Millions of men, women and children are still being bought and sold as chattels, forced into bonded labour, held as slaves for ritual or religious purposes, or trafficked across borders, often to be sold into prostitution, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a message marking International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. "All these forms of slavery are abhorrent, and must be eradicated," he declared, calling on all States to ratify and implement existing conventions that fight the scourge. "Slavery offends every value that underlies the United Nations Charter, and the Organization and all its Member States must take a strong stand against it."