November 6, 2018

Washington DC: The American Mideast Coalition for Democracy (AMCD) fully supports the Trump administration in its effort to abolish slavery in areas of the world where it still exists, over 150 years after it was eradicated in the US at the end of the Civil War. President Trump has ended our trade preference program with Mauritania, a country in Africa where hereditary slavery is still practiced.

“It is amazing to me that though slavery still exists in many parts of the world, organizations such as the Congressional Black Caucus have little or nothing to say about it,” said AMCD co-Chairman, Tom Harb. “They are so focused on inequality here at home, they completely neglect the continuing horror of slavery in Mauritania, Darfur, the Nuba region and many other unfortunate places. In Sudan the Arab government is actively oppressing the black indigenous people on a massive scale, yet this is ignored.”

“One might have expected President Obama to lead an effort to end modern slavery, but he did not,” added AMCD co-Chair John Hajjar. “President Trump is taking on this issue early in his presidency and we applaud him for it.”

“We stand with President Trump and his effort to force countries like Mauritania to finally confront the unspeakable scourge of slavery,” remarked AMCD member Ibrahim Ahmed. “Mauritania has perhaps the highest prevalence of hereditary slavery in the world.”

Barbarous practices such as the enslavement of human beings and the exploitation of their forced labor has no place in the modern world. AMCD stands firmly with President Trump as we pray for the final and complete eradication of slavery worldwide.