INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ABOLITION OF SLAVERY 2022: Background, Facts, Timeline & More

Every year on December 2, the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery is observed. On this Day in 1949, the United Nations General Assembly passed the Convention for the Suppression of Human Trafficking and the Exploitation. This Day is dedicated to the abolition of modern forms of Slavery, such as human trafficking, sexual exploitation, the cruellest types of child labour, forced marriage, and the forced recruitment of youngsters for military service. It aims to raise awareness and strengthen global efforts to address the evil of modern Slavery.

 
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ABOLITION OF SLAVERY 2022

Governments, organizations, and individuals are urged to use this Day to expressly condemn the atrocities of modern-day Slavery, which still occurs in the world. The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery differs from the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, a day to reflect on the atrocities during the Transatlantic Slave Trade Era.

Why Do We Celebrate International Day Of Abolition Of Slavery?

  • As we mark International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, we must acknowledge that the legacy of the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans continues to echo today, scarring our societies and obstructing equitable development.
  • We must also identify and eliminate modern forms of Slavery, such as human trafficking, sexual exploitation, child labour, forced marriage, and children's use in armed conflict. According to the most recent Global Estimates of Modern Slavery on forced labour and forced marriage, over 50 million people were enslaved in 2021, and this number is growing.
  • The most marginalized groups, such as ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities, migrants, children, and people of various gender identities and sexual orientations, remain the most susceptible. The vast majority of these vulnerable individuals are women.
  • On this International Day, I urge governments and cultures to recommit to the abolition of Slavery. Increased action is required, with the full engagement of all stakeholders, including the commercial sector, trade unions, civil society, and human rights organizations. I also urge all countries to safeguard and defend the rights of slave victims and survivors.

Modern Slavery

  • According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), forced labour and forced marriage have increased dramatically in the previous five years. Under 2021, 10 million more individuals were in modern Slavery than in 2016, increasing the global total to 50 million. Women and children continue to face disproportionate risks.
  • Although modern Slavery is not legally defined, it is used as a catch-all for behaviours such as forced labour, debt bondage, forced marriage, and human trafficking.
  • It essentially refers to exploitative circumstances in which a person is unable to refuse or leave due to threats, violence, coercion, deception, and misuse of authority.
  • Modern Slavery exists in practically every country on the planet and crosses ethnic, cultural, and religious divides. More than half of all forced labour and a quarter of all forced marriages occur in upper-middle and high-income countries.
  • The ILO enacted a legally binding Protocol to bolster worldwide efforts to abolish forced labour, which went into effect in November.

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ABOLITION OF SLAVERY 2022: Facts

  • Modern Slavery affects an estimated 50 million people, with 28 million subjected to forced labour and 22 million subjected to forced marriage.
  • Children account for about one-eighth of all people subjected to forced labour. Over half of these minors are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation.
  • The majority of occurrences of forced labour (86%) are found in the private sector.
  • Almost four out of every five people subjected to coerced commercial sexual exploitation are women or girls.

Campaigns

  • 50 for Freedom campaign
  • Protocol on Forced Labour could restore hope and freedom to millions of people trapped in modern Slavery.
  • Call world leaders to ratify the ILO's Protocol on Forced Labour!

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ABOLITION OF SLAVERY 2022: Background

  • The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, December 2, commemorates the General Assembly's adoption of the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of Human Trafficking and the Exploitation of Others' Prostitution (resolution 317(IV) of December 2, 1949).
  • This Day is dedicated to ending modern forms of Slavery, such as human trafficking, sexual exploitation, the worst types of child labour, forced marriage, and the forced recruitment of children for use in armed combat.

Forms Of Modern Slavery

  • Throughout history, Slavery has evolved and shown itself in various ways. Some traditional forms of Slavery continue to exist in their original forms today, while others have been changed into new ones.
  • The continuation of archaic forms of Slavery ingrained in traditional beliefs and rituals has been observed by UN human rights bodies.
  • These forms of Slavery result from long-standing prejudice against society's most vulnerable groups, such as those of low caste, a tribal minority, and indigenous peoples.

Traditional Forms Of Forced Labour

  • Along with traditional forms of forced labour, such as bonded labour and debt bondage, there are now more modern forms of forced labour, such as migrant workers, who have been trafficked for economic exploitation of all kinds in the global economy, including work in domestic servitude, the construction industry, the food and garment industry, the agricultural sector, and forced prostitution.

CHILD LABOUR

· One out of every ten youngsters in the world works. The vast bulk of child labour nowadays is for economic exploitation. This violates the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which recognizes "the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral, or social development."

TRAFFICKING

  • The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, defines trafficking in persons as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of persons for exploitation through the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion.
  • Exploitation involves other people's prostitution or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, Slavery or practises comparable to Slavery, servitude, or organ removal.
  • The person being trafficked for exploitation's permission is irrelevant, and if the trafficked person is a kid, it is a felony even if no force is used.

INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY: History

· The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery focuses on the abolition of modern forms of Slavery, such as human trafficking, sexual exploitation, child labour, forced marriage, and child recruitment into armed combat. The Day is observed on December 2, the same date that the United Nations Convention to Suppress Traffic in Persons and the Exploitation of Others' Prostitution was adopted on December 2 1949, by its member states and governments observe it, organizations, and people all over the world as a day specifically set aside to condemn all forms of modern-day slavery that still exist in the world today.

· Slavery has spanned different nations, civilizations, and religions from prehistoric times. Similarly, enslaved people came from a diverse spectrum of racial and religious origins. The social, economic, and legal standing of enslaved individuals has varied drastically across time and place. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Africans were kidnapped, sold into Slavery in the American colonies, and exploited to work as enslaved people in manufacturing items such as tobacco and cotton. Though accurate figures are impossible, some historians believe that 6 to 7 million enslaved people were transported to the New World during the 18th century, stripping Africa of some of its best and healthiest men and women.

INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY 2022: TIMELINE

1619-Starting Point Of Slavery In America
17th Century-Poor Europeans Were Replaced With African Slaves-In North America, European settlers turned to African slaves instead of indentured servants who were often poor Europeans.

1770-Crispus Attucks is killed-An escaped slave man is one of the first people to be killed by British soldiers during the Boston Massacre.

1800-Slave Rebellion-Richmond, Virginia, in the U.S.

1808-Congress Proscribes Slavery

1866-Last Dance in Cuba-The last known slave ship carried captives to Cuba in 1866.

1995-First Celebration-International Day for the Abolition of Slavery was first observed in 1995.

2016-U.N.'s Landmark Forced Labor Protocol-The International Labour Organization adopts a "new legally binding Protocol", which was implemented in November 2016.

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