Large crowds gathered at a concert in Myanmar aimed at raising awareness of human trafficking in the former military-junta ruled state which has struggled with human rights issues up until recently.
MTV hosted the free benefit show as part of the MTV Exit (End Exploitation and Trafficking) campaign in front of one of the thousand-year-old pagoda in Yangon on Sunday, attracting tens of thousands of people to reportedly the biggest ever public civilian gathering in the country after decades of isolation.
The government, which has recently launched economic and political reforms, became the first to sign a pledge drafted by Walk Free, the anti-slavery organization, to combat slavery and highlight forced labor conditions in the country.
Washington said Myanmar’s rating on the US Trafficking in Persons report improved this year because the country is “making significant efforts” to comply with the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
“The government in Burma is going to pay attention to these issues more than some of the other governments” because of international pressure it has been under, US Ambassador in the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Luis CdeBaca told Wall Street Journal.
