Slavery was virtually abolished in all countries over the past two centuries, but many countries do not consider slavery to be a legal crime, and nearly half of the world's countries lack - to date - the existence of a criminal law punishing slavery or the slave trade.
In their report, published by the Australian "Conflection" website, writers Katharina Schwarz and Jane Allen said that their research on the topic provides an opportunity to refocus global efforts to eradicate modern slavery by 2030, including requiring countries to criminalize slavery completely and other exploitative practices using force or fraud. Or coercion.
Moreover, this research stems from a database dedicated to combating slavery, which examines the domestic legislation of each country and the binding obligations it has made through international agreements to prohibit forms of human exploitation, such as forced labor, human trafficking and slavery-like practices.
The authors added that although 96% of these countries have some form of domestic legislation to combat human trafficking, many have failed to prohibit other types of human exploitation in their domestic laws, such as slavery and forced labor. In short: Slavery cannot be considered unlawful worldwide.
Short history
The authors explained that the problem started from the great British movement to abolish slavery, which centered on repealing laws that allowed the slave trade as a legitimate business. During the nineteenth century, states were not required to pass legislation criminalizing the slave trade, but rather were asked to repeal any law that permitted such work.
Since 1948, states have been called to prohibit slavery rather than to abolish provisions that allow or regulate it, but with all states agreeing - between 1926 and 2016 - that slave incidents are unlikely to occur because they repealed all laws that enacted them. There was no need or reason to create laws criminalizing slavery.
Slavery stories
Despite the abolition of slavery, the authors state, many people are born into an environment of slavery or forced to submit to it at an early age.
The authors reported what Mandi Nazir, who was arrested in 1994, as a child, was eventually transferred to the family of a diplomat in the United Kingdom, then fled in 2002, when she said: “People say I was treated like an animal, but I tell them that I was not, because An animal - like a cat or dog - gets love and attention, which I didn't get. "
The authors state that although most countries have legislation to combat human trafficking, they do not prohibit multiple other forms of human exploitation, including slavery itself. Human trafficking is also defined in international law as consisting of three basic elements: the act, the use of coercion to facilitate this act, and the intention to exploit that person.
Indeed, prosecution of exploitation itself requires specific domestic legislation that goes beyond provisions dealing with human trafficking.
Trafficking in Human Beings
And the Al-Jazeera Investigation Unit revealed in the 2016 documentary the extent of modern slavery penetration in the outskirts of Britain, including shocking conditions in a car wash benefit from agencies of large auto companies and the unskilled labor sector, and the documentary explained how bonded workers are chained with psychological chains such as fear and poverty And misery, they are afraid of escaping so that they do not have to spend all that they saved.
The investigative investigation in its second part highlights the modern slavery practiced on those working in the field of cannabis cultivation in Britain, and as the investigation revealed, thousands of Vietnamese - including children working on cannabis farms in the United Kingdom - are smuggled to the United Kingdom where they are exploited .
The investigation revealed that thousands of girls from countries like Romania were forced into sexual slavery after being smuggled illegally to Britain, and how many of them fall victim to deception, as they delude them that they will work in decent jobs and get the appropriate money, and then they are surprised by being forced to work In prostitution.
research results
The authors concluded that in 94 countries it is not possible to prosecute a person for enslaving another human being, meaning that about half of the countries of the world may have committed potential violations of the international obligation to prohibit slavery.
Moreover, it appears that only 12 countries have clearly defined a formal definition of slavery that reflects the international concept. In most cases, it is left to the courts to interpret the meaning of slavery. This means that even in countries where slavery was prohibited in the criminal law, only some instances of slavery were unlawful, while many other exploitative practices remained criminal.
It appears that 112 countries do not impose penalties to put an end to forced labor, a widespread practice of 25 million people. Indeed, many of those forced to work in developed countries do not realize that they are outlaws. In addition, they are often forced to work in agriculture, factories and restaurants for little or no pay for long hours in a kind of forced labor system.
The authors report that the database of this research also reveals widespread gaps in the prohibition of other practices related to slavery. Although most countries have made commitments through international treaties, few have criminalized slavery, the slave trade, and forced labor.
better future
Modern forms of slavery range from forced labor (North Korea is referred to as an example of this type), forced labor in prisons (as is said about forced labor camps in Xinjiang, China), and even slavery as a result of blackmail of undocumented migrants after their arrival in countries of asylum.
The authors emphasized that states must work for a future in which slavery is already illegal. While legislation is only a first step to eliminating this crime, it is necessary to prevent impunity for such violations, and it is also important that victims receive support and redress.