Condensed: Slavery is the status or condition of a person over whom any or all the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised. Servitude is the obligation to provide one’s services because of coercion. Servitude or ‘institutions or practices similar to slavery’ are debt bondage, serfdom, servile marriage and child exploitation and may also include other cases of economic exploitation in which the victim is so dependent on the perpetrator that s/he cannot leave the situation of exploitation
There is an obligation on States to have in place criminal legislation prohibiting slavery and servitude and investigate any allegations with due diligence.
Comprehensive: Slavery and servitude are prohibited in ICCPR article 8 and other international and regional human rights instruments.[1]
Slavery According to the Slavery Convention of 1926 ‘slavery is the status or condition of a person over whom any or all the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised’.[2] In 2008, the High Court of Australia determined that the 1926 definition of slavery has contemporary relevance as it applies to situations of legal slavery – such as chattel slavery of old – or de facto slavery, where a person does not actually own another person but exercise powers which attach to such ownership.[3] To exercise ‘powers attaching to the right of ownership’ is to control a person like one would possess a thing owned; where one’s autonomy is significantly diminished. In a 1953 Report, the UN Secretary General provided the most authoritative pronouncements of what constitutes such powers as being · the buying, the transferring, or using of a person; · the reaping of the near total benefit from the use or labour the person; · that the status of slave could be passed down to descendents; and · for the person enslaved, their status was for them, indeterminate.[4] Servitude Servitude is institutions and practices similar to slavery following from an obligation to provide one’s services because of coercion. According to the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, institutions or practices similar to slavery include debt bondage, serfdom, servile marriage and child exploitation.[5] These terms are defined as follows in the Convention: Debt bondage is the status or condition arising from a pledge by a debtor of his personal services or of those of a person under his control as security for a debt, if the value of those services as reasonably assessed is not applied towards the liquidation of the debt or the length and nature of those services are not respectively limited and defined. Serfdom is the condition or status of a tenant who is by law, custom or agreement bound to live and labour on land belonging to another person and to render some determinate service to such other person, whether for reward or not, and is not free to change his status. Servile marriage is any institution or practice whereby (i) A woman, without the right to refuse, is promised or given in marriage on payment of a consideration in money or in kind to her parents, guardian, family or any other person or group; or (ii) The husband of a woman, his family, or his clan, has the right to transfer her to another person for value received or otherwise; or (iii) A woman on the death of her husband is liable to be inherited by another person; Child exploitation is any institution or practice whereby a child or young person under the age of 18 years, is delivered by either or both of his natural parents or by his guardian to another person, whether for reward or not, with a view to the exploitation of the child or young person or of his labour. The Convention recognises that these institutions or practices may also be deemed slavery if they meet the 1926 Convention definition. According to the UN Special Rapporteur slavery-like practices ‘extend beyond the specific instances recognized by the 1956 Supplementary Convention on Slavery and includes other cases of economic exploitation in which the victim is so dependent on the perpetrator that s/he cannot leave the situation of exploitation.’[6] Dependency can be created by economic factors, lack of freedom of movement and physical and psychological abuse.[7] Migrant workers are particularly dependent on their employers.[8] The UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, has noted that live-in domestic workers are particularly at risk of servitude.[9] (See *trafficking*; *forced labour*). States should have criminal legislation prohibiting slavery and servitude and investigate any allegations with due diligence.[10] Labour laws should extend to all form of work including domestic work and measures to ensure effective enforcement of such laws should be adopted.[11] Slavery and servitude are two of the enumerated types of exploitation which the UN Palermo Protocol seeking to address in cases of trafficking in persons.[12] See *trafficking*. [1] UDHR art 4; Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery art 1, CMW art 11(1); ACHR art 6(1) and (2); ECHR art 4(1); Arab Charter (2004) art 10; ACHPR art 5; ICC Statute art 7(1)(c) (enslavement). ‘Slavery’ and ‘institutions or practices similar to slavery’ are terms of law with established definitions. Notions such as ‘contemporary forms of slavery’ or ‘slavery-like practices’ are terms of art.
[2] Geneva Convention (1926) art 1; Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery art 7(a); ICC Statute art 7(2)(c ).
[4] United Nations, Economic and Social Council, Report of the Secretary-General on Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Other Forms of Servitude, UN Doc. E/2357, 17 January 1953, 27.
[5] Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery art 1.
[7] Special Rapporteur paras 48-51. See also the factors considered by the ICTY to determine whether enslavement was committed, Prosecutor v Dragoljub Kunarac, Radomir Kovac and Vukovic Zoran, case No IT-96-23-PT and IT-96-23/1-PT (ICTY TC 2001) para 543.
[9] Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, Gulnara Shahinian, A/HRC/15/20 (2010). See also Siliadin v France application 73316/01) (ECtHR 2005).
[12] 2000 ‘Palermo’ Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime.
