Another law that was brought in was the “Universal Declaration of human rights (1948)”. This law was a massive step forward in the movement to rule out slavery and Human Trafficking. “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.”
The next year the “Convention for the suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others” This convention was helpful towards bringing the principals together of many different international agreements about slavery and trafficking in women and children, it also covered prostitution.
Eight years later the “Convention Concerning the Abolition of Forced Labour (ILO No.105) (1957)” was enforced. This convention was enforcement towards defining all the forms of slavery that the International Labour Organisation must undertake to prevent any slavery or trafficking in their countries. This was the commitment to suppress any form of forced labour.
Children are also a massive part of slavery and trafficking. There have been laws designed and based on children to ensure their rights and to protect them from labour such as debt bondages, forced labour, child soldiering and to keep them from any work that may cause them harm. This law is called the “Convention Concerning the Prohibited and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst forms of Child Labour (ILO No. 182) (1999)”
During the 20th century there were many more laws that were developed in relation to slavery. The United Nations International Labour Organisation (ILO) played a major role in the development in ruling out slavery with new laws. Their main aim was to enforce the idea that countries should be free to rule themselves- means that adherence to international law is largely voluntary and its enforcement is challenged. These days there are many international laws that relate to Human Trafficking and Slavery.
On July 1, 2002 the ICC (International Criminal Court) became effective. This court included 74 countries that ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. It is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. The ICC was established as a court of last resort to prosecute the most heinous offenses in cases where national courts fail to act. States that have not taken part of the ICC cannot be trialled in that Court.
Regional Organisations are intergovernmental Organisations that have a own focus on what is happening in their own region. Regions can be defined into places such as the European Union, the Western Union, and The African Union. These organisations enforce their own international laws including anti-slavery and trafficking laws.
Some laws that that have come under their anti-slavery laws include- “The African Charter on Human and people’s rights” This was created by the African Union and prohibits slavery and the slave trade ion member nations.
The European Union came up with the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. 45 members of state of the council of Europe were applied to this convention. It prohibits Slavery and forced labour.
The Americans had their own convention on Human Rights. This convention was developed by the Organisation was developed by the Organisation of American States. Its aim is to outlaw slavery and focus of the abolishment of trafficking of women and children.
Regional Organisations have been proven in ways to be more effective than international and Globally Based organisations. Regional Organisations have more influence because they are made up of nations that have strong cultural, geographical and trade links. The regional organisations have been proven to be very successful in reducing slavery.
Australia has its own legislations towards Slavery and Human Trafficking. Slavery and Human Trafficking is not a major issue in Australia, but it does still happen more than people think. Not so much is it corrupt with slave labour but more so within the sex industry with bonded labour. There have been laws enforced that are based on the protection of these breaches. Federal criminal and migration laws can be used to prosecute those who are involved in trafficking. This country is also involved in the most important international anti-slavery convention. Australia is also heavily involved ruling out slave trade and human trafficking on an international level too. This nation has Bilateral Agreements with it nearby surrounding countries; this has come to be quite useful in ways of ruling out slavery in Australia. In 2003 Australia established a human trafficking strategy. Since then almost $60 million has been dedicated to this approach. Australia’s anti-trafficking strategy addresses the full trafficking cycle in ways of recruitment to reintegration which assists in detection, investigation, prosecution and victim support. Australia has introduced many laws over the years that will assist in the abolishment of Slavery and Trafficking.
In 1999 Australia introduced the first of sexual slavery laws with the Criminal Code (Slavery and sexual servitude) amendment act 1999 (cth). This further refined and added more human trafficking offences to the Federal Criminal Code in the Criminal amendment (Trafficking in persons offences) act 2005 (cth).
On the 17th of May Australia ratified the supplementary protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children. This new protocol was a step forward in the approach of punishment and making slavery and trafficking a high risk thing to do.
An example of these breaches is the R v Tand (2008) 237 CLR 1; R v Wei Tang (2009) 233 FLR 399. This case is a prime example of what the consequences may be if caught breaching these acts. Wei Tang owned an illegal brothel and was accused of purchasing 5 women from Thailand to work in her brothel under illegal conditions of slavery and debt bondages. Wei Tang was convicted in 2006 of 5 counts of intentionally possessing a slave on five counts of intentionally exercising a power of ownership over a slave, contrary to 270.3(1)(a) of the commonwealth Criminal Code, and sentences to 10 years imprisonment.
Non legal responses are just as crucial as legal responses. There are many Non Legal responses available to help the fight against Slavery and Human Trafficking around the Globe. Non Legal responses can come under many titles. Some of the most important responses could be something such as education, media, NGOs, and charities.
Education plays a major role in way of people learning that slavery and human trafficking is wrong. The United Nations play a big part in the education of human rights, they have developed a range of educational programs to bring to people’s attention the ideas of slaves and bonded labour. The more people are educated on these ideas, the easier it will be to someday outgrow slavery and trafficking.
Another major factor that brings slavery and human trafficking to the attention of people is the media. Through the media anything and almost everything written will be seen. Through the media many NGOs (Non Government Organisations) have also been proven to be quite effective. They operate independently of the governments and intergovernmental organisations. NGO’s can be defined as something like the United Nations or the Anti-slavery project.
Another relation to non legal responses is the people in general. Many of the world’s slaves are used in industries that supply goods to developed countries- Clothes, shoes, iPods etc. With people refusing to purchase products that are produced from bonded labourers, consumers in developed countries have the potential to effect change.
Charities also play a big role in the fight against slavery and human trafficking. With many non-profitable charities out there, this puts up a better fight. There are many types of charities out in the world that are against slavery and trafficking. One of the most known charities is the Anti-slavery organisation. With their donations and determination they do everything in their power to end slavery and get better labour systems. These charities are also helpful in ways of educating people about slavery and keeping people alert.
All of these matters to do with slavery and Trafficking have all been proven to be more than effective with the growth of knowledge and the determination to rule out these problems. The laws have been developing more and more and have grown to be much more effective as each year goes by. Although a lot has been done to try and rule out slavery, it is still happening all over the world every day. Non legal responses have been just as effective with it determination to get the message out there that slavery and trafficking is not good for people. But at an international level, the problem of people trafficking and slavery is still far from gone. The main risk of people trafficking and slavery and the difficulty in preventing it have been classed into things such as-
-Limited resources or effectiveness of developing states to combat forms of exploitation and transnational crime.-Socio-political and economic factors that mark the movement of people from one place to another.
In conclusion most attempts of ruling out slavery and Trafficking have been proven to be quite effective, yet not effective enough. Yes the laws that have been put in place are helping out here and there, but there is still a massive breach of human rights happening everyday all over the world. There will be many more attempts and approaches as the years go by, but for now slavery is still a massive problem and more action must be taken.