1. Slavery and its History Dr. Vladislava Stoyanova

2. Human Rights Law Article 4, UDHR Article 8, ICCPR Article 4, ECHR
Article 6, American Convention on Human Rights
Article 5, African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
‘Every individual shall have the right to the respect of the dignity inherent in a human being and to the recognition of his legal status. All forms of exploitation and degradation of man, particularly slavery, slave trade, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment shall be prohibited. ’

3. Human Rights Law Article 4, ECHR
1. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude.
2. No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour.
3. For the purpose of this article the term "forced or compulsory labour" shall not include:

4. Human Rights Law
not exceptions when forced labour can be used
a. any work required to be done in the ordinary course of detention imposed according to the provisions of Article 5 of this Convention or during conditional release from such detention; b. any service of a military character or, in case of conscientious objectors in countries where they are recognised, service exacted instead of compulsory military service; c. any service exacted in case of an emergency or calamity threatening the life or well-being of the community; d. any work or service which forms part of normal civic obligations.

5. Conventions prior to human rights law
League of Nations
Slavery, Servitude, Forced Labour and Similar Institutions and Practices Convention of 1926, 60 L.N.T.S. 253, entered into force March 9, 1927 (the 1926 Slavery Convention)
Convention concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour (ILO No. 29), 39 U.N.T.S. 55, entered into force May 1, (The ILO Forced Labour Convention)
Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, 226 U.N.T.S. 3, entered into force April 30, (The 1956 Supplementary Convention)
ILO
United Nations

6. Why is historical legal analysis helpful?

7. Colonialism and the Differentiation between Slavery and Forced Labour

8. The 1926 Slavery Convention
For the purpose of the present Convention, the following definitions are agreed upon:
(I) Slavery is the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised.
(2) The slave trade includes all acts involved in the capture, acquisition or disposal of a person with intent to reduce him to slavery; all acts involved in the acquisition of a slave with a view to selling or exchanging him; all acts of disposal by sale or exchange of a slave acquired with a view to being sold or exchanged, and, in general, every act of trade or transport in slaves.
Article 1 For the purpose of the present Convention, the following definitions are agreed upon: (i) Slavery is the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised. (ii) The slave trade includes all acts involved in the capture, acquisition or disposal of a person with intent to reduce him to slavery; all acts involved in the acquisition of a slave with a view of selling or exchanging him; all acts of disposal by sale or exchange of a slave acquitted with a view to being sold or exchanged, and, in general, every act of trade or transport in slaves.

9. The 1926 Slavery Convention
Article 2
The High Contracting Parties undertake, each in respect of the territories placed under its sovereignty, jurisdiction, protection, suzerainty or tutelage, so far as they have not already taken the necessary steps:
To prevent and suppress the slave trade;
To bring about, progressively and as soon as possible, the complete abolition of slavery in all its forms.

10. The 1926 Slavery Convention
Article 5 The High Contracting 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 labor from developing into conditions analogous to slavery.
‘protecting the natives against their want of foresight and to assist them in rising to a more advanced state of civilization’

11. The ILO Forced Labour Convention
Forced Labor Report and Draft Questionnaire (the Grey Report), International Labor Conference 12th session, Geneva 1929, N.
Definition: ‘all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and from which the said person has not offered himself voluntary’
Obligation: ‘to supress the use of forced or compulsory labour in all its forms within the shortest possible period.’

12. The 1956 Supplementary Convention
Article 1
Each of the State parties to this Convention shall take all practicable and necessary legislative and other measures to bring about progressively and as soon as possible the complete abolition or abandonment of the following institutions and practices … [debt bondage, serfdom, servile marriages, transfer of children for the purpose of exploitation]

13. Back to Human Rights Law
Issues during the drafting of the ICCPR

14. Human Rights Law
The right not to be subjected to SSFL – fairy neglected area of human rights law
At the level of the ICCPR and the Human Rights Committee
Some interesting developments at regional European level

15. Article 4, ECHR - Slavery
Siliadin v. France, Appl. No /01, 26 July 2005
‘The Court notes at the outset that, according to the Slavery Convention, “slavery is the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised”.
It notes that this definition corresponds to the “classic” meaning of slavery as it was practiced for centuries. Although the applicant was, in the instant case, clearly deprived of her personal autonomy, the evidence does not suggest that she was held in slavery in the proper sense, in other words that Mr[.] and Mrs[.] B. exercised a genuine right of legal ownership over her, thus reducing her to the status of an “object”.’

16. Article 4, ECHR - Slavery Rantsev v. Cyprus and Russia
‘[…] trafficking in human beings, by its very nature and aim of exploitation, is based on the exercise of powers attaching to the right of ownership. It treats human beings as commodities to be bought and sold and put to forced labour, often for little or no payment, usually in the sex industry but also elsewhere [emphasis added].’

