Although they are often used interchangeably, the terms
slavery and
forced labour must be distinguished. Indeed, [...] "
slavery is one form of forced labour. It involves absolute control of one person over another, or perhaps
one group of persons by another social group. [...] A person in a situation of
slavery will certainly be forced to work, but this is not the only defi ning feature of the relationship. Moreover, the situation is a permanent one, often based on descent, rather than one with a fi xed duration."
(International Labour Office,
A global alliance against forced labour,
Global report under the follow-up to the ILO Declaration on fundamental principles and rights at work, 2005, visited 2011-03-18)
"Several 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';
- Constrained physically or has restrictions placed on his/her freedom of movement."
(
Anti-Slavery International, visited 2006-09-07)
Slavery was the first human rights issue to arouse widespread international concern. Yet, in the face of universal condemnation, slavery-like practices remain a grave and persistent problem. The word "
slavery" today covers a variety of human rights violations. In addition to traditional
slavery and the slave trade, these abuses include the sale of children, child prostitution, child pornography, child labour, the sexual mutilation of female children, the use of children in armed conflicts, debt bondage, the traffic in persons and in the sale of human organs, prostitution, and certain practices under
apartheid and colonial regimes.
Slavery-like practices are often clandestine. This makes it difficult to gain a clear picture of the scale of contemporary
slavery, let alone to uncover, punish or eliminate it. The problem is compounded by the fact that the victims of
slavery-like abuses are generally from the poorest and most vulnerable social groups. There is enough evidence, however, to show that
slavery-like practices are vast and widespread.
