World Anti-Slavery Day on Tuesday:

Modern slavery: A blot on the human conscience

By Pramod DE SILVA

In case you thought that slavery is a thing of the past, take a look at the world around you and think again. Contemporary forms of slavery – such as human trafficking, forced prostitution, child soldiers, forced and bonded labour and the use of children in the international drug trade – are still flourishing today. There are an estimated 27 million slaves in the world today (not counting child labourers), according to conservative estimates.

The world can be satisfied that the old slave trade, a blot on humanity, is no more. But are even more demeaning forms of slavery making a comeback? That is the problem that we have to find solutions for.

It is a challenge that the world has to face collectively. From the US to Brazil to Mauritania, various forms of slavery still exist, challenging modern moral values and ethical standards.

Why does slavery exist (and thrive) even in the 21st century? The practice is still thriving wherever poverty, social conditions, and gullibility can be exploited. It is essential to probe the past and examine the present to abolish all forms of slavery in the future. We can learn the relevant lessons for today from the past struggles against slavery.

This is why the world commemorates the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition on August 23 each year. We have to journey back in time to August 22-23, 1791 to see where it all began.

An uprising against slavery took place on these dates in the island of Santo Domingo (today Haiti and the Dominican Republic), which would play a crucial role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. The slave rebellion in the area weakened the Caribbean colonial system, sparking an uprising that led to abolishing slavery and giving the island its independence. It marked the beginning of the destruction of the slavery system and the slave trade.

The International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade marks this historic event.

The Day is focused on bringing to light all aspects of slavery, which is essential to constructing an overall view of this massive human tragedy. The UN’s lead agency for anti-slavery activities is UNESCO, which has organised several initiatives this year as well. Various events have been organised worldwide to mark the Day.

One of the main events will be held in London at the Museum of London and Museum of London Docklands, from August 23. The twin exhibition will expose the shocking reality of modern slavery and trafficking.

Many campaigns

Through a series of sobering photographs, personal testimonies and displays, the exhibition tackles the perception of slavery and trafficking as issues confined to history. The exhibition also coincides with a new campaign launched by exhibition partner and the world’s oldest human rights organisation, Anti-Slavery International.

According to UNESCO guidelines, slavery means forced labour and the transport of people for such labour. “Considering the enormous historic proportions and impact, it is a cruel irony that little is known about the slave trade. That is why today is so important. We must remember and honour those who spent their lives as slaves, who were defined under laws as nothing more than chattel, property and real estate, who were essentially treated not as humans but as “things”. We should remember that even today, many millions of our fellow human beings are subjected to slavery-like practices. For all that has been accomplished in our campaign for human rights, we still have much to do,” says UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Who or what exactly is a slave? “To be a slave is to be controlled by another person or persons so that your will does not determine your life's course, and rewards for your work and sacrifices are not yours to claim,” says Kevin Bales, one of the world's leading experts on contemporary slavery. "People are enslaved by violence and held against their wills for purposes of exploitation."

What is the official definition of slavery? “The status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised. All acts involved in the capture, acquisition or disposal of a person with intent to reduce him to slavery; all acts involved in the acquisition of a slave with a view to selling or exchanging him; all acts of disposal by sale or exchange of a slave acquired with a view to being sold or exchanged, and, in general, every act of trade or transport in slaves by whatever means of conveyance." (Article 1.2, Slavery Convention, 1926)

HR violations

Common characteristics distinguish slavery from other human rights violations. A slave is forced to work - through mental or physical threat; owned or controlled by an 'employer', usually through mental or physical abuse or threatened abuse; dehumanised, treated as a commodity or bought and sold as 'property'; physically constrained or has restrictions placed on his/her freedom of movement.

All slaves, ancient and modern, had no freedom of movement. They have little or no personal belongings. They have no defined work hours, with some working up to 22 hours a day. They are often deprived of rest, sleep, food, recreation and social relationships. In effect, all aspects of their lives are tightly controlled by their ‘handlers’.

It is also somewhat disconcerting to note that some of the products we consume may have been made by adults and children who are slaves in all but name. There is evidence of slavery in different stages of the supply chain from the production of raw materials, for example cocoa and cotton farming, to manufacturing goods such as hand-knotted rugs and even at the final stage, when the product reaches the market.

Modern slavery is thus a worldwide problem, affecting both developed and developing countries. It affects people of all ages from both sexes.

The statistics on modern slavery make grim reading. According to the United Nations, four million people a year are traded against their will to work. The majority of them come from South East Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. It is estimated that more than 250,000 children are currently being exploited as child soldiers in as many as 30 areas of conflict around the world. Sri Lanka too suffered from this problem until the LTTE was defeated two years ago. Many kidnapped girls who are made into child soldiers are also forced into sexual slavery.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) estimates that annually 700,000 women, girls, men and boys are trafficked across borders, away from their homes and families and into slavery.

Sexual exploitation

An estimated 5.7 million children are victims of forced and bonded labour, also known as debt bondage, and 1.2 million children are victims of child trafficking.

Linked to trafficking is the commercial sexual exploitation of children of whom one million, mainly girls, are forced into prostitution every year. The girls are sold for sex or used in child pornography in the developed and developing world. One cannot also forget foreign domestics who are treated almost as slaves in certain countries. The trafficking of women and girls has been described as the “greatest moral outrage of the century”.

The world determined, more than 60 years ago, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that: “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.” But the international community has still not been able to achieve this ideal fully.

Most countries do not have adequate laws to deal with modern forms of slavery. Some societies accept forms of slavery such as child marriages and child labour as quite normal practices, aggravating the problem. The exploited individuals have no voice in their societies and not many others question the status quo either. This usually prevents stronger action against the shadowy slave traders.

It will be a Herculean task to eradicate all forms of exploitation of labour, but governments should crack down on instances of trafficking of labour, child labour and certain social practices not compatible with modern values.

UNESCO, International Labour Organisation and the IOM can show the way in this regard. One of their best efforts was the declaration of 2004 as the Slavery Abolition Year, which created worldwide awareness on the extent of the problem. A world without slavery should be the ideal goal – and it is still possible if governments and individuals are determined to end this scourge. August 23 presents us with an ideal opportunity to work towards a slavery-free world.