Forced Labor Migration and Human Trafficking in Asia

Although Hong Kong and Mongolia abide by international human rights law and do not sentence their children to die in prison, human rights issues still abound across the region. It is estimated that two-thirds of the world’s most economically disadvantaged people live in Asia. Extreme poverty and a lack of educational and employment opportunities at home have lead to a crisis of forced labor migration and human trafficking across the region. Article 23 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as the “Convention on the Protection of all Migrant Workers” and the "United Nations Convention on Transnational Organized Crime" -  both signed and ratified by the United Nations, expressly forbid the exploitation of migrant workers and trafficking in persons; however, discrimination against migrant workers is still rampant in Hong Kong and the Southeast Asia region continues to be the largest source of trafficked persons. It is estimated that 800,000 people are trafficked annually – nearly 20,000 of them into the United States alone. This film features three organizations fighting to protect the economically disadvantaged and battle the root causes of these human rights abuses.