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Priorities of the new mandate holder 2014, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- The mandate calls for a coherent global response, involving evidence-based analysis, together with technical assistance to Member States which are committed to eradicating the scourge of contemporary slavery from their labour markets. It requires strengthening of the global partnership, involving unions, civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations, human rights advocates, the private sector, the legal sector and the judiciary, governments and public-sector institutions, United Nations agencies and mechanisms, academic and research institutions, as well as international foundations committed to research and advocacy.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Priorities of the new mandate holder 2014, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur looks forward to fulfilling the requirements of her mandate, as outlined in Human Rights Council resolution 24/3, and to constructive and fruitful cooperation with diverse stakeholders in all regions towards that end. She particularly emphasizes her desire for constructive engagement with United Nations Member States and encourages Member States to respond positively to her requests for information or for country visits, while emphasizing that the mandate remains available to provide assistance to States and to respond to their requests, including in the area of technical cooperation, to the fullest extent possible. The Special Rapporteur reiterates the importance that she places on the role and views of non-governmental organizations, including in providing information to her and engaging with and assisting her fully as she conducts her work on slavery and slavery-like practices.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eradicating contemporary forms of slavery from supply chains 2015, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Given the gravity of slavery and slavery-like practices as gross human rights violations, judicial remedies are a key form of securing accountability for business-related human rights abuses. Access to justice for victims in this context is, however, often constrained by legal rules limiting the liability of a corporation for human rights violations not directly arising from its business operations. This is a problem in global supply chains whereby the business enterprise sourcing the product is not directly implicated in the exploitation that occurs lower down the supply chain, but is complicit as a result of failing to comply with its human rights due diligence obligations. Also, vicarious liability rules prevent corporate liability for management conduct in many instances which arise in the disarticulation in the supply between the global retailer and the many small subcontractors at the lowest tier.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Eradicating contemporary forms of slavery from supply chains 2015, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- Although the assessment of the efficacy of these legislative developments in practice is beyond the scope of the present report, they provide a snapshot of the issues that impact on the challenge of States to regulate the human rights conduct of businesses operating supply chains outside domestic economies. In these cases, risks and violations are often off-shored, resulting in lack of redress under domestic laws, but having significant impact on the human rights situation in developing economies. This results in challenges to effectively address business-related human rights harms in supply chains and requires sustainable and holistic solutions that involve all stakeholders in the supply chain.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Child slavery in the artisanal mining and quarrying sector 2011, para. 111
- Paragraph text
- Governments should establish programmes to create awareness in frontier communities about the health risks they face particularly with regard to handling toxic chemicals such as mercury, cyanide and lead. The communities should undergo testing for contamination and those contaminated should be provided with medical care. Local health workers should be clinically trained on how to prevent, diagnose and treat contamination. These programmes should also extend to ensure that workers are made aware of the less visible and long-term negative impact on the environment (soil, water) which threatens food security and biodiversity.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Eradicating contemporary forms of slavery from supply chains 2015, para. 68b
- Paragraph text
- [Against this backdrop, the Special Rapporteur wishes to make the following recommendations to States:] States should develop, enact and update a national action plan on business and human rights in accordance with the guidance provided by the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises. Measures outlined in the national action plan should take full advantage of the leverage home States have in order to effectively prevent, address and redress extraterritorial human rights harms of businesses domiciled in their territory and/or jurisdiction;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- Of course, companies are ultimately responsible for meeting their legal and moral obligations to prevent contemporary forms of slavery in their supply chains, and NGOs and multi-stakeholder initiatives have emerged to provide practical guidance to companies seeking to meet their obligations under national law, international standards and voluntary principles. The Fair Hiring Toolkit, developed by Verité and launched in 2011, gives companies comprehensive guidance on improving their codes of conduct, strengthening their social audits, and better understanding the complexities and risks of contemporary forms of slavery in their supply chains.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- A number of stakeholders have begun to take action to combat slavery in its contemporary forms. However, there are key challenges that prevent the reduction of slavery, including legal and policy challenges and institutional and implementation challenges. Among the legal and policy challenges are the absence of legislation in some countries, deficiencies and loopholes in legal frameworks, insufficiently dissuasive sanctions and laws that increase the vulnerability of workers. Institutional and implementation challenges include corruption, government failure to recognize the existence of contemporary slavery, a lack of political will and/or resources, the difficulty of locating and identifying victims, and a failure to adequately protect affected workers and provide sustained programmes for their effective rehabilitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eradicating contemporary forms of slavery from supply chains 2015, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- Despite notable improvements in recent years, gaps in legal and regulatory protection for the human rights of victims of contemporary forms of slavery exist in a number of countries. This has a significant impact on enforcing corporate legal liability. In many cases, States also lack an integrated approach to criminal, labour and human rights laws, which impedes law enforcement and prevents effective investigation and prosecution of abuses. Where the legislative framework does exist, in some instances this is affected by lengthy legal proceedings and corruption, including bribery, which means that access to remedy is slow and victims are reluctant to come forward as a result.