Anti-Slavery International

Anti-Slavery International is a charity and lobby group, based in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1839 by the radical element of an older anti-slavery society (the Agency Committee of the Society for the Mitigation and Gradual Abolition of Slavery Throughout the British Dominions) and initially named the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. It was established in 1839 to campaign worldwide against the practice of slavery, and was refounded in 1990 as Anti-Slavery International to draw attention to the continuing problem of slavery worldwide and campaign for its recognition and abolition in the countries most affected today. It is the UK affiliate of Free the Slaves and works entirely combating Slavery and related abuse.

• The organization lobbies governments of countries with slavery to act against it.
• The organization lobbies governments and international agencies to increase the priority of combating slavery.
• The organization aids research to find out the extent of slavery.
• The organization works to increase awareness of slavery.
• Anti-Slavery International informs the public that slavery is a real issue today. Their goal is a world without slaves.

Three teams work in Anti-Slavery-International, Programme, Communication and Information.

The Programme team collects relevant information(in cooperation with partners) over central issues, the worst types of Child labour, Debt bondage, Forced labour, Forced marriage, human trafficking and traditional slavery. The team publishes the information and promotes legislation to protect victims. The Communications Team produces material to educate and promote action including the magazine, ‘The Reporter’. The team lobby governments, the United Nations and the European Union urging them to help end all slavery. The reference library contains material from early in the abolitionist movement to the present day.

The Information Team deals with administration and fundraising among other issues. They publish an annual review and annual accounts.

History

The organisation was founded in 1839. The following year a large international conference was organised that attracted delegates from around the world to the Freemasons Hall in London on June 12 1840. Many of the delegates were notable abolitionists and the image of the meeting was captured in a remarkable painting that still hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Delegates included: George William Alexander (Treasurer), William Allen, Saxe Bannister (Australian), Rev. Thomas Binney, James G. Birney‎ U.S. delegate, Samuel Bowly, Sir John Bowring, George Bradburn, Rev. William Brock, Sir Thomas Buxton, Anne Isabella Byron, Baroness Byron, Thomas Clarkson (key speaker), Josiah Conder, Daniel O'Connell (Irish), John Ellis, Josiah Forster, Robert Kaye Greville, William Forster, Elizabeth Fry, Samuel Gurney, John Howard Hinton, John Angell James, Rev. Joseph Ketley (Guyana), William Knibb, Dr. Stephen Lushington M.P., Dr. Richard Robert Madden, James Mott (American), Lucretia Mott (American), Amelia Opie, Wendell Phillips, Samuel J. Prescod (Barbados), John Scoble (Canada), Joseph Sturge (founder), George Thompson and Sir John Eardley-Wilmot M.P..

External links

• Anti-Slavery International homepage
• Free the Slaves
• Aid Watch
• Observatoire de l'action humanitaire
• Photo-story on modern-day slavery in Brazil by photographer Eduardo Martino

References

Citations