A/HRC/42/44
in the translation of international definitions and obligations into domestic law. 53 Similarly,
while rates of prosecution and conviction are increasing, the absolute numbers of
convictions remain very low and the risk of perpetrators facing justice is minimal. 54
Researchers and practitioners have identified a number of obstacles to effective criminal
and civil justice responses, 55 including the complexity of investigations given the
transnational and clandestine nature of the organization of the crime of forced labour,
servitude or slavery, low awareness among criminal justice actors and obstruction by
corrupt officials.56
26.
Alongside criminal justice efforts, States are adopting civil and administrative
provisions requiring large companies to report on slavery risks in their supply chains and, in
some cases, financial portfolios. During the 2017 G20 Labour Summit, ministers of labour
and employment committed to “work towards establishing adequate policy frameworks in
[their] countries to support the attainment of decent work and strengthen compliance with
fundamental principles and rights at work in global supply chains”.57 Yet the effectiveness
of these regimes is not yet clear, as reporting remains in many cases in its early stages and
there is no clear evidence of reporting having a measurable influence on market demand. 58
27.
Some States have also adopted provisions excluding suppliers with slavery risks in
their supply chains from winning public contracts. 59 Public procurement is a focus of
activity in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which has
published guidelines. And Governments are using anti-money laundering regimes to
encourage the financial sector to prevent the proceeds of slavery entering the financial
system. The Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related
Transnational Crime has issued guidance material on using money-laundering tools to
address these crimes;60 and the Liechtenstein Initiative for a Financial Sector Commission
on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, convened by the foreign ministers of
Liechtenstein, Australia and the Netherlands, together with Nobel laureate Muhammad
Yunus, has also explored opportunities for strengthening these arrangements. 61
28.
Governments are also allocating more resources to global anti-slavery efforts.
Between 2000 and 2013, 30 OECD countries committed more than $4 billion in official
development assistance (ODA) to eradicate the forms of exploitation now covered by Goal
8.7, with the average annual commitments growing from $150 million in 2001 to $450
million in 2010.62 The new Global Fund to End Modern Slavery now manages over $75
million, the Freedom Fund $100 million, and States have provided $724,825 to the United
Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, 63 which provides
assistance to thousands of people who have experienced some form of slavery.
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
Katarina Schwarz and Jean Allain, Antislavery in Domestic Legislation Database (2019),
forthcoming; and ILO, Ending Forced Labour by 2030, pp. 109–111. See also Walk Free,
Measurement, Action, Freedom.
Sasha Jesperson and Rosana Garciandia, “Law enforcement”, Delta 8.7 Thematic Overview, 2018.
Chloé Bailey, Pathways to Justice: How Grassroots Organisations are Harnessing the Law to Tackle
Modern Slavery (Freedom Fund, 2019).
See www.globalslaveryindex.org/2018/findings/global-findings/.
“Towards an inclusive future: shaping the world of work”, Ministerial Declaration adopted at the G20
Labour and Employment Ministers Meeting, 17 May 2017.
Rights Lab submission, p. 6; Freedom Fund, submission, Q5; Tech Against Trafficking submission,
p. 4; and Fairtrade Norway submission, p. 3. See also Patricia Carrier, “The Modern Slavery Act turns
four today. Is it working? And how can it be improved?”, Business and Human Rights Resource
Centre, 26 March 2019; and International Corporate Accountability Roundtable and Focus on Labour
Exploitation, Full Disclosure: Towards Better Modern Slavery Reporting (2019).
Walk Free and Ethical Trading Initiative submissions.
Bali Process, Policy Guide on Following the Money in Trafficking in Persons Cases (2018).
See www.financialsectorcommission.org.
Kelly Gleason and James Cockayne, Official Development Assistance and SDG Target 8.7:
Measuring Aid to Address Forced Labour, Modern Slavery, Human Trafficking and Child Labour
(New York, Delta 8.7 and United Nations University, 2018).
As of 31 December 2018.
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