Slavery is the status or condition of a person over whom any or all the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised. Servitude is the obligation to provide one’s services because of coercion. Servitude or ‘institutions or practices similar to slavery’ are debt bondage, serfdom, servile marriage and child exploitation and may also include other cases of economic exploitation in which the victim is so dependent on the perpetrator that s/he cannot leave the situation of exploitation
There is an obligation on States to have in place criminal legislation prohibiting slavery and servitude and investigate any allegations with due diligence.
Comprehensive:
Slavery and servitude are prohibited in ICCPR article 8 and other international and regional human rights instruments.[1]
Slavery According to the Slavery Convention of 1926 ‘slavery is the status or condition of a person over whom any or all the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised’.[2] In 2008, the High Court of Australia determined that the 1926 definition of slavery has contemporary relevance as it applies to situations of legal slavery – such as chattel slavery of old – or de facto slavery, where a person does not actually own another person but exercise powers which attach to such ownership.[3] To exercise ‘powers attaching to the right of ownership’ is to control a person like one would possess a thing owned; where one’s autonomy is significantly diminished. In a 1953 Report, the UN Secretary General provided the most authoritative pronouncements of what constitutes such powers as being · the buying, the transferring, or using of a person; · the reaping of the near total benefit from the use or labour the person; · that the status of slave could be passed down to descendents; and · for the person enslaved, their status was for them, indeterminate.[4]
Servitude
Servitude is institutions and practices similar to slavery following from an obligation to provide one’s services because of coercion. According to the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, institutions or practices similar to slavery include debt bondage, serfdom, servile marriage and child exploitation.[5] These terms are defined as follows in the Convention:
Debt bondage is
the status or condition arising from a pledge by a debtor of his personal services or of those of a person under his control as security for a debt, if the value of those services as reasonably assessed is not applied towards the liquidation of the debt or the length and nature of those services are not respectively limited and defined.
Serfdom is the condition or status of a tenant who is by law, custom or agreement bound to live and labour on land belonging to another person and to render some determinate service to such other person, whether for reward or not, and is not free to change his status.
Servile marriage is any institution or practice whereby
(i) A woman, without the right to refuse, is promised or given in marriage on payment of a consideration in money or in kind to her parents, guardian, family or any other person or group; or
(ii) The husband of a woman, his family, or his clan, has the right to transfer her to another person for value received or otherwise; or
(iii) A woman on the death of her husband is liable to be inherited by another person;
Child exploitation is any institution or practice whereby
a child or young person under the age of 18 years, is delivered by either or both of his natural parents or by his guardian to another person, whether for reward or not, with a view to the exploitation of the child or young person or of his labour.
The Convention recognises that these institutions or practices may also be deemed slavery if they meet the 1926 Convention definition.
According to the UN Special Rapporteur slavery-like practices ‘extend beyond the specific instances recognized by the 1956 Supplementary Convention on Slavery and includes other cases of economic exploitation in which the victim is so dependent on the perpetrator that s/he cannot leave the situation of exploitation.’[6] Dependency can be created by economic factors, lack of freedom of movement and physical and psychological abuse.[7] Migrant workers are particularly dependent on their employers.[8] The UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, has noted that live-in domestic workers are particularly at risk of servitude.[9] (See *trafficking*; *forced labour*).
States should have criminal legislation prohibiting slavery and servitude and investigate any allegations with due diligence.[10] Labour laws should extend to all form of work including domestic work and measures to ensure effective enforcement of such laws should be adopted.[11] Slavery and servitude are two of the enumerated types of exploitation which the UN Palermo Protocol seeking to address in cases of trafficking in persons.[12] See *trafficking*.
[1] UDHR art 4; Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery art 1, CMW art 11(1); ACHR art 6(1) and (2); ECHR art 4(1); Arab Charter (2004) art 10; ACHPR art 5; ICC Statute art 7(1)(c) (enslavement). ‘Slavery’ and ‘institutions or practices similar to slavery’ are terms of law with established definitions. Notions such as ‘contemporary forms of slavery’ or ‘slavery-like practices’ are terms of art.
[2] Geneva Convention (1926) art 1; Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery art 7(a); ICC Statute art 7(2)(c ).
[3] The Queen v Tang [2008] HCA 39.
[4] United Nations, Economic and Social Council, Report of the Secretary-General on Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Other Forms of Servitude, UN Doc. E/2357, 17 January 1953, 27.
[5] Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery art 1.
[6] Special Rapporteur para 47.
[7] Special Rapporteur paras 48-51. See also the factors considered by the ICTY to determine whether enslavement was committed, Prosecutor v Dragoljub Kunarac, Radomir Kovac and Vukovic Zoran, case No IT-96-23-PT and IT-96-23/1-PT (ICTY TC 2001) para 543.
[8] Special Rapporteur para 54.
[9] Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, Gulnara Shahinian, A/HRC/15/20 (2010). See also Siliadin v France application 73316/01) (ECtHR 2005).
[10] Special Rapporteur para 74
[11] Special Rapporteur para 75.
[12] 2000 ‘Palermo’ Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime.