News Desk: Obama Talks Human Trafficking as “Slavery” at Clinton Global Initiative

CALLING FORMER President Bill Clinton “… tireless, passionate advocate…”, President Obama said he was “grateful for your friendship… a great treasure for all of us.”

Citing Secretary Clinton’s work, Obama praised her as “a leader of grace and grit and I believe she will go down as one of the finest Secretaries of State in American history.”

Obama’s speech focused on human trafficking, using the word “slavery” for the practice, which had powerful force.

From Maggie Haberman of Politico:

“It ought to concern every community, because it tears at our social fabric. It ought to concern every business, because it distorts markets. It ought to concern every nation, because it endangers public health and fuels violence and organized crime. I’m talking about the injustice, the outrage, of human trafficking, which must be called by its true name — modern slavery.”

He added, “Now, I do not use that word, ‘slavery’ lightly. It evokes obviously one of the most painful chapters in our nation’s history. But around the world, there’s no denying the awful reality. When a man, desperate for work, finds himself in a factory or on a fishing boat or in a field, working, toiling, for little or no pay, and beaten if he tries to escape — that is slavery. When a woman is locked in a sweatshop, or trapped in a home as a domestic servant, alone and abused and incapable of leaving — that’s slavery.”

The remarks President Obama gave at CGI, coming after his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, made for a powerful morning of meaning.

The report has been updated.

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