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Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- A number of different countries have taken measures, including the development of legislation, policies and programmes, to eradicate and prevent debt bondage and related forms of servitude. Examples of these are discussed below, and additional material is included in the annex.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Eradicating contemporary forms of slavery from supply chains 2015, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- A key gap is the lack of research and data in identifying the exact scope and prevalence of contemporary forms of slavery in specific supply chains and related to particular commodities, as well as its prevalence in the informal sector, which could enable strengthened and targeted policy and normative response and practical strategies. More research and data is also needed on domestic supply chains.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- In cases in where Governments are unwilling or unable to take action to combat contemporary forms of slavery or where complex problems require the coordinated action of multiple stakeholders, new initiatives have been formed to tackle these issues. While national authorities are the primary entities responsible for combating slavery, other stakeholders have recently emerged to aid their efforts, including intergovernmental organizations, unions, NGOs and companies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- Alongside the development of new laws, many countries have also taken steps to ensure that laws are effectively enforced. This is often more difficult, resource-intensive and time-consuming than getting laws passed. However, a number of countries have taken efforts to overcome challenges to successfully combat contemporary forms of slavery.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Child slavery in the artisanal mining and quarrying sector 2011, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- The discovery of new mineral reserves tends to result in rushes for gold and diamonds. This has been the case for gold in Brazil, Ecuador and Papua New Guinea. Madagascar has also experienced a "sapphire rush". On her recent mission to Peru, the Special Rapporteur was able to see the effects of the gold rush in Madre Dios, Peru (see A/HRC/18/30/Add.2).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Eradicating contemporary forms of slavery from supply chains 2015, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- Under principle 12, of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which in their second pillar clarify the business responsibility to respect human rights, this responsibility applies to all internationally recognized human rights, understood, at a minimum, as those expressed in the International Bill of Human Rights and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. All businesses are required to avoid causing or contributing to adverse human rights impacts through their own activities, address such impacts when they occur and seek to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts that are directly linked to their operations, products or services by their business relationships, even if they have not contributed to those impacts (principle 13). Under principle 12 in conjunction with principle 13 (which refers to "business relationships" that are understood to include relationships with business partners, entities in the value chain, and any other non-State or State entity directly linked to its business operations, products or services, i.e. entities in its supply chain beyond the first tier and indirect as well as direct business relationships), it is made clear that there is a responsibility on the part of businesses to effectively address 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
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Eradicating contemporary forms of slavery from supply chains 2015, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- The Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, unanimously endorsed by the Human Rights Council in 2011, validate the duty of States to protect against and redress business-related human rights harms, and it is stipulated therein that this is to be done through effective policies, legislation, regulations and adjudication (principle 1). State duties include setting out clearly the expectation that all business enterprises domiciled in their territory and/or jurisdiction respect human rights throughout their operations (principle 2).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- Debt bondage is a complex and multidimensional form of contemporary slavery that impacts on individuals across the world. In order to be effective in eradicating and preventing debt bondage, Governments must develop comprehensive and integrated programmes of action based upon international human rights standards, as well as on the views of those affected. Such approaches must be multifaceted and include legislative and policy measures that are effective in eradicating debt bondage and preventing such abuse, by decreasing individual vulnerability and further developing the legal and institutional framework. The vision of the Special Rapporteur for such an integrated, human rights-based approach is outlined below.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Eradicating contemporary forms of slavery from supply chains 2015, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Despite their important role in complementing the normative framework, voluntary codes of conduct are often bald statements without any independent monitoring mechanisms and leave numerous gaps in protection if they do not apply to all entities, especially informal sector and home-based suppliers and subcontractors. However, an increasing number of steps are being taken to implement voluntary codes, involving a diverse set of strategies, typically starting with some form of compliance assessment conducted at workplace level in businesses' supply chains. These are commonly called "social audits" and frequently address other standards in addition to human rights issues, depending on the codes upon which they are based.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Eradicating contemporary forms of slavery from supply chains 2015, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- The first initiatives at the international level to address conduct of businesses emerged in the 1970s. In 1977, ILO adopted the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (subsequently amended in 2000 and 2006). It commits Governments, employers' and workers' organizations and multinational enterprises to respecting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenants adopted by the General Assembly. In 2014, the ILO Governing Body adopted an implementation strategy for a new follow-up mechanism to the Declaration (which is not yet aligned with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights) envisaging public-private initiatives and technical cooperation, as well as awareness-raising, capacity-building, country-level support, research and information-gathering.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- Consumer countries and countries in which companies are headquartered have also taken action to prevent contemporary forms of slavery. In the United States, the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, which took effect on 1 January 2012, states that human trafficking and forced labour are state, federal and international crimes. The Act requires that all retailers and manufacturers with annual worldwide revenues in excess of USD 100 million disclose information about their efforts to eradicate contemporary forms of slavery from their supply chains so that consumers' purchasing decisions can be better informed. These disclosures must be posted on the companies' websites and include information about efforts to eradicate slavery from their supply chains, including verification, supplier audits, certifications, accountability standards and training. Failure to disclose this information by 30 November 2012 could allow for legal actions brought by the Attorney General of California.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Eradicating contemporary forms of slavery from supply chains 2015, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, every individual and every organ of society is required to strive to contribute to the universal and effective recognition and observance of human rights for all. While it is commonly accepted that under international human rights law businesses have a responsibility to respect human rights, there is as yet no international legal duty for them to protect human rights. Human rights due diligence, i.e. a continuous process of identifying and addressing the human rights impact of a company across its operations and products, and throughout its supplier and business partner networks, is therefore the primary standard used to assess business compliance with its human rights responsibilities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Eradicating contemporary forms of slavery from supply chains 2015, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- In the context of supply chains, a lack of extraterritorial jurisdiction affects access to remedies for contemporary forms of slavery and other human rights violations, which are committed outside the territory in which a business is domiciled. In this context, the United States Supreme Court held, for example, in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, Co., that the presumption against the extraterritorial application of United States law applies to the Alien Tort Statute, and this can only be overcome if the claim "touches and concerns" the territory of the United States "with sufficient force" to displace the presumption against extraterritorial application.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Eradicating contemporary forms of slavery from supply chains 2015, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- As part of its duty to protect against business-related human rights abuses, the State is required to take appropriate steps to ensure that those affected have access to effective remedy when abuses occur within their territory and/or jurisdiction and to reduce barriers that could lead to a denial of this access. In the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, it is indicated that this is to be achieved primarily through State-based judicial mechanisms and non-judicial grievance mechanisms, which are complementary in nature (principles 25-27). States are also encouraged to consider ways to facilitate access to effective non-State based grievance mechanisms that can have the benefit of reduced costs, increased speed of access and transnational reach, where States may be more limited. These may be non-judicial business, industry or multi-stakeholder mechanisms; or they may be regional or international human rights bodies (see principle 28).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Eradicating contemporary forms of slavery from supply chains 2015, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- While businesses continue to rely on social audits as a key element of their human rights due diligence programmes and to assess their own facilities and those of their business partners, many believe that auditing has had a limited impact on identifying and eliminating contemporary forms of slavery from supply chains. New strategies are therefore required that move beyond auditing and include proactive independent investigations and robust independent verification, which incorporate consultations with workers with due regard to confidentiality and privacy. Consumer and trade union advocacy can play an important role in ensuring the involvement of workers and their representatives in such processes. Largely as a result of stakeholder criticism, some companies have already piloted new protocols that prioritize the confidential testimony of workers and attempted to develop more robust investigative techniques, sometimes in partnership with civil society.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
21 shown of 21 entities