News Archive

Associate Dean Karen Bravo was asked to sign a letter posted on Open Democracy that takes to task the use of the word “slavery” to describe people who want to move freely from one country to another, and condemns the proposed use of the military to stop the sea crossings.

Leaders in the European Union have indicated that they will use military force to stop people from crossing the Mediterranean Sea from Libya into Europe. They are fleeing war-torn countries in the north of Africa. European leaders are likening the movement to the 18th century slave trade, which the letter signers also condemn.

“I was invited to sign onto the letter, which condemns the inapt use of ‘slavery’ and the proposal to use military force with respect to the migrant crisis in Europe-Africa,” Dean Bravo said. “The signatories are academics and activists from all over the globe.”

The letter and response to it is the subject of a story in The Guardian.

Dean Bravo is a Dean’s Fellow and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and International Affairs at IU McKinney. She is a well-known international law scholar, and an expert in the study of human trafficking.