Search Tips
sorted by
30 shown of 35 entities
Manifestations and causes of domestic servitude 2010, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- Economic and social human rights abuses, for instance, the threat of withholding food, water or essential medical care where the worker depends on the employer for these goods, can also place the victim in a position where she has no choice but to submit to exploitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Eradicating contemporary forms of slavery from supply chains 2015, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- Executive Order 13627 on strengthening protections against trafficking in persons in federal contracts, issued in September 2012, targets contemporary forms of slavery in government procurement. Under the Executive Order, federal contractors, sub-contractors, and their employees are prohibited from engaging in misleading or fraudulent recruitment practices; charging employees recruitment fees; and destroying, concealing, confiscating or otherwise denying an employee access to their identity documents, such as passports or drivers' licences (section 2 (1)(A)(i)-(iii)). Under the Order, contractors and subcontractors are further required to agree to fully cooperate, by contractual agreement, in providing reasonable access to enforcement agencies to conduct audits, investigations and other actions to assess compliance with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (section 2 (1)(B)). The Federal Acquisition Regulation that needed to be updated following the Executive Order and related requirements in the Ending Trafficking in Government Contracting Act (set forth in the National Defense Authorization Act for 2013) entered into force in March 2015, hence it is difficult to comment on its impact in practice.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- The practice of debt bondage, also known as bonded labour, is one of the four practices similar to slavery or forms of servitude that are addressed in the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, of 1956. Although servitude in international law has not been defined by an international instrument and the distinction between servitude and slavery has not been fully established, it has been considered that "servitude should be understood as human exploitation falling short of slavery. That is to say, such exploitation which does not manifest powers which would normally be associated with ownership, whether de jure or de facto". Debt bondage is a type of servitude but can also be characterized as slavery if characteristics denoting ownership are present. Furthermore, debt bondage can also be classified as forced labour under the International Labour Organization (ILO) Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29). That Convention establishes debt bondage as "work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily". Although debt bondage is not included in the definition of forced labour, there is a general consensus that the two practices overlap.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- 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. 65
- Paragraph text
- In addition to identifying and protecting victims, Governments have also taken steps to rehabilitate them and reintegrate them into communities and labour markets. Victims may need psychological counselling to overcome the trauma they have experienced; they may also need compensation, social support, job training, social welfare and assistance with finding new employment to ensure that they do not fall prey to slavery again.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- One of the most important elements in combating contemporary slavery is awareness-raising and prevention. Some countries have set up innovative systems to raise awareness of contemporary forms of slavery. For example, in 2009, ILO noted that, as part of the National Policy and Plan of Action of Pakistan, the Government incorporated information on bonded labour into the curriculum of judicial officials, police and the civil service.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- The closest figure for the number of individuals subjected to contemporary forms of slavery is that of 21 million victims of forced labour worldwide. This obviously does not include other forms of slavery that the Special Rapporteur has covered such as servile marriage, domestic servitude, child slavery and bonded labour which would show in a much higher number of victims.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Servile marriage 2012, para. 93
- Paragraph text
- Human rights violations taking place within a marriage may at best be seen as isolated domestic violence cases and treated as such, disregarding the wider issue of servitude within a home. In some countries, even in cases of marital rape or physical abuse, the police or judiciary may show leniency to the perpetrators. For example, cases of acid attacks either go unreported or, when reported, the attackers go unpunished.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Manifestations and causes of domestic servitude 2010, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- Domestic servitude is intrinsically linked to discrimination based on ethnicity, race, skin tone or caste. Imagined distinctions in human worth and dignity, derived from meaningless differences in outward appearance or lineage, set the ground for ruthless exploitation. Patterns of discrimination are internalized by both perpetrators and victims, who more or less consciously envisage themselves as "masters" or "servants".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Manifestations and causes of domestic servitude 2010, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Domestic servitude and domestic slavery can be distinguished by the fact that the exploitation takes place primarily in or around the household of the perpetrators. In many cases, these phenomena go hand in hand with other forms of servitude and slavery. Beyond having to do household chores, for instance, a victim might be forced to work in agriculture, in the market or engage in prostitution.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Manifestations and causes of domestic servitude 2010, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- While it would therefore be inappropriate to stigmatize domestic workers or their employers, the specificities of the sector make domestic workers particularly vulnerable to economic exploitation, abuse and, in extreme cases, subjugation to domestic servitude and domestic slavery. Domestic workers, especially if they live with their employers, often find themselves physically and socially isolated from their families, friends and peers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Families
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- In addition to domestic work and mining, contemporary forms of slavery can be found in many other industries. According to the ILO 2012 estimate, 90 per cent of the 20.9 million victims of forced labour were employed in the private economy. Slavery can also be found in fishing, domestic work, quarrying, brick kilns and illegal activities. Forced labour is prominent in agriculture, logging, mining, apparel and electronics manufacturing, personal-care services, construction and food processing.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Manifestations and causes of domestic servitude 2010, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- The line between domestic work, albeit accompanied by serious violations of fair labour standards, and domestic servitude and slavery is difficult to draw. In practice, there is a wide spectrum ranging from domestic workers engaged in labour relationships that follow applicable labour and human rights standards to victims of domestic servitude and slavery. Owing to the criminal and hence clandestine nature of servitude and slavery, it is impossible to determine what percentage of domestic workers are actually victims thereof.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- Despite the progress that has been made in recent years, awareness-raising and prevention have not been fully effective and victims of contemporary forms of slavery still abound. This requires the identification, protection and rehabilitation of victims.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- In South Asia, several countries have provisions in their national constitutions from which further enacted legislation on debt bondage flows directly. For example, article 23 of the Constitution of India prohibits trafficking in human beings, begar (debt bondage) and other similar forms of forced labour, as an enforceable right. Article 11 of the Constitution of Pakistan prohibits slavery and forced labour. Article 29 of the Constitution of Nepal prohibits debt bondage and other forms of forced labour and specifies that an employer contravening the prohibition must pay compensation. In Brazil, article 243 of the Constitution provides for the expropriation of rural or urban property in which the use of slave labour has been identified and its consignment to agrarian reform and social housing.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- 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
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- In other cases, Governments have taken efforts to reward companies that take positive steps to combat contemporary forms of slavery, including by offering access to State contracts. In Argentina, the National Institute for Industrial Technology recently established a comprehensive national certification system for companies operating in the textile industry. The agency offers "certificates of quality" to firms that refrain from using forced labour and provide their employees with decent working conditions. Participating companies granted the certificate are eligible to bid on lucrative State textile contracts. In a similar spirit, the Plurinational State of Bolivia operates a certification programme called the Triple Seal, which is designed to encourage compliance with national labour laws and awarded to companies that prohibit child labour, discrimination and forced labour across their entire supply chains.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- Recently, stakeholders have made efforts to influence the sourcing decisions of companies and national and local governments in order to reduce the level of contemporary forms of slavery. It is now generally accepted that Governments are responsible for preventing contemporary forms of slavery and holding companies accountable - whether a product is produced in the country, manufactured by a company based in the country or imported and consumed by its citizens. Additionally, civil society organizations have also taken steps to promote responsible sourcing decisions and have provided guidance to companies on ways to prevent 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
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- Lack of prosecutions and convictions for contemporary forms of slavery can also be a significant problem. One reason for this is poor integration and cooperation among government institutions. The Special Rapporteur noted that, during some of her missions, there was lack of integration between the criminal, labour and civil law specifically addressing forced labour, which impeded enforcement efforts. This lack results in inadequate investigations and sanctioning of slavery-like practices. The Special Rapporteur has noted that multi-sectoral commissions must have representation from relevant concerned government offices in order for them to effectively combat slavery.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- A lack of resources and low levels of awareness and understanding often manifest themselves in deficiencies in labour inspectorates and other public enforcement institutions, severely limiting Governments' ability to detect victims of contemporary forms of slavery. For example, one of the biggest factors impeding the ability of the Government of Guatemala to protect agricultural workers from exploitation is its deficient labour inspection system. Problems facing the Labour Inspectorate include a lack of staff and funding, the inability of inspectors to set fines and labour inspectors' fear of carrying out inspections in the agricultural sector due to high levels of violence in the country.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- In informal artisanal mining, contemporary slavery is prevalent and freedom of movement is severely curtailed. Mines are often located far from population centres and many small, informal mines operate in areas outside the purview of the law. Therefore, it is very difficult for authorities to locate and identify victims of slavery in the sector. There are no labour inspections at many informal mines and violence, crime, and substance abuse are rampant. Working hours are often long, work is extremely dangerous, living conditions are poor and workers are often paid illegally low wages. Debt bondage and child slavery are also common.