Stop the Modern Slavery

From July 24 to August 31 a thematic book exhibition “Stop the Modern Slavery”, dedicated to the World Day against Trafficking in Persons was opened in the Official Documents Department (207).

This day was proclaimed on December 18, 2013 at the 68th session of the UN General Assembly (resolution A/RES/68/192), and it has been celebrated annually on July 30 since 2014.

Trafficking in persons is a serious crime and gross violation of human rights. Every year, millions of people, mostly women and children, become victims of deception and violence, turn into a “living commodity” and are exploited. The “new slave trade” has become one of the most grave and wide-ranging problems of our time. All countries of the world, be it a country of origin, transit or destination, suffer from human trafficking.

According to the UN, the total number of slaves on earth is 21 million. About a third of them are children. The proportion of women and children among victims of human trafficking is 71 percent.

“Human trafficking takes many forms and knows no boundaries. Traffickers often act with impunity, because their crimes do not receive sufficient attention. This situation needs to be changed”, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

On July 30, 2010 the General Assembly adopted the resolution 64/293 on the UN Global Action Plan against Trafficking in Persons, which appealed to all relevant UN bodies with a strong and urgent call to coordinate efforts to effectively combat human trafficking and to protect human rights. One of the most important provisions of the Plan is the creation of a UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.

In September 2015, the Sustainable Development Agenda until 2030 was adopted, which set specific goals and objectives for combating trafficking in persons. The Agenda states that it is necessary to end the sale of children, human trafficking in general, as well as violence against women and girls.

The Republic of Belarus was one of the initiators of the establishment of the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. Our country is a member state of all universal UN conventions aimed at combating trafficking in persons, as well as the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Persons. In 2017 Belarus made the third voluntary contribution to the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, and in 2018 a voluntary contribution to the OSCE extrabudgetary project on combating trafficking in persons along migration flows.

The country has the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Combating Trafficking in Persons”, implementing the State Program on Combating Crime and Corruption for 2017–2019, the prevention of human trafficking, the protection and rehabilitation of victims are emphasised.

The materials of the exhibition reveal various aspects of the problem of the new slave trade and introduce research into the phenomenon of slavery and human trafficking.

The exhibition includes the following thematic sections:

• problem of human trafficking: history and modernity;
• international cooperation in the field of combating human trafficking;
• reparations for victims of human trafficking;
• international legal framework for combating trafficking in persons;
• Republic of Belarus against trafficking.

The exhibition presents about 100 documents in Russian, English, French and German. A major part of the exposition consists of documents of international organizations: books, brochures, mimeographed documents of the UN, periodicals.

The exhibition is intended for employees of investigative and operational units of law enforcement bodies, psychologists, social workers, judges, lawyers, for teachers and students of higher educational institutions of law, as well as for all who are interested in the state of the problems of managing the processes of combating human trafficking.

Useful Links:

The opening hours of the exhibition corresponds to the library’s opening hours.
Entrance to the exhibition is available by the library ticket or ticket of the library's social and cultural center.

For more info: (+375 17) 293 27 28.

Official Documents Department