Constitution

A constitution is a document that sets out the fundamental principles and rules of a government, and defines the powers and duties of the government and the rights and responsibilities of the citizens. Constitutions typically establish the structure and function of the government, and they often include provisions related to individual rights and freedoms.

Constitutions serve as the supreme law of a country or other political entity, and they provide a framework for the operation of the government. They often include provisions for the creation and powers of branches of government, such as the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and they may also include provisions for the amendment of the constitution itself.

Constitutions are important because they establish the legal and political foundations of a country or other political entity, and they provide a basis for the rule of law. Many countries have written constitutions that are codified into a single document, while others have unwritten constitutions that are based on a combination of legal traditions and practices.

 

 

US prisoners have become modern slaves
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US prisoners have become modern slaves

Birds fly near the US Capitol at sunrise, on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, in this Feb 8, 2022 file photo. [Photo/Agencies] Americans tend to be indignant about “forced labor” in other countries but are unaware of the prevalence of forced labor in their own country. According to a report, “Captive Labor: Exploitation of Incarcerated…

The threats and remedies of human trafficking – The Nation
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The threats and remedies of human trafficking – The Nation

Human trafficking includes unjust practices including recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving persons through the use of force, coercion, deception, or other means for the purpose of exploiting them. This exploitation can take many forms, be it sexual exploitation, forced labor, domestic servitude, forced marriage or even extreme measures like organ removal. This crime is…

Iowa Trafficking Legislative Update – Network Against Human Trafficking and Slavery
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Iowa Trafficking Legislative Update – Network Against Human Trafficking and Slavery

Iowa Anti-Human Trafficking Legislation Update The NAHT Legislative Advocacy Committee lead by Maggie Tinsman and facilitated by Advocacy Strategies has been working hard to get the 2023 legislature to address priority anti-trafficking legislation. Click here to see the 2023 legislative priorities. Before the first funnel there were eight trafficking bills introduced by various legislators. In…

How U.S. policy drives child migrants into dangerous jobs
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How U.S. policy drives child migrants into dangerous jobs

Recent stories of migrant children working long hours and under dangerous conditions in the United States have shed light on how pervasive migrant child labor has become in this country. In December, Reuters published the third part of a year-long investigation about migrant children as young as 12 working in Alabama chicken plants and in…

Rubio, Menendez Raise Alarm on Cuba's Continued International Medical "Missions"
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Rubio, Menendez Raise Alarm on Cuba's Continued International Medical "Missions"

Since the 1960s, the criminal Cuban regime has deployed hundreds of thousands of Cuban doctors across the globe. These international “missions” are really a modern-day human trafficking scheme. Yet, this year, Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia have indicated they will restart programs that employ them.  U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) sent a…

New York Lawmaker Proposes Legislation to Ban “Prison Slave Labor”
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New York Lawmaker Proposes Legislation to Ban “Prison Slave Labor”

Recently, a New York State Assembly Member introduced legislation in Albany to end the practice of forced prison labor, and to require that incarcerated people make at least minimum wage for their work. The objectives are to abolish slavery without exception in New York’s constitution and extend workers’ protections to incarcerated New Yorkers. Currently, New York…

Exploiting Prison Workers for Cheap Sheets
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Exploiting Prison Workers for Cheap Sheets

It took Johnny Perez over four years of making hundreds of bedsheets every day at a factory to reach the top pay tier: about 32 cents an hour, nearly double his starting wage. He was one of the highest-paid workers at Coxsackie Correctional Facility—a textile manufacturer run by the New York State prison system. When…

As other states ban unpaid ‘slave’ prison labor, lawmakers drop plans to tackle issue in Florida
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As other states ban unpaid ‘slave’ prison labor, lawmakers drop plans to tackle issue in Florida

It’s in your civics classes. The 13th Amendment of the US Constitution, ratified in 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude. But there was one glaring exception clause: if convicted by state courts, incarcerated Americans can be slaves of the state. Four states banned slavery during last year’s general elections — 150 years after enslaved Black…

California lawmakers revive effort to ban involuntary servitude as punishment for crimes
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California lawmakers revive effort to ban involuntary servitude as punishment for crimes

Last year, voters in Vermont, Oregon, Tennessee and Alabama approved historic ballot measures that removed slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for crime from their state constitutions, which could lead to limitations on forced prison labor. They joined a growing list of states that passed similar initiatives in recent years, including Nebraska, Utah and Colorado….