In selecting Cambodian Somaly Mam as the 2008 award winner, the Roland Berger Foundation speaks out against human trafficking, slavery and the sexual exploitation of women and children.

Children and women in particular, are sold into prostitution or forced to work as modern-day slaves in fields, factories and mines, often under miserable conditions.
In recent years, this development has advanced this trend.

The global volume of human trafficking has increased at least fourfold since the mid-1990s, making it number three in international organized crime, after arms and narcotics. In speaking out against the violation of human dignity and the disregard of fundamental human rights, the Roland Berger Foundation will present the first "Roland Berger Human Dignity Award - to promote peaceful cooperation in the world", which is endowed with one million Euros. The award winner is Ms. Somaly Mam from Cambodia, who is dedicated to fighting against human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children and women in Asia and around the world, through the Somaly Mam Foundation and other organizations she has established. On November 24, 2008, Federal President Horst Köhler will present the award at a formal ceremony in Berlin.

"Human dignity and human rights are precious goods that must be defended," says Roland Berger, explaining why he has established the Human Dignity Award. "This issue will remain important as long as human dignity is being violated thousands of times each day around the world." Just how important is evident from the Roland Berger Foundation documentation entitled "Slavery and human trafficking in the 21st century - Violations of human dignity and human rights in a globalized society". The increasing global exchange of goods in recent years has boosted more than just overall global wealth. This has also created a shelter for the increasing treatment and trading of humans as goods. Since the mid-1990s, human trafficking has increased at least fourfold worldwide, and is now one of the world's largest criminal businesses, alongside trafficking in arms and narcotics.

A comparison clearly illustrates the scale: whereas some 12 million Africans were shipped to America as slaves between 1500 and 1850, according to the UN, 30 million women and children fell victim to human traffickers in the past 30 years in Asia alone. Today, 2 million to 4 million women and children worldwide are sold into prostitution every year. The research conducted by the Roland Berger Foundation shows that it is nearly impossible to determine exact figures. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that 12.3 million people are working as forced laborers as a modern form of slavery, while other organizations cite figures between 4 million and 27 million. A further ILO study even mentions 218 million children who are forced to work "illegally".

Conservative estimates put annual profits from slavery at around USD 45 billion globally; two-thirds of which involves human trafficking. The lion's share of the profits stems from sexual slavery in combination with human trafficking. In the industrialized nations alone, the resulting profits total more than USD 15 billion per year - with the highest prices being paid for prostitution. Every year, around half a million women from all over the world are trafficked to Western Europe.
Southeast Asia: A "hot spot" for human trafficking

However, in terms of the total number of people affected, the Asia-Pacific region is the center of human trafficking: more than half of the victims worldwide come from here. Most of them are sold into prostitution within the region, but many are also sold worldwide. They are forced to serve not only millions of local customers, but also millions of sex tourists from around the world. These tourists include sex offenders and pedophiles who take advantage of the plight of women and, in some cases, even small children. The Southeast Asian countries Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam are particularly affected. In Cambodia alone, some 50,000 women and underage girls are victims of sexual exploitation. In Laos, new highways are making it easier to transport "human goods" to the target markets of international prostitution. Next to Vietnam, the main market is Thailand, where the sex industry accounts for around 14 percent of GDP, or USD 27 billion.

The victims of human trafficking and (sexual) slavery suffer from the effects for the rest of their lives: As the Roland Berger Stiftung shows in its documentation, nearly all of them are physically abused, with three-quarters of the children and women forced into sexual slavery being made compliant through rape. Many suffer from post-traumatic stress symptoms. Then there's the risk of AIDS: nearly 90 percent of the children freed from brothels in Southeast Asia are HIV positive.

In recent years, governments and organizations have launched initial measures to fight human trafficking and slavery. The UN has also launched international initiatives, such as the "World Congress III - Against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents" scheduled for late November 2008. Several countries, including Vietnam, have tightened their laws or set up national task forces. Nevertheless, sluggish implementation of the agreements remains a problem. For example, to date, only a few thousand preliminary investigations have been instituted against alleged criminals - worldwide! This is a sobering figure in view of the millions of victims and the continuously rising numbers.

In its documentation, the Roland Berger Foundation cites six levers for combating human trafficking and slavery. They include: increasing and distributing global wealth more fairly; investing extensively in education; establishing legally binding standards for taking action against perpetrators and monitoring these standards at the international level. In addition, the public must be made aware of the issue, and mobilized to increase pressure on those in charge. Finally, institutions are needed that help the victims escape their plight, treat their psychological and physical wounds and offer them long-term options for reintegrating into society, and especially for legitimate earning opportunities.
Award presentation by German President Horst Köhler

The "Roland Berger Human Dignity Award", which is being presented this year for the first time and is endowed with one million Euros, is intended to help make these actions a reality. The award recognizes and supports individuals or institutions that have rendered outstanding service as a successful role model in respecting, promoting and protecting human dignity and human rights. It is the Founder's hope that others will follow these role models.

This year the Roland Berger Human Dignity Award goes to a woman who is dedicated to fighting for a world without slavery: Ms. Somaly Mam. She will receive the Award from German President Horst Köhler on November 24, 2008 at a formal ceremony in Berlin's Konzerthaus on the Gendarmenmarkt. Somaly Mam was born in Cambodia in 1970 and was herself a victim of sexual slavery. She escaped this fate with great courage and luck, and has been fighting for the victims of human trafficking and slavery ever since. Together with her supporters, she has freed thousands of children and women from sexual slavery in Asia, and helped them reintegrate into society and lead a self-determined life in dignity. In addition to her work in the field, Somaly Mam uses her fearless voice for political lobbying and numerous campaigns against human trafficking.

"Somaly Mam and her supporters play a major role in the battle against the sexual enslavement of children and young women," says Dr. Maria Furtwängler, explaining the Awards Committee's decision. "The Roland Berger Award should support this work and put her in the public spotlight." The jury, which includes, in addition to Dr. Furtwängler, Award Founder Prof. Dr. h.c. Roland Berger, former Foreign Minister Dr. h.c. Joschka Fischer, Head of the Office of the Federal President of Germany and State Secretary Dr. Gert Haller, and Nobel Peace Prize laureates Prof. Muhammad Yunus, Dr. h.c. Kofi Annan and Dr. Shirin Ebadi had to make a difficult decision: "There are so many individuals, initiatives and organizations that deserve to be recognized with the Roland Berger Human Dignity Award," says Joschka Fischer. "On behalf of all of them, Somaly Mam bears witness to the courage and the resolution with which people around the world fight to ensure that human dignity and human rights are respected, promoted and protected."

The Munich-based Roland Berger Foundation is an independent public foundation under German civil law. It was founded by Prof. Dr. h.c. Roland Berger on March 27, 2008. The Roland Berger Foundation is endowed with initial foundation capital of EUR 50 million and has an Executive Board and a Board of Trustees. The foundation's mission is twofold: the Roland Berger Foundation undertakes to respect, promote and protect human dignity and human rights worldwide. To this end, the "Roland Berger Human Dignity Award - to promote peaceful cooperation in the world", endowed with one million Euros, will be awarded annually. In addition, the Roland Berger Foundation sponsors talented young people from less privileged backgrounds: The Roland Berger Scholarship is intended to enable them to obtain a high-quality education and thus lead a self-determined life in dignity. Furthermore, it will set up and finance appropriate educational projects.

Further information and downloadable graphics are available at:
www.somaly.org

If you have any questions, please contact:
Thorsten Gohlke
Roland Berger Foundation
Mies-van-der-Rohe-Str. 6
80807 Munich
Tel. +49 (89) 32133934-0