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As the United Nations Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery
marks its 30th year on Monday 6 June, slavery continues to
blight the lives of millions of men, women and children throughout
the world.
The UN Working Group, meeting from 6-10 June in Geneva,
Switzerland, is the only body devoted to monitoring slavery today.
But its mandate, resources and authority need to be strengthened
to enable it to effectively hold governments to account on their
offences of slavery.
Anti-Slavery International, the world's oldest international human
rights organisation, is presenting the following issues to the UN
body, making recommendations to governments on action they need
to take to end this abuse (see below links for full submissions),
and drawing the Working Group's attention to successes, persistent
offenders and necessary reform.
Abductions
and forced labour in Sudan are serious problems in Sudan.
Thousands of people are still awaiting release and new abductions
continue to take place in the face of government claims that "abductions
have stopped completely".
Child
domestic slavery: Children as young as seven years old are
routinely pressed into domestic service. Most are deprived of education
and are working in conditions hazardous to their health and welfare.
Worldwide, the majority of child domestic workers are girls, and
many have been trafficked, or are in debt bondage. They are isolated
and are under the total control of employers.
Child
trafficking to the Gulf: Boys as young as four years old
are trafficked to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman
and internally in Sudan to be used as camel jockeys. The use of
child camel jockeys is extremely dangerous and can result in serious
injury and even death. Despite there being laws in place that prohibit
this, governments have failed to implement them and to take action
to end the impunity that those who use these children and facilitate
their trafficking enjoy.
Forced
labour in Brazil: The Government has taken an active role
in recognising the existence of slavery. Yet thousands of Brazilians
continue to work in forced labour and there are concerns that efforts
to tackle slavery are losing momentum. Furthermore, greater attention
to the problem of slave labour has been accompanied by a rise in
the use of violence and intimidation against those working to stop
it.
Slavery
in Niger: Despite thousands of people being enslaved across
Niger, the Government denies the existence of slavery in the country,
reversing its earlier acceptance that it was a problem. In 2003,
the Government made slavery a criminal offence punishable by up
to 30 years in prison. Its recent U-turn on the issue has resulted
in warnings against those who officially seek to release their slaves
and the imprisonment of key activists.
Trafficking
of women from North Korea (DPRK): North Korean women are
being trafficked into China and forced to marry or work in brothels
and karaoke bars. If discovered by the Chinese authorities,
they face deportation. This has very serious consequences as leaving
the DPRK without permission is a criminal offence that can carry
the death penalty. At the very least, those deported spend between
one and three months in detention in harsh conditions and are likely
to be subjected to forced labour.
Recommendations
to the UN Working Group: That the Working Group assesses
its progress in light of the UN Secretary General's proposed reforms
of the UN human rights mechanisms, taking into account the continuing
incidences of slavery, particularly those cases that persistently
appear before it, such as abductions and forced labour in Sudan,
forced labour in Brazil and trafficking of children as camel jockeys
to the United Arab Emirates.
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