The 8th World Congress of Education International (EI), meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, from 21st to 26th July 2019:
(1) Noting that there are an estimated 40 million people trapped in some form of slavery today; 25 million in forced labour and 15 million living in forced marriages. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), modern-day slavery has become the fastest growing transnational criminal enterprise, earning an estimated $150 billion in illegal profits annually;
(2) Stating that modern-day slavery today harms people in every country of the world, including child marriage in India; open-air slave auctions of youth in Libya; corporate recruitment of child soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, and human trafficking in the United States and in other countries around the world;
(3) Affirming that modern-day slavery is particularly dangerous to youth and women, who are at extreme risk for abuse and exploitation, including sexual exploitation; 1 in 4 victims of modern slavery are thought to be below the age of 18 and 71 percent are female. According to the U.S. State Department, of the 700,000 people trafficked across international borders worldwide, 50 percent are children and 80 percent are young women and girls;
(4) Believing that Education International is dedicated to social justice issues that seek to eradicate the underlying causes of modern-day slavery, including the fight against global poverty, worker exploitation, and exploitation of women and children;
(5) Mandates the Executive Board:
(i) To expand its agenda of online teacher tools to provide our members with current cases for project-based learning on key human rights issues;
(ii) To host a new educational website, dedicated to the grave injustice of modern-day slavery, where the spotlight stories of victims from around the world will be profiled to help as a teaching tool to challenge and inspire students;
(iii) To provide support for Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi’s 100 Million Campaign, helping young people mobilise to end violence against children, eradicate child labour, and ensure education for all.