Historical Overview of Slavery Practices
Historical Overview of Slavery Practices
CONTENTS
S. No TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE NO.
1 CHAPTER-1 5-6
1.1. INTRODUCTION
2 CHAPTER-2
2.1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
2.1.1 SLAVES IN BABYLON
2.1.2SLAVES IN GREECE
2.1.3SLAVES IN ROME
2.1.4 SLAVES IN MIDDLE AGES: 6TH TO 15TH
CENTURY
2.1.5 THE PORTUGUESE SLAVE TRADE: 15TH TO 7 - 16
17TH CENTURY
2.1.6 THE TRIANGULAR TRADE 18TH CENTURY
2.2 KINDS OF SLAVES
2.2.1 FORCED LABOUR
2.2.2 CHILD SLAVERY
2.2.3 DOMESTIC SERVITUDE
2.2.4 BONDED LABOURS
2.2.5 FORCED PROSTITUTION
3 CHAPTER-3
3.1 SLAVE CONVENTION, 1926
3.2 SSUPPLEMENTARY CONVENTION ON THE
ABOLITION OF SLAVERY, SLAVE TRADEAND
INSTITUTIONS AND PRACTICES SIMILAR TO
SLAVERY.
3.3 FORCED LABOUR CONVENTION,1930
3.4 ABOLITION OF FORCED LABOUR 17 -26
CONVENTION, 1957
3.5 PROTOCOL OF 2014 TO THE FORCED
LABOUR CONVENTION, 1930
3.6 WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOUR
CONVENTION, 1999
3.7 CONVENTION ON DOMESTIC WORKERS,
2011
2
CHAPTER 1:
4
INTRODUCTION:
Slavery is one of the most heinous things made by the mankind. Personal freedom is an essential
of human rights. The most basic aspect of personal freedom is self-ownership; no human being
may own another as property or in bondage for his or her labor.
The United Nations Universal Declaration states that "no one shall be held in slavery or
servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms." It violates the human
rights and The people who were forced to become slaves were just ordinary people like us.
Africans were brought by force to the New World to work in an economic system in which they
had no stake. Bringing them to labor not only free of charge, but free of rights and above that
treated as things that the white men own, meant a great and wide dispersal of peoples, maybe not
the most important one throughout the history or the greatest or widest, but certainly a very
important inhuman action that destroyed the lives of millions of people.
It was indeed traffic with human merchandise that started in the early sixteenth century and
continued until the nineteenth century. Even if at the beginning the slave market was something
new and unexplored by most white people, after a while it became a fashion and after that a
custom, which made the slave demand increase. It was a mentality that was blocked in the mind
of slave owners for whom the nineteenth century was quite a disaster.
At the beginning of 19th century new laws and firstly the slavery was seen in the national aspect
or as the local laws but after that League of Nations enacted the law against the slavery and
introduced it in the international aspect later on after the disaster of League of Nations, the
United Nations enacted the conventions against slavery and was ratified by most of its member
states. And after that each and every state started to enact and adopt new laws against slavery.
Thus let us discuss about the historical background and emergence of new conventions and acts
has been discussed below in the upcoming topics.
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6
CHAPTER 2:
7
Slavery enters human history with civilization. Hunter-gatherers and primitive farmers have no
use for a slave. They collect or grow just enough food for themselves. One more pair of hands is
one more mouth. There is no economic advantage in owning another human being. Once people
gather in towns and cities, a surplus of food created in the countryside (often now on large
estates) makes possible a wide range of crafts in the town. On a large farm or in a workshop
there is real benefit in a reliable source of cheap labour, costing no more than the minimum of
food and lodging. These are the conditions for slavery. Every ancient civilization uses slaves.
And it proves easy to acquire them. War is the main source of supply, and wars are frequent and
brutal in early civilizations. When a town falls to a hostile army, it is normal to take into slavery
those inhabitants who will make useful workers and to kill the rest. There are several other ways
in which slaves are acquired. Pirates offer their captives for sale. A criminal may be sentenced to
slavery. An unpayable debt can bring the end of liberty. The impoverished sell their own
children. And the children of slaves are themselves slaves - though with a cheap supply of labour
available through war, not many owners will allow their slaves the diversion of raising a family.
slaves are the miners, who are driven often to the point of death by their owners (the mines are
state-owned but are leased to private managers). By contrast other categories of slaves -
particularly those owned directly by the state, such as the 300 Scythian archers who provide the
police force of Athens - can acquire a certain prestige. The majority of Athenian slaves are
domestic servants. Their fortune depends entirely on the relationship they develop with their
owners. Often it is close, with female slaves looking after the children or acting as concubines, or
a male slave running the household as a steward. No free Athenian works in a domestic capacity,
for it is considered shameful to be another man's servant. This inhibition applies equally to a
subsidiary position in any form of business. As a result male slaves in Athens do all work of a
secretarial or managerial nature, for in these contexts they are unmistakably somebody else's
personal assistant. Such jobs include positions of influence in fields such as banking and
commerce.
