?
The United Nations human rights office (OHCHR) has appealed to Member States to give generously to an important fund that has given grants to fund initiatives that help victims of slavery transform their lives for over 20 years.
?
The UN Voluntary Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery has seen a marked decrease in donations received in recent years, according to the OHCHR.?
This year it received a record number of 436 applications for grants amounting to more than $6m, but the contributions received thus far amount to only about $365,000. “With the present funds, only six per cent of the projects requested will receive support,” OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville said in Geneva.?
?
High commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, said that contemporary forms of slavery can still be found throughout the world, and that eradicating this scourge required a focus on its root causes, including poverty, exclusion, marginalisation, racism and discrimination, and a readiness to extend assistance to victims.
?
“The fund has helped thousands break free from slavery and recover their lives, not through expensive projects, but through small grants to grassroots initiatives,” she added, and noted that as little as $10,000 can make a difference in advancing concrete efforts to combat slavery.?
The UN special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, Gulnara Shahinian, added that the fund, which this year celebrated its 20th anniversary, had changed the lives of thousands by providing assistance to more than 400 projects.?
?
“I have visited projects funded through grants provided to local actors and seen the tangible results – I have met survivors, heard their terrible stories and hopes and witnessed real change,” she said. “These organizations are dealing with various forms of slavery, including forced marriages, caste-based slavery, debt bondage, the use of child soldiers and many others.”
?
To mark the fund’s 20th anniversary, a photograph exhibition entitled “Breaking free from slavery: a visual journey through 20 years of assistance to victims of contemporary forms of slavery” is on display at the UN office in Geneva. The exhibit brought together 56 pieces of art from two renowned photographers and 17 organisations which received grants from the fund and presents a visual journey from slavery to freedom.?