HRC
Worldwide survey on conditions of slavery – with the aim of adopting an antislavery convention by 2017
Introduction
Slavery began its existence before the written history, and even though it was outlawed in all countries, it
still continues to exist through a variety of practices (e.g. domestic servants kept in captivity, forced
marriage, child soldiers, human trafficking). It is estimated that 29.8 million people are living in modern
day slavery nowadays.
During the Plantation Era (closely referred to as also the antebellum era) in the US, slaves were expensive
and so were generally kept healthy and fit to work for as long as possible. Today, slaves are cheap. Slaves
now are worked to death or discarded instantly by their masters when health conditions impede their
work.
Slavery is explicitly prohibited by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the United Nations
has reaffirmed this principle many times, including in the Durban Declaration adopted at the 2001 World
Conference Against Racism.
The Walk Free Foundation worked on a report in 2013 which found India with the highest number of
slaves (nearly 14 million), followed by China (2.9 million), Pakistan (2.1 million), Nigeria, Ethiopia,
Russia, Thailand, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar and Bangladesh. The same year, Russia,
China and Uzbekistan were placed in the worst offenders category by the U.S. State Department.
Definition of key-terms
Slavery
One must understand that slavery is a legal system. As such, slavery is defined as the condition to be
legally owned by someone else, or the system in which some people are owned by others. The slave is the
property of his/her owner, and can be owned, bought and sold. A person may become a slave from the
time of their capture, purchase or birth.
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery. It emerged in the same year that the United Nations General
Assembly adopted the Second Optional Protocol to the Interantional Convenant on Civil and Political
Rights Aiming at the Abolition of Death Penalty.
Human trafficking
Article 3, paragraph (a) of the “Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons” defines
trafficking in persons as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by
means of 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.
Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of
sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the
removal of organs.
Modern slavery
Definitions of modern-day slavery are mainly taken from the 1956 UN supplementary convention, which
says: "debt bondage, serfdom, forced marriage and the delivery of a child for the exploitation of that child
are all slavery-like practices and require criminalisation and abolishment". The 1930 Forced Labour
Convention defines forced labour as "all 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".
Some of the forms of slavery are:
Bonded labour: people become
bonded labourers after falling into
debt and being forced to work for
free in an attempt to repay it. Many
will never pay off their loans, and
debt can be passed down through the
generations.
Forced labour: where people are
forced to work, usually with no
payment, through violence or
intimidation. Many find themselves
trapped, often in a foreign country
with no papers, and unable to leave.
Descent-based slavery: where
people are born into slavery because
their families belong to a class of
"slaves" within a society. The status
of "slave" passes from mother to
child.
Trafficking: the transport or trade of people from one area to another and into conditions of slavery.
Child slavery: children are in slavery as domestic workers, forced labour – in, for example, the cocoa,
cotton and fisheries industries – trafficked for labour and sexual exploitation, and used as child soldiers.
Early and forced marriage: women continue to be married without consent, often while still girls, and
forced into sexual and domestic servitude.
Background History
Slaves in the Middle Ages: 6th - 15th century
More than anywhere else, the Mediterranean provides the geographical and economic environment to
encourage a slave trade. During the eastward expansion of the Germans in the 10th century so many
Slaves were captured that their racial name became the generic term for a 'slave'. At the same time the
delivery of slaves to the Black Sea region was an important part of the early economy of Russia. Slavery
was an accepted part of life in Arabia during the time of Muhammad in the 7th century, and the Qur’an
offers no arguments against the practice. It merely states, particularly in relation to female slaves, that
they must be well treated.
The Portuguese slave trade: 15th - 17th century
The Portuguese expeditions of the 15th century brought European ships into regular contact with subSaharan Africa for the first time. This region had long been the source of slaves for the route through the
Sahara to the Mediterranean. Portuguese settlers moved into the Cape Verde islands in about 1460. In
1466 they were given an economic advantage which guaranteed their prosperity. They were granted a
monopoly of a new slave trade. On the coast of Guinea the Portuguese were now setting up trading
stations to buy captive Africans. The labour of the slaves in the Cape Verde Islands primed a profitable
trade with the African region which became known as Portuguese Guinea or the Slave Coast.