The same loophole, offered by the self-esteem of free citizens, provides even greater
opportunities to slaves in imperial Rome. The most privileged slaves are the secretarial staff of
the emperor. But these are the exception. In the two centuries before the beginning of the empire
(the last two centuries BC) slaves are employed by Romans more widely than ever before and
probably with greater brutality. In the mines they are whipped into continuing effort by
overseers; in the fields they work in chain gangs; in the public arenas they are forced to engage
in terrifying combat as gladiators. There are several slave uprisings in these two centuries, the
most famous of them led by Spartacus.
In the period after the collapse of the Roman empire in the west, slavery continues in the
countries around the Mediterranean. But the slaves are employed almost exclusively in
households, offices and armies. The gang slavery characteristic of large Roman estates does not
reappear until the tobacco and cotton plantations of colonial America (one notable exception is
the salt mines of the Sahara). Nevertheless the slave trade thrives, and the Mediterranean is a
9
natural focal point. More than anywhere else, the Mediterranean provides the geographical and
economic environment to encourage a slave trade. Civilized regions surround the central sea. To
the north and south stretch vast areas populated by relatively unsophisticated tribes. Border
warfare results in tribal captives being enslaved. In addition to this, market forces encourage the
tribes to seize prisoners of their own to service a developing slave trade. During the eastward
expansion of the Germans in the 10th century so many Slaves are captured that their racial name
becomes the generic term for a 'slave'. At the same period the delivery of slaves to the Black Sea
region is an important part of the early economy of Russia. South of the Mediterranean, the
dynasties of Arabs along the coast stimulate an African slave trade. The town of Zawila develops
in the Sahara in about700 specifically as a trading station for slaves. Captured in the region
around Lake Chad, they are sold to Arab households in a Muslim world which by the 8th century
stretches from Spain to Persia. Slavery is 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. In general
that has been the case, compared with the barbaric treatment of slaves in some Christian
communities. The Christian Gospels make no specific mention of slavery, though slaves may be
expected to benefit from the general bias in favour of the poor and the oppressed. During the
early Middle Ages the missionaries and bishops of the Roman Catholic church argue against the
ownership of slaves in the emerging dynasties of northern Europe. At first they make little
headway. But gradually slavery disappears in western European countries - largely replaced by
the serfdom of the feudal manor. But a new and disastrous chapter in the story of slavery begins
with the arrival of the Portuguese in West Africa in the 15th century. Meanwhile the Muslim
habit of using slaves in the army has led to one unusual result - in itself an indication of the trust
accorded to slaves in Middle Eastern communities. In 1250 the slave leaders of the Egyptian
army, known as Mamelukes, depose the sultan and seize power. A succession of rulers from their
own ranks controls much of the Middle East, as the Mameluke dynasty, for nearly three
centuries.
10
The Portuguese expeditions of the 15th century bring European ships for the first time into
regular contact with sub-Saharan Africa. This region has long been the source of slaves for the
route through the Sahara to the Mediterranean. The arrival of the Portuguese opens up another
channel. Nature even provides a new collection point for this human cargo. The volcanic Cape
Verde Islands, with their rocky and forbidding coastlines, are uninhabited. But they contain lush
tropical valleys. And they are well placed on the sea routes between West Africa, Europe and
America. Portuguese settlers move into the Cape Verde islands in about 1460. In 1466 they are
given an economic advantage which guarantees their prosperity. They are granted a monopoly of
a new slave trade. On the coast of Guinea the Portuguese are now setting up trading stations to
buy captive Africans. Some of these slaves are used to work the settlers' estates in the Cape
Verde islands. Others are sent north for sale in Madeira, or in Portugal and Spain - where Seville
now becomes an important market. Africans have been imported by this sea route into Europe
since at least 1444, when one of Henry the Navigator's expedition’s returns with slaves
exchanged for Moorish prisoners. The labour of the slaves in the Cape Verde Islands primes a
profitable trade with the African region which becomes known as Portuguese Guinea or the
Slave Coast. The slaves work in the Cape Verde plantations, growing cotton and indigo in the
fertile valleys. They are also employed in weaving and dying factories, where these commodities
are transformed into cloth. The cloth is exchanged in Guinea for slaves. And the slaves are sold
for cash to the slaving ships which pay regular visits to the Cape Verde Islands. This African
trade, together with the prosperity of the Cape Verde Islands, expands greatly with the
development of labour-intensive plantations growing sugar, cotton and tobacco in the Caribbean
and America. The Portuguese enforce a monopoly of the transport of African slaves to their own
colony of Brazil. But other nations with transatlantic interests soon become the main visitors to
the Slave Coast. By the 18th century the majority of the ships carrying out this appalling
commerce are British. They waste no part of their journey, having evolved the procedure known
as the triangular trade.
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The triangular trade has an economic elegance most attractive to the owners of the slave ships.
