Name: Joaquin

Date:12/6/2021

PRAISE: Current Issue Summary

TOPIC: Human trafficking and modern slavery around the world

DATE: 12/6/2021
NEWS AGENCY (SOURCE in MLA):

What is the limitation of the source(s) -- i.e. what is the bias?

- Business Insider is limited due to the fact that it is a source that generally leans left and
uses phrasing to sway readers in believing in liberal ideals.
- Washington Post leans left like Business Insider and will report a more appealing to
liberal readers.
- The UN’s document explaining the “Declaration of Human Rights” is biased because it
only explains the benefits and articles of the very declaration the UN created. With that
being said the UN’s website is limited in the sense that it will not discuss the drawbacks
or disagreement to the declaration.
“P” -- Political Issue: What is the political issue and why, according to the IB definition, is it a
political issue (there may be more than one)?

My topic is modern day slavery and human trafficking across the world. This topic is a political
issue according to the IB definition because the IB definition states “Any question that deals
with how power is distributed and how it operates within social organization, and how
people think about, and engage in, their communities and the wider world on matters
that affect their lives.” This is very much a political issue because slaves have little to no
power over those who enslave them, so that alone satisfies “how power operated within
social organinzation” Additionally the definition also states “ how people think about, and
engage in, their communities and the wider world on matters that affect their lives.”
Slavery is frowned upon IGO’s and NGO’s as well as governments try to stop slavery
and human trafficking.

“R” -- Relevance: How was this issue relevant to any of the key Global Politics concepts?
- SOVEREIGNTY: The governments of Countries such as Uzbekistan,North Korea, and
China force citizens into slavery. For example Uzbekistan’s state sponsored program
requires workers to stop their jobs and pick cotton during the fall,they receive little to no
pay for this work which is why it’s classified as slavery. This affects the sovereignty of
the Uzbekistan government because Uzbekistan is one of the world's largest cotton
producers and accounts for 13% of the country’s GDP.
- LIBERTY: The autonomy of individuals is limited when they live in slavery. For example
debt bondage, the most used modern slavery techique is when one pays off their debt
through labour. According to antislavery.org debt bondage usually occurs when a human
trafficker promises someone a job abroad, that individual takes out a loan to pay their
trafficker. However when the trafficker and job seeker arrive at their destination the
traffickers seize their passports and the trafficked individual cannot leave until they work
to pay off their debt. When an individual has no choice but to work their liberty is
infringed upon as they are unable to “ carry out their own rational will”-part of IB definition
of liberty.
- GLOBALIZATION: As discussed earlier human traffickers often traffick people across
borders. This is because people in less developed countries especially those who live in
extreme poverty are vulnerable to trafficking, these people are targets for slavery as they
are cheap labour abroad and are often victims of debt bondage. “U.S. Department of
State’s 2008 report, about 600,000 to 800,000 people—mostly women and
children—are trafficked across national borders.” According to
https://www.du.edu/korbel/hrhw/researchdigest/trafficking/Globalization.pdf
- HUMAN RIGHTS: The IB definition says “The Universal Declaration of HUman
Rights adopted by the UN in 1948 is recognized as the beginning of the formal
discussion of human rights around the world.” In article 4 of The Universal declaration of
Human rights states that “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the
 slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.” So modern day slavery in all its forms
weather it be forced marriages or debt bondage violates one’s human rights according to
the UN 1948 declaration.
-
“A” -- Analysis:
● Explain which level(s) of Global Political analysis is most closely associated with this
issue.
● This issue spans all levels from community to global. For example one does not need to
be trafficked abroad to be in slavery for example many women in Pakistan are forced
into marriage, sometimes at a very young age. On the other hand many individuals are
trafficked abroad, modern slavery and human trafficking exist on every populated
continent.
● Provide at least two perspectives on this issue.
PERSPECTIVES
1) Pro slavery Male perspective in a male dominant society: Due to the male
dominant social hierarchy in Pakistan women are second class citizens and it is
socially acceptable for women to be forced into marriage (Slavery). This form of
slavery is “ok” culturally as women aren’t as empowered as men (no education,
little to no money, no social status)
2) Anti slavery/trafficking perspective Human rights: Slavery and human trafficking
should be abolished world wide regardless of cultural norms. No individual should
live in slavery and have their free will infringed upon.
3) Pro slavery/trafficking perspective Trafficker: Slavery is a lucrative industry where
traffickers can profit off of their victims. Without the slavery markets traffickers
wouldnt be able to make money.

“I” -- Interesting: Comment on an aspect of the story that you found particularly interesting.

I found it interesting that many thought slavery was a thing og the past or something that only
existed in the developing world. However even in the US there are hundreds and thousands of
people living in slavery. I also found it interesting how prevelant slavery is in certain countries,
Pakistan, Uzbekistan, North Korea.

“S -- Summary: Provide a brief summary of the issue.

Although seen as a thing of the past Modern slavery along with Human trafficking are prevelant
issues in the developing world but also in the developed as well. The main hotspots of modern
slavery are India, many west african nations, North korea and many more. Economies benefit
greatly from this practice, Uzbekistan for example requires its workers to pick cotton during
autumn with essentially no pay, this makes cotton a very lucrative industry for the nation. Human
trafficking is also a very large scale issue globally, human trafficking makes many types of
slavery effective, sex trafficking, debt bondage, and child labour. Many traffickers prey on poor
individuals and exploit them, typically promising job opportunities , however the victims have to
pay a fee to the traffickers which requires them to go into debt The victims “Job” is usually is
working manually to pay off the debt they owe the traffickers, this is known as debt bondage and
is the most ubiquitous form of modern slavery.

“E” -- Extending: Now that you have analyzed this issue, what questions do you still have?
- How do IGO’s interfere with slavery and human trafficking
- How does the coast guard/homeland security crack down on human trafficking.
- Will slavery go away in male dominant cultures such as Pakistan?
- How does one know if their product is made from slave labour or not?
- What can the average person do to fight human tracking and or slavery
Please self-score yourself below. If you feel that you have met the requirements all you need to do is
highlight that column; however, if you feel that you have exceeded the requirements you need to explain
how.
Current Event Rubric
Approaches Requirements Meets Requirements
< 4 points 4 points
Identifies an appropriate global
political issue.
Demonstrates a basic
understanding of the political
issue.
Demonstrates analysis by
identifying the appropriate level
of analysis and at least two
perspectives on the issue.
Summarizes the issue susticntly.
Source cited in MLA, and
limitations identified.
Exceeds Requirements
4.5 - 5 points
identified a global issue less
talked about in politics yet very
relevant and urgent.
Demonstrates advanced
knowledge, giving lots of
examples and in depth
explanation. Drew multiple
connections to global key
concepts.
All 3 MLA sources are properly
cited.
MLA sources varied using
trustworthy news sources to
organizations such as the UN.
Gave 3 perspectives NOT just 2
3 perspectives that give the
reader insight to the topic of
human trafficking and slavery.
Summarized succinctly but also
gave numerous examples and
detail.