Evangelicals Back Obama's Recommendations to End Human Trafficking
The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) has backed the new President's Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood's report to Barack Obama, which is aimed at eradicating modern-day slavery.
"Human trafficking debases the God-given dignity of every person," said NAE President Leith Anderson in a statement, who serves on the Advisory Council. "It is time for the government, churches and all members of society to work together to bring trafficking in persons to an end."
The report, "Building Partnerships to Eradicate Modern-day Slavery," makes several recommendations to Obama, who has promised to take important steps to tackle the billion-dollar industry. More than 27 million people currently live as human slaves, more than any other time in history.
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A summary of the recommendations the Advisory Council made are detailed on the White House website. One of the most important points they made is that the fight against human slavery must be elevated to an agency level and more steps need to be taken to raise awareness for this pressing issue.
"We are proud to stand with the President Obama and his Administration on this vital moral issue. We commit ourselves to working with our government, our houses of worship and community-based organizations, and our fellow Americans, to end slavery in our time," said Susan K. Stern, the Chair of the President's Advisory Council.
The NAE also reminded readers on its website of the 1999 Trafficking in Women and Children resolution, which calls on evangelicals to become more aware and more involved in victim assistance. The organization says that significant strides have been taken since then, but more work still needs to be done to combat human trafficking.
"Each year force and fraud bring as many as a million innocent victims into the international sex industry. There is a growing movement to oppose this horrendous degradation of women and children," NAE says in the 1999 resolution.
Other prominent evangelical leaders, such as Louie Giglio from Passion City Church in Atlanta, have also been heavily involved in the global fight to end human trafficking. Giglio has been on the forefront of promoting the "End It" movement, which raises awareness for the 27 million modern-day slaves and educates people how they can get involved.
Another issue that the NAE has agreed with the president on is the passing of the Arms Trade Treaty agreement by the U.N., which will now seek to impose international regulations on weapons and ammunitions.
Some conservatives had expressed reservation regarding the ATT over fears it might infringe on the 2nd Amendment, but the NAE, Obama and most world leaders argued that it is a necessary step in the global fight against human exploitation and violence that forces children to serve as soldiers and causes millions of deaths in undeveloped regions.