Each of the three separate journeys making up an expedition is profitable in its own right, with
only the 'middle voyage' across the Atlantic involving slaves as cargo. Ships depart from
Liverpool or Bristol with items in demand in West Africa - these include firearms, alcohol
(particularly rum), cotton goods, metal trinkets and beads. The goods are eagerly awaited by
traders in ports around the Gulf of Guinea. These traders have slaves on offer, captured in the
African interior and now awaiting transport to America. With the first exchange of merchandise
completed, the slaves are packed into the vessels in appalling conditions for the Atlantic
crossing. They are crammed below decks, shackled, badly fed and terrified. It is estimated that as
many as twelve million Africans are embarked on this journey during the course of the Atlantic
slave trade, and that one in six dies before reaching the West Indies - where the main slave
markets on the American side of the ocean are located. The most valuable product of the West
Indies, molasses extracted from sugar cane, is purchased for the last leg of the triangle. Back in
England the molasses can be transformed into rum. And so it goes on.11
There are certain kinds of slavery and major kinds of slavery are listed below they are
• FORCED LABOUR
SLAVERY • CHILD SLAVERY
• DOMESTIC SERVITUDE
• DEBT BONDAGE
• FORCED PROSTITUTION
1
[Link]
12
Forced labour is the most common element of modern slavery. It is the most extreme form of
people exploitation. Although many people associate forced labour and slavery with physical
violence, in fact the ways used to force people to work are more insidious and ingrained in some
cultures. Forced labour often affects the most vulnerable and excluded groups, for example
commonly discriminated Dalits in India. Women and girls are more at risk than boys and men,
and children make up a quarter of people in forced labour. Migrant workers are targeted because
they often don’t speak the language, have few friends, have limited rights and depend on their
employers. Forced labour happens in the context of poverty, lack of sustainable jobs and
education, as well as a weak rule of law, corruption and an economy dependent on cheap labour2.
Child slavery is often confused with child labour, but is much worse. Whilst child labour is
harmful for children and hinders their education and development, child slavery occurs when a
child’s labour is exploited for someone else’s gain.
13
Children used by others for profit, often through violence, abuse and threats, in
prostitution or pornography, forced begging, petty crime and the drug trade
Forced child labour, for example in agriculture, factories, construction, brick kilns,
mines, bars, the tourist industry or domestic work
Children forced to take part in armed conflicts
Children forced to marry3.
We have to understand the terms ‘bonded labour system’ and ‘bonded labour’. The ‘bonded
labour system’ refers to “the relationship between a creditor and a debtor who obtains loan
owing to economic compulsions confronting his day-to-day life, and agrees to abide by the terms
dictated by the creditor”. The important term of agreement is that the debtor agrees to mortgage
his services or services of any or all the members of his family for a specified or unspecified
period. The relationship built on the agreement is on such unequal terms that while for every
labour or service, there must be some fair remuneration equivalent to the price of labour in the
market, under the bonded labour system the service is rendered for the debt or in lieu of the
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interest accruing to the debt. The debtor either works without receiving any remuneration or if at
all there is any remuneration, it is much less than the minimum wage (notified under the
Minimum Wages Act) or the prevailing rate of market wage. The 1976 Bonded Labour
(Abolition) Act defines ‘bonded labour system’ as “the system of forced labour under which a
debtor enters into an agreement with the creditor that he would render service to him either by2
himself or through any member of his family or any person dependent on him, for a specified or
unspecified period, either without wages or for nominal wages, in consideration of loan or any
other economic consideration obtained by him or any of his ascendants, or in pursuance of any
social obligation, or in pursuance of any obligation devolving on him by succession”4.
Domestic servitude is part of labor trafficking, which is defined as: “the seemingly normal
practice of live-in help that is used as cover for the exploitation and control of someone, usually
2
[Link]
3
[Link]
4
[Link]
details/39314
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from another country. It is a form of forced labor, but it also warrants its own category of slavery
because of the unique contexts and challenges it presents. Women and girls are often the victims
of this crime and since domestic work is not recognized as a regulated profession in many
countries, these victims are excluded from labor laws. The private nature of domestic work also
helps shield the perpetrators, especially when the victims are unable to leave the house.
Sex trafficking is a variety of trafficking and of human trafficking. It almost always involves the
forced prostitution of women, although it does fall upon men as well, often children. Sex
trafficking is a growing scourge of humanity. Coercion is the criminal motor behind sex
trafficking and may take a variety of forms such as a promised marriage, prospective care of the
victims' family members, and even the immigration of the victim to another country.
