The Universal Declaration of Human Rights claims to promote human rights, equality, justice, peace, freedom and rebellion against national and international tyranny and oppression, but not all people of all nations promote respect for individual rights and freedoms. In Articles 3 and 4: People have the right to be free without worrying about being enslaved. Every individual has the right to life, liberty and personal security. Slavery has been abolished in the United States for over a hundred years, but nowadays there are several types of slavery still practiced in some countries, and even here in the United States adults and children are tricked, captured, kidnapped, forced and sold like slaves. The continued slave trade is a direct contradiction to articles 3 and 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Human trafficking, the commonly used name for the slave trade industry, is a booming business that affects millions of people of all ages, genders and races. First let's define human trafficking. Human trafficking is a criminal activity that trades human beings for the purposes of prostitution, servitude, forced labor, and/or organ or tissue removal. It is a serious violation of human rights when every year thousands of women and children become victims of these traffickers at home and abroad and then find themselves surrounded by an unknown culture and language, without identification documents, fearing for their their lives and that of their families, treated as possession and property. Why are some of these women and children such easy targets? It is sad that here in this country people are brought, sold and smuggled as modern day slaves. These people are often... middle of paper ...... Why is it that even the ones we should trust to help protect us from these things, are they the ones promoting such behaviors? “Rath served a year in prison under Malaysia's harsh anti-immigration laws, and was then due to be repatriated. She thought a Malaysian policeman was escorting her home when he took her to the Thai border, but then sold her to a trafficker, who took her to a Thai brothel. (Excerpt from “Half the Sky” by Nicholas Kristoff.) How can we make a difference in this world, to ensure that our women and children are safe from extreme treatment? Who can we really trust to protect and save us from such cruelty? I guess only time will tell or maybe with enough pressure from the nations citizens, the government will definitely pay attention and make an effort to address and correct this problem. Works Cited Virginia Slave Code Half the Sky