Rights Against Slavery and Forced Labor

8/21/2019 Rights Against Slavery and Forced Labor

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Rights Against Slavery

and Forced Labor


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1926 Slavery Convention

an international treaty created under theauspices of the League of Nations and first

signed on 25 September 1926.

objective of the Convention was to confirmand advance the suppression of slavery and

the slave trade.

established concrete rules and articles toadvance the suppression of slavery and the

slave trade.


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Article 2

The High Contracting Parties undertake, each in

respect of the territories placed under its

sovereignty, jurisdiction, protection, suzeraintyor tutelage, so far as they have not already

taken the necessary steps:

( a ) To prevent and suppress the slave trade;

( b ) To bring about, progressively and as soon aspossible, the complete abolition of slavery in all its

forms.


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Article 5

The High Contracting Parties recognise that

recourse to compulsory or forced labour may

have grave consequences and undertake, eachin respect of the territories placed under its

sovereignty, jurisdiction, protection, suzerainty

or tutelage, to take all necessary measures to

prevent compulsory or forced labour fromdeveloping into conditions analogous to slavery.


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It is agreed that:

(1) Subject to the transitional provisions laid down in paragraph

(2) below, compulsory or forced labour may only be exacted for

public purposes.

(2) In territories in which compulsory or forced labour for other

than public purposes still survives, the High Contracting Partiesshall endeavour progressively and as soon as possible to put

an end to the practice. So long as such forced or compulsory

labour exists, this labour shall invariably be of an exceptional

character, shall always receive adequate remuneration, and

shall not involve the removal of the labourers from their usualplace of residence.

(3) In all cases, the responsibility for any recourse to

compulsory or forced labour shall rest with the competent

central authorities of the territory concerned.


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The state parties

As of 2013, 99 countries have signed,acceded to, ratified, succeeded to or

otherwise committed to participation in the

Convention (as amended) and itssubsequent Protocol


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Afghanistan(1954), Albania(1957), Alger ia(1963), Austra l ia(1953), Aust r ia(1954), Azerbai jan(1996), Bahamas(1976), Bahrain(1990), Bangladesh(1985),Barbados(1976), Belarus(1956, as the Byelorussian SSR), Belgium(1962),Bol iv ia(1983), Bos nia and Herzegovin a(1993), Brazi l(1966), Cameroon(1984),Canada(1953), Chi le(1995), Croatia(1992), Cuba(1954), Cyprus(1986),Denmark(1954), Domin ica(1994), Ecuador(1955), Egypt(1954), Ethiopia(1969), Fiji(1972), Finland(1954), France(1963), Germany(1973), Greece(1955), Guatemala(1983), Guinea(1963), Hungary(1958), India(1954), Iraq

(1955), Ireland(1961), Israel(1955), Italy(1954), Jamaica(1964), Jordan(1959),Kazakhstan(2008), Kuwai t(1963), Kyrgyzstan(1997), Lesotho(1974), Liber ia(1953), Libya(1957), Madagascar(1964), Malawi(1965), Mali(1973), Malta(1966), Mauritania(1986), Mauri t ius(1969), Mexico(1954), Monaco(1954),Mongol ia(1968), Montenegro(2006), Morocco(1959), Myanmar(1957), Nepal(1963), Netherlands(1955), New Zealand(1953), Nicaragua(1986), Niger(1964),Nigeria(1961), Norway(1957), Pakistan(1955), Paraguay(2007), Papua NewGuinea(1982), Phi l ippines(1955), Romania(1957), Russia(1956, as the Soviet

Union), St Lucia(1990), St Vincent and the Grenadines(1981), Saudi Arabia(1973), Serbia(2001, as Serbia and Montenegro), Sierra Leone (1962), SolomonIs lands(1981), South Afr ica(1953), Spain(1927), Sri Lanka(1958), Sudan(1957), Sweden(1954), Switzerland(1953), Syr ia(1954), Republ ic of China(1955), Trin idad and Tobago(1966), Tunis ia(1966), Turkey(1955),Turkmenistan(1997), Uganda(1964), Ukraine(1959, as the Ukrainian SSR),Uni ted Kingdom(1953), Tanzania(1962), United States(1956), Uruguay(2001),Viet Nam(1956), Yemen(1987), Zambia(1973)

Former state parties: East Germany, Soviet Union, Yugoslavia.


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The 1926 Convention's definition of slaverywas broadened to include forced or

compulsory laborin 1930 in the ILO

Convention (No. 29) concerning Forced orCompulsory Labour (article 2.1)


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Slaverywas defined (Art.1) as:

-"the status or condition of a person over

whom any or all of the powers attaching to

the right of ownership are exercised"

Forced labor was defined as :

-all work or service which is exacted

from any person under the menace of anypenalty and for which the said person has

not offered himself voluntarily. (ILO)


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slave trade was defined as including:

"all acts involved in the capture, acquisition or

disposal of a person with intent to reduce him to

slavery; all acts involved in the acquisition of aslave with a view to selling or exchanging him;

all acts of disposal by sale or exchange of a

slave acquired with a view to being sold or

exchanged, and, in general, every act of tradeor transport in slaves."


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The International Labour Organization (ILO)estimates that there are at least 20.9 million

people in forced labour worldwide. The

figure means that, at any given point in time,around three out of every 1,000 persons

worldwide are suffering in forced labour.


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Forced Labour Convention

commits parties to prohibit the use of forcedlabour, admitting only five exceptions to it

Its object and purpose is to suppress the

use of forced labour in all its formsirrespective of the nature of the work or the

sector of activity in which it may be

performed


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The Convention excepts from the term "forced or compulsory labour"the following:

any work or service exacted in virtue of compulsory military

service laws for work of a purely military character;

any work or service which forms part of the normal civic obligations

of the citizens of a fully self-governing country;

any work or service exacted from any person as a consequence of

a conviction in a court of law, provided that the said work or service

is carried out under the supervision and control of a public authority

and that the said person is not hired to or placed at the disposal of

private individuals, companies or associations


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any work or service exacted in cases of emergency, that is to say,in the event of war, of a calamity or threatened calamity, such

as fire, flood, famine, earthquake, violent epidemic or epizootic

diseases, invasion by: animal, insect or vegetable pests, and in

general any circumstance that would endanger the existence or the

well-being of the whole or part of the population; minor communal services of a kind which, being performed by the

members of the community in the direct interest of the said

community, can therefore be considered as normal civic obligations

incumbent upon the members of the community, provided that the

members of the community or their direct representatives shallhave the right to be consulted in regard to the need for such

services.

Documents

Rights Against Slavery and Forced Labor