Uneducated, marginalized, and discriminated against these women may be lured by traffickers
promising employment opportunities abroad. Regardless of socioeconomic status, Indian women
may also be tricked into trafficking by individuals offering sightseeing or adventure tours. Some
women are tricked into leaving home through love or friendship and others are kidnapped. Once
16
captured, these women are forced into labor or sexually exploited. Victims generally come from
rural areas or urban slums and have very little education or are illiterates
17
CHAPTER 3:
18
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE:
3.2 Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and
Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery:
The convention came into force on 30th April, 1957 and it contains 15 Articles. It is a
supplementary convention for the Slave convention 1926 which was adopted by the League of
5
[Link]
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Nations and this supplementary convention was reaffirmed by United Nations on 1957. The
preamble of the convention is stated below,
The States Parties to the present Convention,
Mindful that the peoples of the United Nations reaffirmed in the Charter their faith in the dignity
and worth of the human person,
Considering that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed by the General
Assembly of the United Nations as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all
nations, states that no one shall be held in slavery or servitude and that slavery and the slave
trade shall be prohibited in all their forms,
Recognizing that, since the conclusion of the Slavery Convention signed at Geneva on 25
September 1926, which was designed to secure the abolition of slavery and of the slave trade,
further progress has been made towards this end,
Having regard to the Forced Labour Convention of 1930 and to subsequent action by the
International Labour Organisation in regard to forced or compulsory labour,
Being aware, however, that slavery, the slave trade and institutions and practices similar to
slavery have not yet been eliminated in all parts of the world,
Having decided , therefore, that the Convention of 1926, which remains operative, should now
be augmented by the conclusion of a supplementary convention designed to intensify national as
well as international efforts towards the abolition of slavery, the slave trade and institutions and
practices similar to slavery.
Having been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the International Labour Office, and
having met in its Fourteenth Session on 10 June 1930, and
Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to forced or compulsory
labour, which is included in the first item on the agenda of the Session, and
Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of an international Convention,
adopts this twenty-eighth day of June of the year one thousand nine hundred and thirty the
following Convention, which may be cited as the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, for
ratification by the Members of the International Labour Organisation in accordance with the
provisions of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation.
The Forced Labour Convention is the second international convention for the abolishment and
protection of forced Labourers. It was convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of
International Labour Office. ILO Convention prohibits the use of any form of forced or
compulsory labour as a means of political coercion or education, punishment for the expression
of political or ideological views, workforce mobilization, labour discipline, punishment for
participation in strikes, or discrimination. The International Labour Organization is the UN
specialized agency which seeks the promotion of social justice and internationally recognized
human and labour rights. The ILO formulates international labour standards in the form of
Conventions and Recommendations setting minimum standards of basic labour rights: freedom
of association, the right to organize, collective bargaining, abolition of forced labour, equality of
opportunity and treatment, and other standards regulating conditions across the entire spectrum
of work related issues. The ILO's standards take the form of international labour Conventions
and Recommendations. The ILO's Conventions are international treaties, subject to ratification
by ILO member States. Its Recommendations are non-binding instruments. Eight Conventions
should be considered fundamental to the rights of human beings at work, implemented and
ratified by all member states of the organization. These are called Fundamental ILO
Conventions. The Fundamental Conventions cover the areas of freedom of association, the
abolition of forced labour, equality, and the elimination of forced child labour. Another four
Conventions concerning matters of essential importance to labour institutions and policy have
21
been considered as Priority Conventions. These include areas such as tripartite consultation,
labor inspection and labor policy6.
On 11 June, 2014 the International Labour Organization adopted a new Protocol to the Forced
Labour Convention, 1930. The Protocol is relevant to trafficking in persons and specifies
measures to prevent trafficking for the purpose of forced labour and to adequately protect and
support survivors. The purpose of the Protocol is to address the gaps in the implementation of
the Forced Labour Convention, 1930. While the Protocol reaffirms the definition[2] of forced
labour established by the 1930 Convention, it also recognizes the need to update measures in
view of changes to the global context and to respond to current trends and forms of abuse. These
include abuses against vulnerable workers, especially migrants in the private sector, and
trafficking in persons for the purposes of forced or compulsory labour, which may involve sexual
exploitation.
Develop a national policy and plan of action for the elimination of forced labour, in
collaboration and coordination with workers’ and employers’ organizations, among other
civil society groups concerned;
Educate and inform people who are considered to be at risk of being subjected to forced or
compulsory labour, as well as employers so as to prevent them from participating in
exploitative practices;
Ensure that labour and other laws relevant to preventing forced labour extend and apply to
all workers and economic sectors;
Improve labour inspections and other services responsible for implementing labour laws;
Protect individuals, particularly migrant workers, from exploitative and fraudulent practices
during the recruitment and placement process;
6
[Link]
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Support the public and private sectors in taking action to prevent and respond to risks of
forced or compulsory labour in their operations;
Address the root causes and factors that increase the risk of forced labour;
Establish measures to effectively identify, release, protect and provide assistance and
support to individuals who have been subjected to forced labour, including through
measures that facilitate their recovery and rehabilitation;
Ensure that people who have been subjected to forced labour have access to necessary
remedies, including to justice and compensation, regardless of their immigration status;
Ensure that authorities have discretion not to prosecute or impose penalties on people who
have been subjected to forced labour for participating in unlawful activities committed as a
direct consequence of their forced labour situation;
Cooperate internationally to prevent and eliminate all forms of forced and compulsory
labour7.
Convention 182 outlines the 5 worst forms of labour that must be eradicated in order to step up
the fight against child labour. They are as follows:
7
[Link]
23
Slavery or similar practices, such as the sale or trade of children or the use of children in
debt bondage or serfdom [Article 3];
Obligatory or forced work, including the compulsory recruitment of children for use in
armed conflicts;
The recruitment, use or offer of a child for involvement in prostitution, pornographic
material or pornographic shows;
The use, recruitment or offer of a child for illicit activities, notably in the production or
trafficking of drugs, as defined in the specific international treaties;
Work which, by its very nature or the conditions in which it is undertaken, is likely to
jeopardize the health, safety or morality of children8.
