Princess Eugenie hosted an event alongside some big names today about the role of business and government in tackling modern slavery and human trafficking in Davos.
The princess, who co-founded The Anti-Slavery Collective in 2017, sat at a panel with former UK prime minister Theresa May, co-founder Julia de Boinville, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s John Schultz
The discussion’s goal was to highlight the importance of elevating modern slavery to the highest levels of corporate board, corporate executive, and government leadership.
Eugenie said: “Guns and drugs can be only trafficked once but human beings are trafficked again and again and again.
“For them, it happens every day and minute.” Mrs May, who heads the Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, stressed that governments are failing to properly tackle the scourge of slavery and human trafficking even as it increases, according to the Guardian.
She said: “We’ve seen in recent years the number of people in slavery increasing around the world. Conflict, the pandemic, and the impact of climate change increase vulnerability to it.
“At the same time, governments are taking their attention off it.”
The former prime minister added that companies “need to really pay attention to supply chains” and governments need to set tighter laws.
Last year, the latest estimates suggested that 49.6 million people live in modern slavery – in forced marriage and forced labour conditions.
According to Walk Free, the International Labour Organization and the International Organization for Migration, it is estimated that a quarter of all victims of modern slavery are children.
