National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, 2014

Proclamation 9074 of December 31, 2013

National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention
Month, 2014

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Over a century and a half after President Abraham
Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, millions
remain in bondage--children forced to take part in
armed conflict or sold to brothels by their destitute
families, men and women who toil for little or no pay,
who are threatened and beaten if they try to escape.
Slavery tears at our social fabric, fuels violence and
organized crime, and debases our common humanity.
During National Slavery and Human Trafficking
Prevention Month, we renew our commitment to ending
this scourge in all its forms.

Because modern-day slavery is a global tragedy,
combating it requires international action. The United
States is shining a spotlight on the dark corners where
it persists, placing sanctions on some of the worst
abusers, giving countries incentives to meet their
responsibilities, and partnering with groups that help
trafficking victims escape from their abusers' grip. We
are working with other nations as they step up their
own efforts, and we are seeing more countries pass
anti-human trafficking laws and improve enforcement.

At home, we are leading by example. My Administration
is cracking down on traffickers, charging a record
number of perpetrators. We are deploying new technology
in the fight against human trafficking, developing the
Federal Government's first-ever strategic action plan
to strengthen victim services, and strengthening
protections against human trafficking in Federal
contracts. During the past year, the White House has
hosted events on combating human trafficking, bringing
together leaders from every sector of society.
Together, we came up with new ideas to fight
trafficking at the national and grassroots levels.

As we work to dismantle trafficking networks and help
survivors rebuild their lives, we must also address the
underlying forces that push so many into bondage. We
must develop economies that create legitimate jobs,
build a global sense of justice that says no child
should ever be exploited, and empower our daughters and
sons with the same chances to pursue their dreams. This
month, I call on every nation, every community, and
every individual to fight human trafficking wherever it
exists. Let us declare as one that slavery has no place
in our world, and let us finally restore to all people
the most basic rights of freedom, dignity, and justice.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim January 2014 as
National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention
Month, culminating in the annual celebration of
National Freedom Day on February 1. I call upon
businesses, national and community organizations,
faith-based groups, families, and all Americans to
recognize the vital role we can play in ending all
forms of slavery and to observe this month with
appropriate programs and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirty-first day of December, in the year of our Lord
two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
eighth.