Although the first ILO resolution concerning the conditions of employment of domestic
workers was adopted as early as 1948, the road towards the adoption of Domestic Workers
Convention, 2011 (No. 189) and Recommendation (No. 201) concretely dates back to 2008,
when the ILO Governing Body decided to include the setting of standards on decent work for
domestic workers in the agenda of the 2010 ILO Conference.
The first step was to map the state of law and practice concerning domestic workers across
the world: this information was compiled in Report IV(1) , which was sent to Member States
in 2009. The comments submitted in reply were published in Report IV(2) . Together, these
two documents informed the discussions at the 2010 Conference.
Following the 2010 Conference, the Domestic Workers Committee produced Report IV(1) ,
containing the proposed conclusions of the discussions. It provided the first draft for a
convention and a recommendation. Once again, constituents were invited to comment, and
their feedback were synthesized in Report IV(2A) . A revised version of the proposed
convention and recommendation (Report IV(2B) ) was published in March 2011, a few
months before the [Link] June 2011, ILO delegates adopted by an overwhelming
majority the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) and Recommendation(No. 201),
8
[Link]
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a historical set of international standards aimed at improving the working conditions of tens
of millions of domestic workers worldwide. The highly active participation and engagement
of governments, employers and workers, including domestic workers themselves, during the
standard setting process has resulted in instruments that have a true potential for creating
change in the lives of domestic workers.
This convention consists of 27 Articles and was convened in Geneva. Recognizing the
significant contribution of domestic workers to the global economy, which includes increasing
paid job opportunities for women and men workers with family responsibilities, greater scope for
caring for ageing populations, children and persons with a disability, and substantial income
transfers within and between countries.
Considering that domestic work continues to be undervalued and invisible and is mainly carried
out by women and girls, many of whom are migrants or members of disadvantaged communities
and who are particularly vulnerable to discrimination in respect of conditions of employment and
of work, and to other abuses of human rights, and
Considering also that in developing countries with historically scarce opportunities for formal
employment, domestic workers constitute a significant proportion of the national workforce and
remain among the most marginalized, and
Recalling that international labour Conventions and Recommendations apply to all workers,
including domestic workers, unless otherwise provided, and
Noting the particular relevance for domestic workers of the Migration for Employment
Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97), the Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions)
Convention, 1975 (No. 143), the Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No.
156), the Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181), and the Employment
Relationship Recommendation, 2006 (No. 198), as well as of the ILO Multilateral Framework on
Labour Migration: Non-binding principles and guidelines for a rights-based approach to labour
migration (2006), and
25
Recognizing the special conditions under which domestic work is carried out that make it
desirable to supplement the general standards with standards specific to domestic workers so as
to enable them to enjoy their rights fully, and
Recalling other relevant international instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized
Crime, and in particular its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons,
Especially Women and Children and its Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land,
Sea and Air, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Convention on the
Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, this convention
was enacted9.
3.8. Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the
Prostitution of Others, 1949:
It was approved by the general assembly on 2nd December, 1949 and came in to force on 25th
July, 1951. It consists of 28 Articles. And it is the most important convention against forced
prostitution.
Whereas prostitution and the accompanying evil of the traffic in persons for the purpose of
prostitution are incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person and endanger the
welfare of the individual, the family and the community,
Whereas, with respect to the suppression of the traffic in women and children, the following
international instruments are in force:
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(1) International Agreement of 18 May 1904 for the Suppression of the White Slave Traffic, as
amended by the Protocol approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 3
December 1948,
(2) International Convention of 4 May 1910 for the Suppression of the White Slave Traffic, as
amended by the above-mentioned Protocol,
(3) International Convention of 30 September 1921 for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women
and Children, as amended by the Protocol approved by the General Assembly of the United
Nations on 20 October 1947,
(4) International Convention of 11 October 1933 for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women of
Full Age, as amended by the aforesaid Protocol,
Whereas the League of Nations in 1937 prepared a draft Convention extending the scope of the
above-mentioned instruments, and
Whereas developments since 1937 make feasible the conclusion of a convention consolidating
the above-mentioned instruments and embodying the substance of the 1937 draft Convention as
well as desirable alterations therein.
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all
members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have
outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall
enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the
highest aspiration of the common people,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in
fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights
of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life
in larger freedom,
27
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United
Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental
freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for
the full realization of this pledge,
Article 4: No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be
prohibited in all their forms.
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CHAPTER 4:
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NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE:
(1)Traffic in human beings and begar and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited and
any contravention of this provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law
(2) Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from imposing compulsory service for public
purpose, and in imposing such service the State shall not make any discrimination on grounds
only of religion, race, caste or class or any of them.