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Servile marriage 2012, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- Furthermore, isolation, marital rape and verbal abuse have serious long-term effects on victims' mental health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Servile marriage 2012, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- On 22 February 2008, in Prosecutor v. Brima et al, the Special Court for Sierra Leone recognized forced marriage as a crime against humanity under international criminal law for the first time. The Court confirmed that forced marriage involved a perpetrator compelling a person by force or threat of force, through words, or conduct of the perpetrator, or anyone associated with him, into a forced conjugal association resulting in great suffering or serious physical or mental injury on the part of the victim. It concluded that forced marriage might also include one or more international crimes such as enslavement, imprisonment, rape, sexual slavery and abduction.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Manifestations and causes of domestic servitude 2010, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- The implementation and enforcement of applicable laws and contracts is often undermined because domestic workers are not adequately informed of their rights and obligations. By the same token, many employers are not sensitized thereon and it is left to their individual moral judgement to determine what constitutes fair treatment. Unions may find it difficult to organize domestic workers since they are dispersed and often hard to access if they live with their employers. In some cases, domestic workers are even prohibited from forming or joining trade unions, which constitutes a violation of the right to freedom of association and the prohibition of discrimination. These obstacles notwithstanding, non-governmental organizations and domestic worker self-help groups have taken up tasks that are the responsibility of the Government: setting up points of information in places where domestic workers are accessible (e.g. shopping malls or water-drawing points) or providing shelter for workers fleeing abuse or exploitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Manifestations and causes of domestic servitude 2010, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- Even where there are laws and contracts that are meant to protect domestic workers, they are often inadequately enforced. Sometimes employers do not even have to register live-in domestic workers. There are no meaningful complaints mechanisms or the authorities fail to adequately follow up complaints. In many countries, the authorities also lack the legal power or human resources to follow up violations taking place in private homes. A positive exception is Uruguay, where the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate can obtain judicial authorization to conduct home inspections in cases of presumed labour law violations; the inspectorate has created a special section to monitor domestic work. Other countries require that employers ensure that live-in domestic workers attend periodic, private interviews with labour inspectors. This breaks their isolation and allows them to report abuse and exploitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Manifestations and causes of domestic servitude 2010, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- Trafficking is one path into domestic servitude. International law defines trafficking as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Slavery, practices similar to slavery and servitude are among the worst forms of exploitation that can result from trafficking; the victim's "consent" to such exploitation is immaterial.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Manifestations and causes of domestic servitude 2010, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Servitude and other slavery-like practices prohibited by article 8 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights extend beyond the specific instances recognized by the 1956 Supplementary Convention on Slavery and includes other cases of economic exploitation in which the victim is so dependent on the perpetrator that s/he cannot leave the situation of exploitation. Dependency in this context can derive from a multiplicity of physical, economic, social, cultural, psychological and legal factors. While each factor may by itself not be strong enough to create the severe dependency characterizing servitude, the factors may reinforce each other creating a net of dependency factors from which the victim cannot extract herself.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Manifestations and causes of domestic servitude 2010, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Slavery and servitude have in common that the victim is economically exploited, totally dependent on other individuals and cannot end the relationship at his or her own volition. In cases of slavery, as classically defined by the Slavery, Servitude, Forced Labour and Similar Institutions and Practices Convention of 1926, the perpetrator puts forward a claim to "own" the victim that is sustained by custom, social practice or domestic law, even though it violates international law. In servitude and slavery like practices, no such claim to formal ownership exists. This does not mean that servitude is the lesser human rights violation: the humiliation, exploitation and suffering can be equally or more intense depending on the nature of the individual case.
- 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
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Manifestations and causes of domestic servitude 2010, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Owing to the indicated vulnerabilities, domestic workers are often subject to unfair and exploitative labour practices. Some are paid way below minimum wage standards or not at all, while others are confronted with the arbitrary deduction or withholding of wages. Many domestic workers are expected to live with their employers, yet are only offered sub-standard or degrading living conditions. Live-in workers might be expected to work 16-18 hours a day, be always on call and forego regular rest days and vacations. They frequently face restrictions on their freedom of communication and movement. Physical, emotional and sexual abuse is also common.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph