29 March 2007 - CRINMAIL 868

- SLAVERY: an introduction and definition

- UNICEF: Child slavery still exists [news]

- SAVE THE CHILDREN UK: The small hands of slavery [publication]

- SOUTHERN AFRICA: Trafficking in Children 'A Major Problem' [news]

- HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL: Child Rights Caucus briefing with the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography [update]

- SRI LANKA: Armed groups continue abducting and recruiting children [news]

- RESOURCES AND INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS

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SLAVERY: an introduction and definition

Two hundred years ago the British government outlawed slave trading throughout the British Empire through the passing of the Slave Trade Act on 25 March 1807. Yet while the world celebrates its anniversary, there are still millions of children currently held as slaves, forced to work long hours for no or little pay and left vulnerable to extreme harm, violence and rape. Across the world, 218 million children aged 5–17 are working as child labourers; of those children, 126 million are involved in hazardous work.

As young slaves, children survive in appalling conditions. Many are coerced into commercial sexual exploitation, while others are forced to work in extremely hazardous conditions in agriculture, mining, construction or as household domestic workers.

Two million children are being abused through prostitution and pornography. Every child confined in slavery is treated as an object to be humiliated or abused, and can be lent or sold to another owner without warning. Much of the international media attention on modern-day slaves has focused on the plight of women and girls trafficked into sex work across Europe.

Definitions are important, since there is considerable confusion about the nature and boundaries of slavery.

There are three essential elements of the exploitative relationship which constitute slavery:

• severe economic exploitation;
• the lack of a human rights framework
• control of one person over another by the prospect or reality of violence
  Many relationships of enslavement do not involve actual physical violence but the nature of the relationship – appalling working and housing conditions, the withdrawal of passports or ID documents, deceit and abuse of power, the use of physical intimidation – renders the possibility of flight remote. Those who do protest may be beaten, abused, raped, deported or even killed.
  
  

It is important to distinguish poor – or even appalling – working conditions from slavery. Coercion is the key distinction: the enslaved person has no real alternative but to submit to the abusive relationship.

Types of slavery

• Bonded labour affects millions of people around the world. People become bonded labourers by taking or being tricked into taking a loan for as little as the cost of medicine for a sick child. To repay the debt, many are forced to work long hours, seven days a week, up to 365 days a year. They receive basic food and shelter as 'payment' for their work, but may never pay off the loan, which can be passed down for generations.
• Early and forced marriage affects women and girls who are married without choice and are forced into lives of servitude often accompanied by physical violence.
• Forced labour affects people who are illegally recruited by individuals, governments or political parties and forced to work -- usually under threat of violence or other penalties.
• Slavery by descent is where people are either born into a slave class or are from a 'group' that society views as suited to being used as slave labour.
• Trafficking involves the transport and/or trade of people -- women, children and men -- from one area to another for the purpose of forcing them into slavery conditions.
• Worst forms of child labour affects an estimated 126 million children around the world in work that is harmful to their health and welfare.
  Source anti-slavery international
  

(Sources: Save the Children UK, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Anti-Slavery International).

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UNICEF: Child slavery still exists [news]

[NEW YORK, 25 March 2007] - Although 25 March marks the 200th anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, slavery still exists today as children are trafficked into bonded labour and the sex trade.

An estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked every year to be used as domestic servants, factory workers, camel jockeys, child soldiers and sex slaves.

Children are the most vulnerable to human rights abuses yet least able to defend themselves. The bicentenary offers a unique opportunity to renew global efforts to eradicate child trafficking.

Human trafficking generates an estimated $9.5 billion a year, attracting organized criminal gangs and leading to corruption on a global scale.

The breakdown of the protective environment leaves children vulnerable to traffickers who exploit the desperation of families. The social factors which lead to this desperation need to be addressed in order to put a stop to this crime. It is also critical to tackle the demand side of human trafficking. Laws must be enforced against those who exploit children.

In 2005, UNICEF and the United Arab Emirates signed an agreement to return children involved in camel racing, many of them victims of trafficking, back to their countries. More than 1,000 child camel jockeys – mostly from Bangladesh, Mauritania, Pakistan and Sudan returned home and were reunited with their families.

UNICEF is committed to eradicating modern day slavery by tackling its root causes such as poverty, lack of education, discrimination and violence. These and other efforts including reintegration programmes involving family, community and governmental support are all part of UNICEF’s efforts to build a protective environment for children, one which safeguards children from violence, exploitation and abuse before it happens.

For more information, contact:
UNICEF
H-9, 3 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017
Tel: 00 1 212 824 6127
Email: netmaster@unicef.org
Website: www.unicef.org

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SAVE THE CHILDREN UK: The small hands of slavery [publication]

[LONDON, 28 March 2007] - On the 200th anniversary of the Slave Trade Act, a new report by Save the Children reveals millions of children are still living as child slaves.

The report exposes the eight most prevalent forms of child slavery that are still forcing children to live in appalling conditions, to work long hours for little or nothing in return, and to be subjected to extreme harm, violence and rape.

Child trafficking

• 1.2 million children and babies are trafficked every year, including into Western Europe, the Americas and the Caribbean, and the number is increasing.
• Gangs involved in child and people trafficking make an estimated profit of US$ 32 billion per year.

Child prostitution

• At any one time across the world, around 1.8 million children are being abused through prostitution, child pornography and sex tourism.
• In the UK there are 5,000 child prostitutes. 75% of them are girls.

Bonded child labour

• Millions of children are forced to work away their childhood in horrific conditions to pay off debt, or simply the interest on it.
• In India alone, estimates suggest up to 15 million children could be enslaved by somebody else's debt, many involved in illegal, hazardous and dangerous work.

Forced work in mines

• One million children are risking their lives in mines and quarries in more than 50 African, Asian and South American countries.
• In the Sahel region of Africa, 200,000 children are daily risking their lives in gold and mineral mines.

Agricultural labour

• More than 132 million children under 15 are trapped working in agriculture, often exposed to pesticides, heavy machinery, machetes and axes.
• In Kazakhstan, children work in cotton and tobacco fields and factories for up to 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

Child soldiers

• More than 300,000 children under 15 are involved with fighting forces, including government armies. Boys and girls in at least 13 countries are actively being recruited as child soldiers or as army 'wives'.
• Around 11,000 children in Democratic Republic of Congo are currently being held by fighting groups.
  

Forced child marriage

• Child marriage, which often includes mail order and internet brides, is one of the most widespread - yet hidden - forms of slavery. Girls as young as four are forced to live and have sex with their husband, and are often kept trapped indoors.
• Girls under 15 are five times more likely to die during pregnancy and childbirth than women over 20. In Afghanistan more than half of all girls are married before they are 16.
  

Domestic slavery

• Millions of children across the world, some as young as six, are forced to work up to 15 hour days as domestic workers. Many are beaten, starved and sexually abused.
• There are 200,000 child domestic workers in Kenya, 550,000 in Brazil and 264,000 in Pakistan.

Jasmine Whitbread, CEO of Save the Children, said:

"Child slavery is not a historical phenomenon - it is a stark reality for millions of children in both poor and rich countries. These children are treated like commodities; they can be lent or sold to other owners without warning, and live under crushing conditions of humiliation and abuse. Governments everywhere - including the UK - are not doing enough to respond to the plight of children in this inhumane situation. World leaders and international donors must act as a matter of urgency to address child slavery and put in place the laws and resources needed to eradicate these terrible practices."

Save the Children is calling on all governments to:

• address and ensure the eradication of child slavery through their own policies on global poverty reduction.
• invest sufficient money and resources to protect children associated with slavery.
• implement international standards on the worst forms of child labour where children in slavery are found.
• put in place protection programmes, including recovery and rehabilitation, to offer emergency and long-term support to all children trapped in slavery-like conditions.
• ensure education is offered in ways that support the removal of children involved in the worst forms of child labour; for example, that it is accessible, flexible and affordable.

Save the Children is calling on the public to:

• lobby their MPs to make the elimination of child slavery a priority.
• support fair trade initiatives that protect the rights of child labourers.
  

For more information, contact:
Save the Children UK
1 St John's Lane
London EC1M 4AR
Tel: + 44 20 7012 6400; Fax: + 44 20 7012 6963
Email: supporter.care@savethechildren.org.uk
Website: www.savethechildren.org.uk

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=12929

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SOUTHERN AFRICA: Trafficking in Children 'A Major Problem' [news]

[27 March 2007] - The trafficking and abuse of children and young people has become 'a major problem for southern African countries without exception', according to studies presented on Tuesday at a conference in Johannesburg organized by the Southern African Network against Trafficking and abuse of Children (SANTAC).

This meeting is part of the preparations for a conference between SADC (Southern African Development Community) and the European Union to be held in Maputo in July.

Although the main purpose of trafficking in children is to force them into prostitution, the studies uncovered other motives for this traffic - including child labour, recruiting child brides for forced marriages, and using children for criminal purposes, particularly to carry drugs. Sometimes children are trafficked to almost certain death, in cases where their body parts are used in black magic rituals.

The age group most vulnerable to trafficking are teenagers - children aged between 13 and 18. Although they are victims, the police often treat them as offenders - for when they are caught in the destination country, the police tend to deport them, rather than protecting them and hunting down those who exploited them.

One problem is that although SADC countries have all ratified the relevant international conventions on child protection, none has yet passed any specific legislation outlawing trafficking in minors (Mozambique and South Africa, however, are both preparing such laws).

The SANTC studies note that, despite this absence of specific legislation, there exist other, broader laws (on kidnapping, for example) which could be used to prosecute traffickers.

'It is not a problem of non-existence of laws, but a lack of implementation of them', SANTAC argues.

The studies stress that deporting the victims of trafficking merely adds to their trauma. 'Children's rights to protection, health or education are compromised during the time they wait for deportation', says SANTAC. 'Little or no consideration is given to the child's physical and psychological state'.

SANTAC calls for bilateral and multilateral arrangements 'to run joint actions against organized crime, trafficking and exploitation of children in transit and destination countries'.

To this end law enforcement officers must be properly trained, and must know how to identify victims of trafficking.

The studies also call for 'standard procedures within the region for the voluntary return and reintegration of victims of trafficking in their countries of origin, and extradition of traffickers for subsequent prosecution'.

SANTAC also urges 'the establishment of a child-friendly judiciary and easily accessible judicial services', while specialized department should be set up to combat trafficking in people 'where qualified personnel would work on investigating reported cases of child trafficking'.

For more information, contact:
Allafrica.com
Tel: 00 1 202 546-0777 ; Fax: 00 1 202 546-0676
Email: comments@allafrica.com
Website: www.allafrica.com

Visit: http://www.crin.org/resources/infoDetail.asp?ID=12927

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HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL: Child Rights Caucus briefing with the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography [update]

[GENEVA, 22 March 2007] - The Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Juan Miguel Petit, told NGOs in a briefing this morning that his report to the Human Rights Council, which deals with organ trafficking and “disappeared children”, was a way of “knocking on the doors of governments” and calling on them to help combat these problems.

He went on to say that governments need to see NGOs not as enemies, but as “sources of help.” Indeed, NGOs should not be passive in their behaviour by waiting for the Human Rights Council to act, he said, but take on a proactive role themselves.

Speaking about Special Procedures, Mr. Petit said that they are a positive mechanism for the human rights cause as a whole and NGOs should fight to retain and improve them by presenting suggestions and statements and sending letters to country Missions.

Mr Petit spoke of the key role that national coalitions play in his research, emphasising that cultural differences should not reduce NGOs’ work, but that they should find different ways to approach the same issues in different countries and among different cultures.

In terms of following up recommendations, Mr Petit said spending one or two weeks in a country does not allow him to see the whole picture, but he relies heavily on the information he receives not only from governments and NGOs, but also those working at the grass-roots level and journalists.

When asked how to raise the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography on the global agenda when there are so many other issues to contend with, Mr Petit commented that it is a question of raising awareness, not only among governments, but also among the people of a country must recognise as a problem. He said that communications need to be improved to educate public opinion and to raise awareness in schools.

He hopes that an annual book of summaries of reports from the Special Procedures will be published so that they will not be forgotten.

In closing, Mr Petit revealed that his next report will focus on issues around adoption.

Read the Report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography

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SRI LANKA: Armed groups continue abducting and recruiting children

[NEW YORK, 29 March 2007] – Despite promises to investigate abductions of children by the pro-government Karuna group, Sri Lankan authorities have taken no effective action and abductions continue, Human Rights Watch said today. The armed opposition Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) also continue to recruit children in Sri Lanka and use them as soldiers.

In Sri Lanka’s eastern Batticaloa district, Human Rights Watch in February witnessed children clearly under the age of 17, some armed with assault rifles, performing guard duty at various offices of the Karuna group’s political party, the Thamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP). Sri Lankan soldiers and police routinely walked and drove by the children without taking any visible action.

“When government troops at a military base look across the street at children standing guard at a Karuna office and do nothing, it’s hard to believe the government is taking any meaningful steps to end this abuse,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The Karuna group’s use of child soldiers with state complicity is more blatant today than ever before.”

President Mahinda Rajapakse and other Sri Lankan officials have repeatedly said that the government would investigate the allegations of state complicity in Karuna abductions and hold accountable any member of the security forces found to have violated the law. To date, however, the government has taken no effective steps.

According to UNICEF, there were 45 reported cases of Karuna child abductions in three months – 10 in December, 24 in January, and 11 in February. Among these were three children abducted by Karuna cadre from camps for internally displaced persons in Batticaloa district. The actual number is likely to be higher because many parents are afraid to report cases, and these numbers do not reflect the forced recruitment by the Karuna group of young men over 17.

At the same time, the LTTE has continued to abduct and forcibly recruit children and young adults, including women and girls, Human Rights Watch said. UNICEF documented 19 cases of LTTE child recruitment in January and nine in February. The LTTE has also abducted at least four people from camps for the internally displaced.

Access to LTTE-controlled areas remains difficult, but credible reports indicate that the group is increasingly recruiting and deploying girls as frontline soldiers in the East. In the recent fighting in the Thoppigala region of Batticaloa district, at least three girls fighting with the LTTE were reportedly killed.

Independent sources have provided detailed information on abductions and recruitment of children by the Karuna group and the LTTE. In February the UN special advisor on children and armed conflict, Allan Rock, reported to the Security Council on Karuna abductions of children with state complicity and on child recruitment by the LTTE, based on his visit to Sri Lanka in November.

Karuna has denied allegations that his forces are abducting or recruiting children. He told Human Rights Watch in a telephone communication on February 9 that his forces had no members under age 18, and that they would discipline any commander who tried to recruit a person under that age.

In January the TMVP released regulations for its military wing, stating that 18 was the minimum age for recruitment, and specifying penalties for members who conscript children. Karuna said he was willing to discuss ways that the regulations could be improved, but said that unscheduled visits to his camps were not possible due to security concerns.

On 19 March, Human Rights Watch wrote to the TMVP, requesting a response to the recent allegations of continued child abductions in Batticaloa district. As of 28 March, the TMVP had not replied.

“The Karuna group is doing the government’s dirty work,” Adams said. “It’s time for authorities in Colombo to stop this group from using children in its forces.”

Further information:
Human Rights Watch: Complicit in Crime: State collusion in abductions and child recruitment by the Karuna group (January 2007)
CRIN's news page on Sri Lanka
Report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Sri Lanka (17 January 2007)

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RESOURCES AND INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS

CRIN

Special thematic pages on armed conflct, child labour,  sexual exploitation and violence against children 

Information on specific countries

CRIN member organisations working on different forms of child slavery


International legal instuments

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (1949)

UN Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery (1956)

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979)

Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)

ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)

Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (2000)


Organisations

Anti-Slavery International

Asia ACTs Against Child Trafficking

Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers

ECPAT International

ILO's International Programme on the Elimination of Child labour

International Save the Children Alliance

Publications

Anti-Slavery International: Trafficking for Forced Labour: UK country report (December 2006)

Free the Slaves: Physical and Mental Health Aspects of Rehabilitating Children Freed from Slavery (August 2006)

Joseph Rowntree Foundation: Contemporary Slavery in the UK: Overview and key issues (February 2007)

Plan International: For the price of a bike - Trafficking of children in Togo (May 2005)

UNICEF: End Child Exploitation: Child Labour Today (February 2005)

Terre des hommes: A study of trafficked Nepalese girls and Women in Mumbai and Kolkata, India (January 2006)

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