TEXT: English
French
Slavery was the first human rights issue to arouse wide international concern. Yet, in the face of universal condemnation, slavery-like practices, including traditional slavery and the slave trade, sale of children, child prostitution, the exploitation of child labour, debt bondage, the traffic in persons, and the exploitation of prostitution persist. As slavery practices are usually clandestine, it is difficult to have a clear picture of the scale of contemporary slavery. Efforts to uncover, punish or eliminate it are complicated by the fact that the victims of slavery are generally from the poorest and most vulnerable social groups
The
Convention, which was drawn up by the League of Nations, is the first of
three modern conventions directly related to the issue of slavery. Its
main objective is to prevent and suppress the slave trade, and to bring
about the abolition of slavery in all its forms. Under the Protocol amending
the Slavery Convention, the United Nations formally became the successor
to the League of Nations in the application of the Slavery Convention.
Key Provisions
The
Convention defines slavery as the status or condition of a person over
whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised.
The slave trade is defined as including all acts involved in the capture,
acquisition or disposal of a person with intent to reduce the person to
slavery; all acts involved in the acquisition of a slave with a view to
selling or exchanging the person; all acts of disposal by sale or exchange
of a slave acquired with a view to selling or exchanging; and, in general,
every act of trade or transport in slaves.
States
Parties to the Convention undertake to prevent and suppress the slave trade,
and to bring about the complete abolition of slavery in all its forms.
Each State Party agrees to adopt appropriate measures to prevent and suppress
the embarkation, disembarkation and transport of slaves, and to give other
States Parties assistance in securing the abolition of slavery and the
slave trade.
States Parties recognize that recourse to compulsory or forced labour may have grave consequences and undertake to take all necessary measures to prevent compulsory or forced labour from developing into conditions analogous to slavery. States Parties also agree to adopt necessary measures in order that severe penalties are imposed in respect of infractions of laws and regulations enacted to give effect to the Convention. They also agree to communicate to each other, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, information on such laws and regulations.
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Open
for accession by all States, including States which are not Members of
the United Nations, to which the Secretary-General of the United Nations
shall have communicated a certified copy of the Convention
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Entry
into force: 7 July 1955
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Status
as at 15
June 2001:
Contracting
Parties: 93 |