17. Article 4, ECHR - Slavery
M. and Others v. Italy and Bulgaria, App. No.40020/03, 31 July 2012
‘Even assuming that the applicant’s father received a sum of money in respect of the alleged marriage, the Court is of the view that, in the circumstances of the present case, such a monetary contribution cannot be considered to amount to a price attached to the transfer of ownership, which would bring into play the concept of slavery. The Court reiterates that marriage has deep-rooted social and cultural connotations which may differ largely from one society to another. According to the Court, this payment can reasonably be accepted as representing a gift from one family to another, a tradition common to many different cultures in today’s society [emphasis added].’

18. Article 4, ECHR – Servitude
Siliadin v. France
With regard to the concept of “servitude”, what is prohibited is a “particularly serious form of denial of freedom.” It includes, “in addition to the obligation to perform certain services for others … the obligation for the ‘serf’ to live on another person’s property and the impossibility of altering his condition.’ In this connection, in examining a complaint under this paragraph of Article 4, the Commission paid particular attention to the Abolition of Slavery Convention [the 1957 Supplementary Convention].
It follows in the light of the case law on this issue that for Convention purposes “servitude” means an obligation to provide one's services that is imposed by the use of coercion, and is to be linked with the concept of “slavery” described above [emphasis added].

19. Article 4, ECHR - Servitude
C.N. and V. v. France, App.No 67724/09, 11 October 2012‘
[…] servitude corresponds to a special type of forced or compulsory labour or, in other words, “aggravated” forced or compulsory labour. As a matter of fact, the fundamental distinguishing feature between servitude and forced labour or compulsory labour within the meaning of Article 4 of the Convention lies in the victim’s feeling that their condition is permanent and that the situation is unlikely to change. It is sufficient that this feeling be based on the above mentioned objective criteria or brought about or kept alive by those responsible for the situation [emphasis added].’

20. Article 4, ECHR - Servitude
C.N. v. The United Kingdom, App.No.4239/08, 13 November 2012
‘[…] domestic servitude is a specific offence, […] which involves a complex set of dynamics, involving both overt and more subtle forms of coercion, to force compliance. A thorough investigation into complaints of such conduct therefore requires an understanding of the many subtle ways an individual can fall under the control of another.’

21. Article 4, ECHR – Forced Labour
Distinction: labour demanded by the state (compulsory labour) and labour demanded by a private party, e.g. an employer (forced labour)
Labour demanded by the state – focus on Article 4(3)

22. Article 4, ECHR – Forced Labour
For the purposes of this article the terms “forced or compulsory labour” shall not include:
a. any work required to be done in the ordinary course of detention imposed according to the provisions of Article 5 of this Convention or during conditional release from such detention;
b. any service of a military character or, in case of conscientious objectors in countries where they are recognized, service exacted instead of compulsory military service;
any service exacted in case of an emergency or calamity threatening the life or well-being of the community;
d. any work or service which forms part of normal civic obligations.

23. Article 4, ECHR – Forced Labour
Van der Mussele v. Belgium, App. No.8919/80, 23 Nov 1983 The Court reiterates that paragraph 3 of Article 4 is not intended to ‘limit’ the exercise of the right guaranteed by paragraph 2, but to ‘delimit’ the very content of that right, for it forms a whole with paragraph 2 and indicates what ‘the term “forced or compulsory labour” shall not include. This being so, paragraph 3 serves as an aid to the interpretation of paragraph 2. The four sub-paragraphs of paragraph 3, notwithstanding their diversity, are grounded on the governing ideas of the general interest, social solidarity and what is normal in the ordinary course of affairs [emphasis added].

24. Article 4, ECHR – Forced Labour
Van der Mussele v. Belgium ‘The applicant’s prior consent, without more, does not therefore warrant the conclusion that the obligations incumbent on him in regard to legal aid did not constitute compulsory labour for the purposes of Article 4(2) of the Convention. Account must necessary be taken of other factors.’

25. Article 4, ECHR – Forced Labour
Van der Mussele v. Belgium ‘[…] if the service imposed a burden which was so excessive or disproportionate to the advantages attached to the future exercise of that profession, that the service could not be treated as having been voluntary accepted beforehand, this could apply, for example, in the case of a service unconnected with the profession in question [emphasis added].’

26. Article 4, ECHR – Forced Labour
C.N. and V. v. France ‘In the present case, the Court considers that the first applicant was forced to work so hard that without her aid Mr and Mrs M. would have had to employ and pay a professional housemaid. The second applicant, on the other hand, has not adduced sufficient proof that she contributed in any excessive measure to the upkeep of Mr and Mrs M.’s household [emphasis added].’

27. Thank you. vladislava.Stoyanova@jur.lu.se