1. Article 21 of the Indian Constitution – This is the most important and foremost
safeguard against any exploitation of human lives and their liberty. It is part of the
Basic Structure of the Constitution and cannot be amended. It secures the right to life
and right to live with human dignity to every person in India. So, any practice of
bonded labour would be in contravention of this Constitutional provision since bonded
labour deprives a person of numerous liberties.
formulate its policies with an object that no citizen is forced out of economic necessity
to enter into avocations which are not suited to them.
5. Article 43 of the Constitution – This directive directs the State to secure i.e. –
conditions for work ensuring a decent standard of life.
The Indian Slavery Act, 1843, also known as Act V of 1843, was an act passed in British
India under East India Company rule, which outlawed many economical transactions associated
with slavery.
The act states how the sale of any person as a slave was banned, and anyone buying or selling
slaves would be booked under the Indian Penal Code with an offence carrying strict punishment.
An Act for declaring and amending the Law regarding the condition of Slavery within the
Territories of the East India Company.
31
1. No public officer shall in execution of any decree or order of Court, or for the
enforcement of any demand of rent or revenue, sell or cause to be sold any person, or the
right to the compulsory labour or services of any person on the ground that such person
is in a state of slavery.
2. No rights arising out of an alleged property in the person and services of another as a
slave shall be enforced by any Civil or Criminal Court or Magistrate within the territories
of the East India Company.
3. No person who may have acquired property by his own industry, or by the exercise of
any art, calling or profession, or by inheritance, assignment, gift or bequest, shall be
dispossessed of such property or prevented from taking possession thereof on the ground
that such person or that the person from whom the property may have been derived was a
slave.
4. Any act which would be a penal offence if done to a free man shall be equally an offence
if done to any person on the pretext of his being in a condition of slavery.
Article 23(1) of the Constitution prohibits "begar" and other similar forms of forced labour and it
provides that any contravention of the said prohibition shall be an offence. But inspite of this
provision a system of usuary under which the debtor or his decendants or dependants have to
work for the creditor without reasonable wages or with no wages in order to extinguish the debt,
existed in many parts of the country. It has been found that several generations work under
bondage for the repayment of a small sum which had been taken by some remote ancestor. This
system of bondage implies the infringement of basic human rights and destruction of the dignity
of human labour. The evils of bonded labour, having been recognised by many voluntary
organisations, were highlighted by them. Many voluntary organisations raised their heads against
such a system. Accordingly the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Ordinance, 1975 was
promulgated by the President on 24th October, 1975. To replace the said Ordinance the Bonded
Labour System (Abolition) Bill, 1976 was introduced in the Parliament. The act consists of 27
sections. The main object of the Act was for the welfare and protection of forced labours. This
32
Act was amended as The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Amendment Act, 1985 (73 of
1985).
The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 is one the most debated acts regarding
children in India. It outlines where and how children can work and where they cannot. The
provisions of the act are meant to be acted upon immediately after the publication of the act,
except for part III that discusses the conditions in which a child may work. Part III can only
come into effect as per a date appointed by the Central Government. Section IV of the act
outlines various remaining aspects such as Penalties. The penalty of allowing a child to work in
occupations/ processes outlined in the schedule which are prohibited is a minimum of 3 months
prison time and/or a minimum of Rs. 10,000 in fines. Second time offenders are subject to jail
time of minimum six months. Failure to notify an inspector, keep a register, post a sign or any
other requirement is punishable by simple imprisonment and/or a fine up to Rs. 10,000.
Offenders can only be tried in courts higher than a magistrate or metropolitan magistrate of the
first class. Courts also have the authority to appoint people to be inspectors under this act. This
act was amended in the year of 2016 as The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation)
Amendment Act, 2016.
4.5 Domestic Workers (Registration, Social Security and Welfare) Act, 2008:
Domestic Workers (Registration, Social Security and Welfare) Act, 2008 was introduced to
regulate payment and working conditions and check exploitation and trafficking of women and
other young household workers. Domestic workers are in the unorganized sector and
unorganized, hence there are practical difficulties to cover them. Though applicable to both men
and women, it assumes significance for women due to their presence in large numbers in the
occupation. (Act is subjected to State legislation and therefore the State governs its
implementation. However, Central notification date is still pending).
The domestic workers, employing, as it does, a very large number of women and whose
conditions of work and living need amelioration and to whom regularity of employment must be
33
assured, Placement agencies must be regulated so that the Directive Principles of the
Constitution more particularly the relevant provisions Article 39, 41, 42, 43, and 43-A of the
Constitution are given effect to by a law made by Parliament with reference to entries 22, 23 and
24 of List III in the 7th Schedule in the Constitution.
The Act specifically makes provisions for penalty in cases where any person knowingly sends,
directs or takes any girl or woman domestic worker to any place for immoral purposes or to a
place where she is likely to be morally corrupted or in any manner sexually exploited. Such a
person shall be subjected to imprisonment for a minimum period of 6 months which may extend
upto 7 years and fine up to Rs. 50000 or both. (Section 23).
1. Any service provider who contravenes the provision of the Act shall be punishable with
imprisonment of term which may extend to 3 months and with fine which may extend to
rupees two thousand, or with both. In case of continuation of contravention additional
fine which may extend to rupees one hundred for every day shall be imposed.
