Premier Dr. Ewart Brown has signed a petition calling for Governments across the globe to take action to stamp out modern day slavery.

The move comes after The Royal Gazette joined forces with Anti-Slavery International in our Break The Chains campaign to demand world leaders recognise the plight of 12 million people currently trapped in varying forms of human captivity, including human trafficking, child labour, bonded labour and forced marriages.

Dr. Brown yesterday revealed he had added his name to the human rights charity’s declaration — an on-line petition which now has more than 14,000 signatures.

The Premier also called for people to remember that the effects of the Transatlantic Slave Trade were still having an impact on modern society.

“I am opposed to slavery, past and present,” said Dr. Brown, in a statement. “However, I am particularly dedicated to countering the devastating effects of the enslavement of African people.

“We are still living through the consequences and I invite those who are energised by the current campaign to refresh their minds on the facts, figures and consequences of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.”

The Royal Gazette’s Break The Chains campaign is supporting the Anti-Slavery International Declaration, which was launched in the run-up to the official bicentenary, in March, of the abolition of the slave trade in Britain and its territories in 1807.

We have been highlighting how, even today, millions of people are suffering an horrific ordeal in the slave trade in numerous countries.

Break The Chains has won support from community leaders and a string of charities and personalities across Bermuda.

Last week, leaders of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) and Roman Catholic Church in Bermuda also backed the campaign and encouraged their congregations to log onto the internet to add their names to the petition.

The Reverend Malcolm Eve, the presiding elder of the AME, said his church, formed in the 1700s, acted as a catalyst for freedom many years ago — and is continuing to fight against slavery and its after-effects today.

Petitions calling for world leaders to take action against slavery are nothing new.

Two centuries ago, tens of thousands of people signed petitions as part of the campaign to abolish the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

The outcry they generated led to the Slave Trade Act, which made capturing, transporting and selling slaves illegal in Britain and its colonies.

Campaigners at Anti-Slavery International hope enough people will sign their petition to recreate a similar level of momentum.

All you have to do to add your own name to the petition is log onto the internet and follow a few simple instructions on your computer screen.

To sign up, visit www.antislavery.org/2007/actionsign.php and fill in your details.

To comment about Break The Chains, email tsmithroyalgazette.bm or telephone 278-0153.