Annual Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
The Special Rapporteur suggests an integral approach which is grounded in international human rights norms, and a new podcast looks into bank data analysis to fight modern slavery.
Each year the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, its causes and consequences is requested by the Human Rights Council (formerly the Commission) and by the General Assembly to present an annual report assessing current features of slavery, the effectiveness of efforts and gaps that need to be bridged to better tackle emerging forms of slavery.
This year's report suggests an integrated approach which is grounded in addressing the following key themes:
Tackling impunity at all levels: Slavery persists because it is not effectively identified or punished, and creative approaches, such as the use of corporate leverage and strategic litigation, will be increasingly important in contexts where the reach of the State and the rule of law is weak.
Data: Data collection and analysis is hampered by the hidden nature of contemporary forms of slavery, by limited resources, by the lack of shared typologies and collection methodologies and by necessary restrictions on data sharing. The lack of reliable data is a fundamental constraint to the ability to assess what is working and base responses and strategies on that knowledge.
Resourcing: "There is no reason to assume that a 1:1 matching of profits and response spending is required; but equally, it is hard to argue that spending on the likely current scale, given its fragmentation and lack of strategic coordination, is adequate to end slavery."
Strategic allocation of resources: Currently there are no systems that would allow those who control resources to coordinate their actions to achieve scale. As a result, there may be a serious disconnect between the locations where resources are being spent and the locations where their expenditure might be most impactful, and there is more to be done to connect discussions in the anti-slavery field to work going on in both the business and human rights and broader sustainable development fields.
Role of survivors: Many of today’s anti-slavery efforts do not give survivors a sufficient role and agency in public policy development and decision-making processes.
Role of technology: There is a need for caution and precautions to ensure that technology to support anti-slavery efforts respects and promotes rights. Work is needed to develop common standards and norms, as well as to ensure that technology is developed and deployed in the global South.
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy updates and news:
In last week's webinar, our panelists presented the findings of the Freedom Fund's recent study into the nature of exploitation of minors in Kathmandu’s adult entertainment sector. While the numbers of minors working in the AES may have declined since past estimates, there are still a significant number of minors working in the sector that is a highly exploitative place for children to work. The discussion also included the methods used for the prevalence estimation, the limitations of the study and how these limitations may be minimized in future research efforts.
The very first episode of the Forensic Finance podcast released last week looks into bank data analysis to help fight modern slavery, and the latest Impactful Work Podcast episode focuses on Leveraging Technology for Ethical Supply Chains.
Nepal rejected a United Nations call to compensate an indigenous man in forced labor case
Nepal and Malaysia have reached closer to an agreement to resume sending workers from Nepal
Share your news
Post your updates from the field and initiatives to feature