2. If an employer fails to comply with the provisions of the Act they shall be punished with
fine which may extend to rupees two thousand.
3. If any person who willingly obstructs any officer who is authorized by the District Board
to conduct inspection or refuses to cooperate in inspection shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 months and with fine which may extend
to rupees two thousand, or both.
4. If any person knowingly sends or directs of takes any girl or woman to any place for
immoral purposes or where she is likely to be morally corrupted, or sexually exploits
such woman of child shall be punished with imprisonment for not less than 3 years and
which may extend upto 7 years and fine upto rupees two thousand or both.
4.6 The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018:
The Lok Sabha passed this bill in 2018 and was still pending. It consists of 59 sections And there
are certain highlights of the bill they are listed below,
34
The Bill creates a law for investigation of all types of trafficking, and rescue, protection and
rehabilitation of trafficked victims.
The Bill provides for the establishment of investigation and rehabilitation authorities at
the district, state and national level. Anti-Trafficking Units will be established to rescue
victims and investigate cases of trafficking. Rehabilitation Committees will provide care
and rehabilitation to the rescued victims.
11
[Link]
35
CHAPTER 5:
36
CASE LAWS:
Mahoney v Ashton was a slavery case brought before the General Court of the Western Shore
in Annapolis, Maryland in 1791. On October 18, 1791 the slave Charles Mahoney filed a petition
for freedom before the court against his owner, Father John Ashton, a Roman Catholic priest and
former Jesuit. Mahoney claimed that he was descended from a free woman named Ann Joice, an
indentured servant, making him a free man. Mahoney v. Ashton dragged on for twelve years,
including three jury trials and two appeal hearings. The result was inconclusive, but on the 4th of
May 1804 John Ashton recorded a deed that "forever set free Charles Mahoney.", and agreed to
"relinquish and renounce all claim whatever which I have or ever had to him."
The case involved hundreds of participants including many notable members of the Maryland
slave-owning gentry, including Charles Carroll of Carrollton12.
Somerset v Stewart(1772) 98 ER 499 (also known as Somersett's case, and in State Trials as
[Link] Sommersett v Steuart) is a famous judgment of the Court of King's Bench in 1772, which
held that chattelslavery was unsupported by the common law in England and Wales, although the
position elsewhere in the British Empire was left ambiguous. Lord Mansfield decided that:
Slavery had never been authorized by statute in England and Wales, and Lord Mansfield's
decision found it also unsupported in common law. Lord Mansfield narrowly limited his
judgment to the issue of whether a person, regardless of being a slave, could be removed from
England against their will, and said they could not. Even this reading meant that certain property
rights in chattel slaves were unsupported by common law. It is one of the most significant
milestones in the abolitionist campaign.
12
[Link]
37
Some historians believe the case contributed to increasing colonial support for separatism in
the Thirteen Colonies of British North America, by parties on both sides of the slavery question
who wanted to establish independent government and law.[2] The southern colonies wanted to
protect slavery and expanded its territory dramatically in the decades after independence was
won.
Facts
James Somerset, an enslaved African, was purchased by Charles Stewartor Steuart, a Customs
officer when he was in Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay, a British crown colony in North
America.[5]
Stewart brought Somerset with him when he returned to England in 1769 but in 1771 Somerset
escaped. After he was recaptured in November, Stewart had him imprisoned on the ship Ann and
Mary (under Captain John Knowles), bound for the British colony of Jamaica. He directed that
Somerset be sold to a plantation for labour. Somerset's three godparents from his baptism as a
Christian in England, John Marlow, Thomas Walkin and Elizabeth Cade, made an application on
3 December before the Court of King's Bench for a writ of habeas corpus. Captain Knowles on 9
December produced Somerset before the Court of King's Bench, which had to determine whether
his imprisonment was lawful.
Th e Chief Justice of the King's Bench, William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, ordered a hearing
for 21 January; in the meantime he set the prisoner free on recognisance. A request to prepare
arguments was granted Somerset's counsel and so it was not until 7 February 1772 that the case
was heard. In the meantime, the case had attracted a great deal of attention in the press and
members of the public donated monies to support the lawyers for both sides of the argument.
Granville Sharp, an abolitionist layman who continually sought test cases against the legal
justifications for slavery, was Somerset's real backer. When the case was heard, five advocates
appeared for Somerset, speaking at three hearings between February and May. These lawyers
included Francis Hargrave, a young lawyer who made his reputation with this, his first
case; James Mansfield, Serjeant-at-law William Davy, Serjeant-at-law John Glynn; John
38
Alleyne, and the noted Irish lawyer and orator John Philpot Curran whose lines in defence of
Somerset were often quoted by American abolitionists (such as Frederick Douglass).
Somerset's advocates argued that while colonial laws might permit slavery, neither the common
law of England nor any law made by Parliament recognised the existence of slavery and slavery
was therefore unlawful.[6] The advocates also argued that English contract law did not allow for
any person to enslave himself, nor could any contract be binding without the person's consent.
