historically is by no means the measure by which we as humanity can accept such behavior as normative, then or now.
Slavery has spawned intergenerational social and economic disruption to the continent of Africa and other areas; and has stolen the liberties and lives of people for the commoditization of their bodies against their will. The slave trade is a crime against Humanity…it is abhorrent to humanity…it is monstrous…it is an assault on the dignity of all. Slavery can and must be stopped!
The Archbishop Tutu Fellows, call upon;
- United Nations Security Council and its related organs to urgently declare the practice of Slavery – particularly in Libya – a threat against humanity and to work closely with civil society and member states to arrest the slave trade and create an effective punitive framework to combat against the slave trade globally.
- African Union to demonstrate continental leadership in aggregating national voices on ensuring slavery remains a historical footnote.
- African heads of State to take action to hold each other accountable, and to engage with other states beyond the continent who can make a contribution toward eradicating the slave trade, and to stanch the capital flows and lack of consequence which makes this vile economy thrive.
- businesses invested in countries such as Libya- which have failed to abide by the unwritten laws of humanity- to divest and support the removal of the Great Stain.
- NGO community invested in the fight against human trafficking, forced labor, involuntary migration, social justice and the betterment of the planet to support the removal of the Great Stain.
- Africans, in particular the nations of the African North, to support the removal of the Great Stain in all its forms.
- instruments of justice– national and international- to charge beneficiaries of the slave trade as enemies of humanity.
“As a network of more than 300 emerging young African leaders, we are willing to assist where such assistance is needed. We are deeply aware that it is pertinent upon the conscience and humanity of every member of the international community to act against the evils to which our fellow human beings are subject to in Libya. The urgency of the situation is such that we need to act now!”