Slavery resources

ECPAT, Anti-Slavery International, Pacific Links Foundation.

This research was conducted by Every Child Protected Against Trafficking (ECPAT UK), Anti-Slavery International (Anti-Slavery) and Pacific Links Foundation (Pacific Links). Over one and a half years the research investigated the issue of human trafficking from Vietnam to the UK, and through Europe; specifically Poland, the Czech Republic, France and the Netherlands to the UK. This report summarises the main findings of the research. It highlights that whilst there are many vulnerabilities which result in a person leaving Vietnam, vulnerabilities are not inherent in all Vietnamese migrants. Situational and contextual factors can increase vulnerability and risk of trafficking across all aspects of a migrant’s journey from Vietnam to Europe.

Anti-Slavery International briefing on child begging in Senegal. Submission to the 125th session of the UN Human Rights Committee, 4 to 29 March 2019.

This report brings the strong links between Turkey and Turkmenistan to light. Being the 11th largest cotton producer in the world, Turkmenistan’s apparel and textile exports pose a significant risk of forced labour tainting global supply chains and present a challenge to brands’ due diligence. Anti-Slavery International has documented cases of Turkish enterprises that operate in Turkmenistan and claim to sell their products to well-known international brands. These links show that Turkey is acting as the main gateway for its cotton products to global supply chains, and brands should be aware of it.

A joint submission by Anti-Slavery International and Timidria to the UN Human Rights Committee (hereafter the Committee) ahead of its examination of Niger’s second periodic report to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It provides information on descent-based slavery, the wahaya (so-called 5th wife) practice, worst forms of child labour in Niger including forced child begging of talibés (children who study at residential Quranic schools, daaras) and child domestic work, and stigma and discrimination against people of slave descent.

This joint submission to the Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women by five civil society organisations: Anti-Slavery International, the Anti Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit (ATLEU), the Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group (ATMG), the Human Trafficking Foundation (HTF), and Kalayaan, outlines gaps in UK’s response to modern slavery: including the identification, protection and support provided to victims; barriers in access to legal advice, justice and remedy; and flaws in the legal and policy framework relating to migrant domestic workers, which renders them particularly vulnerable to abuse, exploitation, and trafficking.

Red Cross, Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group (ATMG), ATLEU, Human Trafficking Foundation.

The Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group, along with The British Red Cross, ATLEU and The Human Trafficking Foundation have produced a list of 10 core principles in a new guide for services providing Places of Safety and early support for adult survivors. These 10 principles, when taken together, are the minimum standards that are required if Places of Safety are to meet their intended purpose. The principles are complementary and each one is necessary: the absence of any of the principles puts at risk the victim-centred nature of any service. Places of Safety need to be able to evidence their ability to operate a truly victim-centred service. Services should meet national and international legal standards and be able to demonstrate competence.

This report is a rapid assessment of labour conditions in Vietnam’s export-oriented textile and garment sector. The findings of the report, that highlight the risk of forced labour, child labour and child slavery, showcase the need for pan-European legislation that includes mandatory human rights due diligence at the EU level. As the second largest garment producer in Asia, and key trading partner of the EU, the Vietnam case was worth looking at. With Vietnam and the EU in the middle of negotiations on a future trade agreement, this study proves the EU should set higher standards for those it chooses to trade with.

Human Trafficking Foundation (with input from the Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group)
The trafficking survivor care standards were developed in conjunction with experts in the anti trafficking sector with the aim of providing a blueprint for uk-wide service providers offering high quality care to adult survivors of modern slavery, including trafficking. The standards provide a flexible framework with guiding principles and practical recommendations that support agencies can incorporate into their own existing policies and procedures. The ultimate goal is to promote an integrated, holistic and empowering approach that places the real needs of survivors at the centre of the process of sustained recovery, far beyond the ‘reflection period’.

Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group (ATMG) 
The ATMGs report analyses action taken in the UK since 2012, relating to the prevention of human trafficking and the extent to which it contributes to the UK’s implementation of the 2005 Council of Europe Trafficking Convention and the EU Trafficking Directive requirements. The report concludes that the UK lacks an overall strategy to prevent trafficking in adults and children. The UK’s lack of strategic response means that prevention is often seen through the prism and policies of immigration and crime, hindering effective preventative action and leaving adults and children more vulnerable to exploitation.