Each week the Freedom Fund compiles the most insightful and timely news stories about modern slavery. Check out what we’re reading among this week’s top slavery articles.

Over 6,000 Nepalis trafficked last year
Kathmandu Post, 5 July 2017
Over 6,000 Nepalis were trafficked last year, the majority of which were women, while around 4,000 people went missing, according to a report by Nepal’s National Human Rights Commission. The report paints a bleak picture of how women and children are still falling victim to trafficking despite efforts to stop the scourge.

Shady slaughterhouses, ‘cow laundering’ drive spike in Amazon deforestation
Thomson Reuters Foundation, 4 July 2017
Brazilian ranchers have set up elaborate schemes to “launder” cattle raised on illegally deforested land on the legitimate market. Authorities have linked illegal deforestation to other crimes in the Amazon, such as forced labour and slavery in the timber industry.

The State Department just released its human trafficking report. Here’s why it matters.
Washington Post, 3 July 2017
The U.S. State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report grades countries on how well they are combatting human trafficking. Countries often care a lot about their scores, and the stigma of the scorecard makes states change their behaviour, according to researchers from Duke University.

A.I. could help combat modern slavery, if humans don’t mess it up
Slate, 30 June 2017
One of the biggest obstacles those who want to combat forced labour face is the difficulty identifying the places where it’s happening. Now human rights activists may have a new tool to track some of the most notorious sites of slavery in the world: artificial intelligence.

More than 2,000 workers flee Thailand after labour crackdown
Reuters, 30 June 2017
More than 2,000 undocumented migrant workers from Myanmar and Cambodia fled from Thailand last week after a decree aimed at managing foreign workers came into effect. A new law that fines employers up to $23,550 for hiring undocumented workers has businesses scrambling to fire undocumented migrants.

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