Global business tycoons and politicians from 48 countries committed to ending human trafficking, forced labor and modern slavery on Friday at a landmark gathering of high-profile leaders in the Australian city of Perth.

The forum, launched last year to expand public-private partnership to eradicate these crimes, saw participation from the heads of U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Japan’s Mitsui and China’s JD.com, among others.

The forum is also working to raise awareness on ethical business practices and establishing a “spatial mechanism” to ensure immediate identification, processing and assistance for victims of human traffickinG.

The Global Slavery Index estimates that 45 million people around the world are victims of modern slavery. It is estimated that two-thirds of these people were from the Indo-Pacific region.

Via