Obaseki lauds support of local, int’l partners in fight against human trafficking, illegal migration

…restates resolve to stamp out modern slavery from Edo

The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has commended the support of local and international partners in his administration’s fight to stamp out human trafficking and illegal migration from the state.

Obaseki gave the commendation on the occasion of the commemoration of the International Day for the Remembrance of Slave Trade and its Abolition, which is marked every August 23, by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), to remember the Transatlantic slave trade and its abolition.

He said, “As the United Nations and its allies commemorate the International Day for the Remembrance of Slave Trade and its Abolition, I commend everyone that has partnered with our government in our fight to stamp out human trafficking and illegal migration from Edo State, which is the face of modern slavery.  The support and the milestones recorded so far lend credence to what can be achieved if state and non-state actors work together to tackle society’s many ills.”

He assured, “On our part as a government, we will not relent in sustaining the initiatives we have put in place to fight human trafficking, as the menace threatens the future of our youth population.”

“The Edo State Taskforce Against Human Trafficking will continue to explore the Edo State Trafficking in Persons Prohibition Law and other machinery put in place to curb human trafficking and ensure that our young ones are protected from such practices.”

He urged the international community to continue to support the state government’s effort to curb all forms of slavery.

UNESCO said in 2019, “the International Day for the Remembrance of Slave Trade and its Abolition also marks the 25th anniversary of ‘UNESCO’s Slave Route Project: Resistance, Liberty, Heritage’, which for a quarter of a century has been working to help governments, universities, the media and civil society organisations to open these tragic pages of our history, to combat the oblivion or denial of a past that is well documented by so many written and oral archives, and to make this immense heritage known through the tremendous cultural diversity celebrated today.”

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