Triangular trade: 18th century
The triangular trade had an economic elegance most attractive to the owners of the slave ships. Each of
the three separate journeys making up an expedition was profitable in its own right, with only the 'middle
voyage' across the Atlantic involving slaves as cargo.
Ships departed from Liverpool or Bristol with items in demand in west Africa - these included firearms,
alcohol (particularly rum), cotton goods, metal trinkets and beads. The traders, offering slaves for being
transported to America, were waiting in ports.
The abolitionist movement
The first state to abolish slavery was Massachussetts, in its new constitution of 1780. Other northern
states followed suit during the next few years. But the southern states were determined to retain slavery,
which was claimed to be an economic necessity.
Major Organizations Involved
UNODC – United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is a United Nations office that was established
in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the United Nations
International Drug Control Program (UNDCP) and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division in
the United Nations Office at Vienna. It is a member of the United Nations Development Group and was
renamed the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in 2002.
The office aims long-term to better equip governments to handle drug-, crime-, terrorism-, and
corruption-related issues, to maximize knowledge on these issues among governmental institutions and
agencies, and also to maximize awareness of said matters in public opinion, globally, nationally and at
community level. Approximately 90% of the office's funding comes from voluntary contributions, mainly
from governments.
HRW – Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is a nonprofit, nongovernmental human rights organization made up of roughly 400
staff members around the globe. Its staff consists of human rights professionals including country experts,
lawyers, journalists, and academics of diverse backgrounds and nationalities. Established in 1978, Human
Rights Watch is known for its accurate fact-finding, impartial reporting, effective use of media, and
targeted advocacy, often in partnership with local human rights groups. Each year, Human Rights Watch
publishes more than 100 reports and briefings on human rights conditions in some 90 countries,
generating extensive coverage in local and international media. With the leverage this brings, Human
Rights Watch meets with governments, the United Nations, regional groups like the African Union and
the European Union, financial institutions, and corporations to press for changes in policy and practice
that promote human rights and justice around the world.
Previous Attempts to Solve the Issue
In 2000 the adoption of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking In Persons, Especially
Women and Children by the United Nations General Assembly marked a significant milestone in
international efforts to stop the trade in people.
As the guardian of the Protocol, UNODC addresses human trafficking issues through its global
programme against trafficking in persons. A vast majority of states have now signed and ratified the
Protocol. But translating it into reality remains problematic. Very few criminals are convicted and most
victims are probably never identified or assisted.
On the 75th plenary meeting on 17th December 2007, the GA has decided to designate 25 March as an
annual International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade,
beginning in 2008, as a complement to the existing International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave
Trade and its Abolition of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(A/RES/62/122).
In 2014, for the first time in history major Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox Christian leaders, as well as
Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist leaders, met to sign a shared commitment against modern-day
slavery. The declaration they signed calls for the elimination of slavery and human trafficking by the year
2020.
Relevant UN Treaties
1. 1926 Slavery Convention - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1926_Slavery_Convention
https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%20212/volume-212-I-2861-English.pdf
2. 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/Introduction.aspx
3. 2000 Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child
prostitution and child pornography, General Assembly resolution 54/263, annex II http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/childprotsale.html
Useful Links

https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/video-and-audio-on-human-trafficking-andmigrant-smuggling.html
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Also watch: http://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_bales_how_to_combat_modern_slavery
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http://www.ilo.org/global/statistics-and-databases/lang--en/index.htm
Appendix
 http://www.state.gov/j/tip/what/
 https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/
 http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Slavery/UNVTFCFS/Pages/SlaveryList.aspx
 http://www.britannica.com/topic/abolitionism-European-and-American-social-movement
 http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Abolitionism
 https://www.hrw.org/