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- Some countries have taken proactive efforts to form multi-stakeholder initiatives to ensure more effective efforts to combat contemporary forms of slavery. This includes multi-stakeholder committees responsible for combating contemporary forms of slavery, which include members of civil society. These committees are important in holding Governments accountable for enforcing laws on contemporary forms of slavery. In cases in which the Government fails to carry out its commitments, it is necessary for these stakeholders to engage the media, form alliances and mobilize public support in order to exert pressure on the authorities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eradicating contemporary forms of slavery from supply chains 2015, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- Investors have also begun to play an increasing role in requiring human rights due diligence. Furthermore, civil society actors have been at the forefront of challenges to contemporary forms of slavery in supply chains and civil society "naming and shaming" of companies has resulted in some businesses responding positively by adopting or adjusting their policies and practices. A welcome initiative in the reporting context is the recently launched United Nations Guiding Principles Reporting Framework, which provides guidance for companies to report on how they respect human rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Manifestations and causes of domestic servitude 2010, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- The mechanization of agriculture, rural-urban migration and the development of labour-intensive export industries, coupled with the erosion of workers' rights outside the traditional bonded labour context, have led to the emergence of patterns of "neo-bondage", whereby destitute people commit themselves to working off loans or wage advances obtained from their employer and cannot default on this debt, not least due to a fear of extrajudicial enforcement. In this context, researchers note an increasing feminization of bonded labour and some of the victims end up in bonded domestic servitude.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. B.
- Paragraph text
- [Recommendations to Member States:] Provide training and sensitize law enforcement and labour officials at the national and local levels on the identification of persons in debt bondage and on the implementation of legislation on debt bondage if it exists and other relevant labour laws to tackle debt bondage. States should ensure the enforcement of legislation on debt bondage and other relevant laws to tackle debt bondage, and should ensure that these apply to all workers and all sectors of the economy.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. 44a
- Paragraph text
- [Despite the efforts of various countries to eradicate and prevent debt bondage, there are still challenges in implementing adequate measures in this regard, including:] The lack of adequate enforcement of legislation on debt bondage and on workers' rights, and of other relevant legislation for the eradication of debt bondage, and in some countries the non-existence of specific legislation on debt bondage;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. 44b
- Paragraph text
- [Despite the efforts of various countries to eradicate and prevent debt bondage, there are still challenges in implementing adequate measures in this regard, including:] The lack of implementation or absence of legal measures that could prevent reprisals against victims of debt bondage when the criminal law is being used to punish perpetrators (e.g. a summary procedure in cases of debt bondage), particularly when victims and perpetrators are part of the same community;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- A comprehensive, human rights-based approach to tackling debt bondage must have at its centre the compliance of States with their obligations under international law and the empowerment of freed bonded labourers and people vulnerable to debt bondage. Recommendations on the implementation of such an approach are detailed below.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Child slavery in the artisanal mining and quarrying sector 2011, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- Furthermore, where concessions are granted, they are given only to enable the extraction of minerals or stones. These concessions do not provide for ensuring workers' rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Eradicating contemporary forms of slavery from supply chains 2015, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- In the context of contemporary forms of slavery, this duty to protect could translate into a smart mix of measures to ensure that businesses engage in their responsibility to respect human rights, including through undertaking human rights due diligence throughout their supply chains and remediating the adverse impact of their operations on human rights. At the very minimum, States should ensure that businesses realize the implications of purchasing products or services that have in any way been linked to forced labour or other contemporary forms of slavery. To date, States have adopted diverse approaches to addressing this issue, which include ensuring criminal, civil and tort liability for business-related human rights violations, setting up mechanisms to regulate such compliance in trade and consumer protection and addressing it in government procurement. Disclosure and transparency can also feature as legal obligations rather than being limited to voluntary corporate social responsibility initiatives.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- Legal loopholes that fail to cover certain categories of workers may also allow for their exploitation. This is the case in France and a number of other countries, where labour laws do not cover domestic workers (A/HRC/15/20, para. 74). In Guatemala, the law fails to provide special protections for agricultural workers and instead includes legislation that discriminates against them. It was not until 2011, for example, that the minimum wage for agricultural workers was set at the same level as that for workers in other sectors, while payments in kind, a remnant of peonage in Guatemala, are still permitted in the agricultural sector.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- There are a number of institutional deficits that may prevent the full enforcement of laws against contemporary forms of slavery. Although countries may have ratified laws and international conventions that explicitly prohibit and sanction such exploitation, many Governments have not taken adequate action to enforce these laws. In some cases, central Governments' failure to recognize the existence of contemporary slavery severely limits their enforcement activities. For example, the Government of the Dominican Republic has not recognized the existence of forced labour in any economic sector in the country, including sugar. For this reason, there are no plans or programmes designed to combat the abuse.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eradicating contemporary forms of slavery from supply chains 2015, para. 69f
