History was made in the Vatican on Dec. 2, when Pope Francis and other leaders of the world’s main religions—Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism—signed a joint declaration to work together to eradicate modern slavery in its various forms by the year 2020. Pope Francis was the first to sign the pledge “to do all in our power, within our faith communities and beyond, to work together for the freedom of all those who are enslaved and trafficked so that the future may be restored.” They declared that “modern slavery, in terms of human trafficking, forced labor and prostitution, organ trafficking, and any relationship that fails to respect the fundamental conviction that all people are equal and have the same freedom and dignity, is a crime against humanity.” Some sources put the number of people trapped in slavery at 36 million, including children.

This article appears in December 22-29 2014.