An international conference is to be held on all aspects of
child slavery at the Wilberforce Institute for the study of
Slavery and Emancipation (WISE), University of Hull, UK in association
with Anti-Slavery International, Gilda Lehrman Center, Yale
University and Free the Slaves on November 27-28 2008.
Following our highly successful conferences on Modern Slavery
(November 2006), and Unfinished Business (May 2007), WISE is
now organising a conference entitled Child Slavery Now, in conjunction
with partner organisations, to examine all aspects of child
slavery worldwide, including bonded labour, trafficking, domestic
servitude and child labour more generally. This is a first call
for expressions of interest in attending and in giving workshop
papers. Also visit WISE's website www.hull.ac.uk/WISE
Child slavery is now becoming a focus of considerable international
concern. Despite the creation during the late 20th century of
a series of Conventions and Protocols, banning the use of children
in trafficking and forced labour and despite more wide-ranging
international legislation defining the Rights of the Child,
the extent and variety of forms of child slavery appears to
be growing worldwide. The ILO -- which marks the 10th anniversary
of its Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention in 2009
-- estimates that there may be 218 million children trapped
in child labour worldwide of whom 126 million children were
engaged in hazardous work. Many are in situations of modern
slavery, working in clothing and shoe sweatshops, as child soldiers,
in agriculture, brickmaking, fishing, domestic service, or as
child sex workers.
This conference will examine all these forms of child slavery
and will be focused in particular on the need for further political
and policy action, as well as the further development of services
to support and rehabilitate children who are freed from slavery.
Speakers from international organisations, policy contexts and
campaigning and NGO backgrounds across the world will set the
scene for discussions and there will be a series of workshops
at which a range of presentations will be made. Those attending
will be given a copy of the Special issue of the journal Children
and Society on child slavery, due to be published in the
Spring of 2008.
Download details
of programme and costs (this is available here as a PDF
file, see bottom of page about reading PDF
files).
If you are interested in attending, giving a paper, or making
a presentation, please contact Jane Ellison at j.ellison@hull.ac.uk
as soon as possible. Those interested in giving a paper or making
a presentation in a workshop should indicate when writing to
us (in no more than fifty words) what the focus of their presentation
will be. We will be sending out further details early in 2008
with a call for firm bookings. This event is likely to be well-attended
and you are urged to make your interest known as soon as possible
as it is likely that we will have to limit the numbers attending.
