A/HRC/24/43 legislative, executive and judiciary branches of the Government of Brazil together with representatives of the United Nations and civil society to combat contemporary forms of slavery. This well-funded, permanent Commission, which is responsible for developing national plans to combat slavery and carrying out national awareness-raising campaigns, has been considered a leading example of successful efforts to combat slavery. 54. One of the most important steps in ensuring the successful implementation of laws on contemporary forms of slavery is the provision of training to authorities, including law enforcement officers, labour inspectors, judges and immigration officials. Training should cover relevant law, victim protection mechanisms and techniques for identifying victims. 55. Labour inspectorates and labour courts are extremely important entities, as they are on the frontline of detection and sanctioning of contemporary forms of slavery. It is therefore essential that they function properly and include measures such as increased fines for labour law violations; reduced timelines for processing cases and imposing fines; increased funding for the labour inspectorate; provision of police assistance; establishment of a unit to verify employer compliance with labour court orders; criminal prosecution of employers who fail to comply; and monitoring of enforcement of labour court orders. 56. Some countries have also taken action to punish perpetrators of contemporary forms of slavery and compensate their victims. In Argentina, in one notable court case, a judge ordered the owners of a garment factory that was employing Bolivian workers under conditions of forced labour to turn the factory over to the workers. 35 In the Plurinational State of Bolivia, the Government has confiscated land on which individuals were subject to forced labour and turned it over to those who were forced to work on it. 36 In 2013, the state of São Paulo in Brazil passed a law that makes companies liable for contemporary forms of slavery in their production chains (including in the operations of their subcontractors). The law allows the state government to cancel complicit companies’ tax registration for 10 years, thereby making it impossible for them to continue operating legally. In May 2013, the Governor of São Paulo signed a decree enacting the above-mentioned Law 14.946, and the Senate of Brazil was considering passing the Proposed Constitutional Amendment (PEC) 57A/1999, which allows for the expropriation of the property of companies that have subjected workers to contemporary forms of slavery. 57. At the regional level, courts have also enforced slavery laws. For example, in 2008, Niger – which had criminalized slavery in 2003 – was brought before the Economic Community of West African States Community Court of Justice, which ruled that Niger was responsible for failing to protect 24-year-old Hadijatou Mani from slavery. C. Awareness-raising and prevention 58. One of the most important elements in combating contemporary slavery is awareness-raising and prevention. Some countries have set up innovative systems to raise awareness of contemporary forms of slavery. For example, in 2009, ILO noted that, as part of the National Policy and Plan of Action of Pakistan, the Government incorporated information on bonded labour into the curriculum of judicial officials, police and the civil service.37 35 36 37 See Patrick Belser and David Duarte, La eliminación de todas las formas de trabajo forzoso u obligatorio (ILO, 2004). Available from www.oit.org.ar/WDMS/bib/publ/libros/declaracion_2.pdf. See Verité, Research on Indicators of Forced Labor in the Supply Chains of Brazil-Nuts, Cattle, Corn, and Peanut Sectors in Bolivia (2012). ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, individual observation concerning Convention No. 29: Pakistan, adopted 2009, published by 99th ILC session (2010). Available from 15