The arguments focused on legal details rather than humanitarian principles. When the two
lawyers for Charles Stewart put their case, they argued that property was paramount and that it
would be dangerous to free all the black people in England, who numbered at the time
approximately 15,000.
Judgment
Lord Mansfield heard arguments and first gave a short opinion in court, encouraging the parties
to come to a settlement by letting Somerset go free. Otherwise, he said that a judgment would be
given. As he put it, let justice be done whatever the consequence.
Having heard both sides of the argument, Lord Mansfield retired to make his decision, and
reserved judgment for over a month. He gave his judgment on 22 June 1772. (this version is
transcribed from a letter to the General Evening Post, reporting on the trial
Somerset was free and his supporters, who included both black and white Londoners, celebrated
a great victory. Whilst argument by counsel may have been based primarily on legal
technicalities, Lord Mansfield appeared to believe that a great moral question had been posed
and he deliberately avoided answering that question in full, because of its profound political and
economic consequences.
Lord Mansfield is often misquoted as declaring that "this air is too pure for a slave to breathe in",
but no such words appear in the judgment. Instead, these words are part of the peroration of
William Davy SL for Somerset, who previously had cited a report of a 1569 case, in the reign
of Queen Elizabeth I, in which "one Cartwright brought a slave from Russia and would scourge
39
him; for which he was questioned; and it was resolved, that England was too pure an air for a
slave to breathe in." It is not clear that this was said in the Cartwright case. Some legal historians
think it was a misquote of an excerpt from Lord Chief Justice Holt's judgment in Smith v
Brown,[8] in which he is reported to have said: "as soon as a negro comes to England he is free;
one may be a villein in England, but not a slave.13"
13
[Link]
40
CHAPTER 6:
41
Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of gender, nationality, place of
residency, sex, ethnicity, religion, color or and other categorization. Thus, human rights are non-
discriminatory, meaning that all human beings are entitled to them and cannot be excluded from
them. Of course, while all human beings are entitled to human rights, not all human beings
experience them equally throughout the world. Many governments and individuals ignore human
rights and grossly exploit other human beings.
Slavery, forced labor and human trafficking are violations of human rights because these acts
strip human beings of their inherent rights. In fact, the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights explicitly references slavery, stating in Article 4: No one shall be held in slavery or
servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Slavers and human traffickers grossly violate human rights since they claim ownership, labor
and/or the humanity of another human being. The human rights most relevant to trafficking are:
The prohibition of discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, language, religion, political
or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status;
The right to life;
The right to liberty and security;
The right not to be submitted to slavery, servitude, forced labor or bonded labor;
42
The right not to be subjected to torture and/or cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment or
punishment;
The right to be free from gendered violence;
The right to freedom of association;
The right to freedom of movement;
The right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health;
The right to just and favorable conditions of work;
The right to an adequate standard of living;
The right to social security; and
The right of children to special protection
.
6.3 Human Rights for Women and Girls
Many organizations and governments worldwide focus on improving the status of women and
girls. According to the International Labour Organization, 11.4 million women and girls are
victims of forced labor in different forms – including debt bondage, trafficking and forced
prostitution. As global leaders seek to improve the status of women and girls, it’s critical to focus
on decreasing women and girls’ exploitation in forced labor, trafficking and slavery.
When women and girls are enslaved or trafficked, they do not have access to programs aimed at
women’s equality and development.
Trafficked and enslaved women and girls oftentimes do not attend school. Many times these
women and girls are illiterate.
Trafficked and enslaved women and girls face gross sexual violence, whether in forced
prostitution, forced marriage or during forced physical labour.
Trafficked and enslaved women and girls are subject to domestic violence.
43
Trafficked and enslaved women and girls do not have access to reproductive and maternal
health. The physical and sexual abuse of their exploitation leads to many early pregnancies,
forced abortions and exposure to HIV and other diseases.
Trafficked and enslaved women and girls do not have access to healthcare.
Trafficked and enslaved women and girls often face critical malnutrition.
Trafficked and enslaved women and girls do not have access to anti-poverty programs, micro-
loans or other economic development initiatives, leaving them dependent on their exploiters14.
14
[Link]
44
CHAPTER 7:
45
CONCLUSION:
Through these emergence of new conventions in international perspectives and new bills and
acts in national perspective the slavery is reduced but it was not eradicated completely from the
world. There are certain people who don’t have awareness about the laws and conventions were
treated as slaves and it can be eradicated only by giving awareness to those people. No person
should be owned by other person. It is not only a constitutional violation or fundamental
violation but also a human right violation. And slavery is an example for jus cogens which is also
called as compelling law or peremptory norm.
46
CHAPTER 8:
47
8.1 WEBLIOGRAPHY:
1. [Link]
2. [Link]
3. [Link]
4. [Link]
and-other-details/39314
5. [Link]
6. [Link]
forced-labour
7. [Link]
8. [Link]
9. [Link]
10. [Link]
11. [Link]
rehabilitation-bill-2018
12. [Link]
13. [Link]
14. [Link]
48