- Paragraph text
- [In relation to businesses, the Special Rapporteur recommends the following:] Gaps in national legislation and underdeveloped regulatory infrastructure can pose significant risks for contemporary forms of slavery in supply chains. To address this, businesses, working in partnership with business peers and other stakeholders or though representative industry and employer organizations, should engage public policy actors and regulators to encourage adoption of a relevant legal framework and effective law enforcement. Businesses, together with other stakeholders, also have an important role to play in addressing the root causes of contemporary forms of slavery;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Eradicating contemporary forms of slavery from supply chains 2015, para. 70a
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur would like to make the following recommendations to other stakeholders:] International organizations and the donor community have an important role to play in providing a forum for stakeholder dialogue and partnership to address contemporary forms of slavery in supply chains and to empower communities. They are encouraged to assist the States and other actors, if needed, by providing technical assistance for research, capacity-building, remediation and for addressing root causes through human rights-based development and poverty reduction programmes;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Eradicating contemporary forms of slavery from supply chains 2015, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- Global businesses have the capacity and resources to address, jointly with relevant stakeholders, the root causes of contemporary forms of slavery, particularly structural issues relating to discrimination, poverty and inequality and should use this leverage more prominently. There is also the need for increased dialogue and cooperation among all stakeholders working on the issue of contemporary forms of slavery in supply chains, also within the international community, in order to combine their efforts to ensure its eradication, including in relation to the 2016 International Labour Conference general discussion on the issue of decent work in global supply chains.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- There have also been successful cases in which international associations of employers and employment agencies have established agreements with other stakeholders in order to improve efforts to combat contemporary forms of slavery. For example, the International Confederation of Private Employment Agencies signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Global Union for Skills and Services in 2008. This Memorandum established a global partnership with other stakeholders to combat contemporary forms of slavery, policy advocacy and cooperation with ILO to encourage ratification and application of ILO conventions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. 44e
- Paragraph text
- [Despite the efforts of various countries to eradicate and prevent debt bondage, there are still challenges in implementing adequate measures in this regard, including:] The ineffectiveness or non-existence of adequate mechanisms to identify bonded labourers, including the lack of ongoing identification programmes conducted in the formal and informal sectors and the lack of particular methods for identifying bonded labourers. Other challenges in this regard include the insufficient resources allocated for the purposes of identification; the non-proactive attitude by officials to seeking out and finding cases of debt bondage; the lack of data, which could be obtained through surveys to identify the number of persons in debt bondage and the sectors where it is the most prevalent; and the failure by the authorities to recognize new forms of debt bondage, such as seasonal debt bondage;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Manifestations and causes of domestic servitude 2010, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Among the instances leading to domestic servitude is debt bondage, also referred to as bonded labour (see for information A/HRC/12/21). Article 1 (a) of the 1956 Supplementary Convention on Slavery defines debt bondage as "the status or condition arising from a pledge by a debtor of his personal services or of those of a person under his control as security for a debt, if the value of those services as reasonably assessed is not applied towards the liquidation of the debt or the length and nature of those services are not respectively limited and defined".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- In Mauritania, Act No. 2015-031 of 10 September 2015 criminalizes slavery and punishes slavery-like practices including debt bondage. The Act provides for the possibility of third parties (those who have benefited from legal personality for at least five years) taking legal action and being a party in the proceedings (section 23).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. B.
- Paragraph text
- [Recommendations to Member States:] Ratify all relevant international instruments prohibiting slavery and slavery-like practices and other relevant international instruments pertaining to the eradication of debt bondage, including the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29). States should align their national legislation with these international standards, in order to adequately criminalize debt bondage and provide adequate penalties for violations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Child slavery in the artisanal mining and quarrying sector 2011, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- The core international law against slavery comprises the 1926 Slavery Convention and the 1956 Supplementary Convention. While the 1926 Convention defines the concept of slavery (art. 1) and introduces forced labour as being analogous to slavery (art. 5), the 1956 Convention broadens the concept so as to encompass other slavery-like practices. The ILO Convention No. 29 (1930) concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour offers a definition of forced labour and lays down a number of exceptions from its general prohibition.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Manifestations and causes of domestic servitude 2010, para. 98
- Paragraph text
- [Normative action at the international level reflects has long been a reflection of the indolence of many States to provide effective protection against domestic servitude at the national level. The Special Rapporteur therefore welcomes the fact that the ILO finally resolved to adopt a convention on decent standards for domestic work and hopes that recommendations contained in this report will be reflected in the Convention. The Special Rapporteur recommends that:] The Human Rights Council and other appropriate inter-governmental forums should address domestic servitude through appropriate mechanisms. Universal periodic review recommendations should address domestic servitude and related shortcomings in the protection of domestic workers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph