Christians in Belfast were also at the forefront of the anti-slavery campaign.

Through their vigorous protests, a slave trading centre was never established here.

However, 200 years on, we find that slavery is not history.

There are now 12 million slaves worldwide, including over 1.2 million children who are trafficked each year, not to mention over two billion people who are enslaved by extreme poverty.

Micah Challenge is a campaign involving a coalition of Christian agencies across 34 countries seeking to hold national governments to account for promises they made in the year 2000 to halve global poverty by 2015.

This year marks the half-way point to meeting that goal.

We are delighted that many churches and others across Northern Ireland have already joined the campaign at www.micahchallenge.org.uk to Blow the Whistle on the UK Government's progress at half-time.

We strongly encourage others to take up the challenge and do the same.

Following the example of our ethical ancestors, we can still make a difference and continue the fight to abolish slavery once and for all.

Stephen Cave (Evangelical Alliance) and Tim Magowan (Tearfund) Belfast