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ILO REPORT ON FL IN BURMA: SLICE 7
- Subject: ILO REPORT ON FL IN BURMA: SLICE 7
- From: darnott@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 09:14:00
[ILO COMMISSION OF INQUIRY ON FORCED LABOUR IN BURMA, SLICE 7]
188. Before submitting his report to the Commission in
February 1997,(158) the Special Rapporteur visited Thailand in
December 1996 to assess the situation of displaced persons
from Myanmar living in refugee camps on the border. In his
report, the Special Rapporteur identified forced labour as one
of the causes of people leaving their homes.(159)
189. The Special Rapporteur provided new information on forced
labour in his interim report dated 16 October 1997.(160)
Recourse to forced labour was reported in all parts of
Myanmar, including those where a cease fire had been agreed
upon. In the case of military offensives, the Special
Rapporteur indicated that an estimated 30,000 porters had
reportedly been recruited for the offensives against the Karen
National Union (KNU) launched in the dry season of 1997.(161)
A substantial increase in the presence of the Myanmar army in
the border regions was reported, leading to an increase in
non-frontline forced labour for the military, such as
portering and courier duties, building, maintaining and
guarding military roads and bridges, sweeping roads for mines,
and building and servicing military camps and farms.(162)
Another form of forced labour which had been reported was work
on commercial projects for the army, such as rice farms, fish
ponds and tree-planting operations, which the local farmers
had to build up and maintain.(163) Forced labour continues to
be used for infrastructure and development work.(164)
190. In his report to the Commission on Human Rights in
January 1998,(165) the Special Rapporteur specifically
addressed the issue of women victims of forced labour. In this
respect, he noted that increasing numbers of women, including
young girls and the elderly, had reportedly been forced to
work, without receiving remuneration or being provided with
food, on infrastructure projects and to act as porters in war
zones, even when they were pregnant or nursing their
infants.(166) The Special Rapporteur added that women porters
were more vulnerable than men, since they had been reported to
have been used not only as porters, but also as human shields
and had been sexually abused by soldiers.(167)
191. In the light of the facts described by the Special
Rapporteurs, the Commission on Human Rights has adopted
resolutions since 1992 in which it had expressed its growing
concern at the extreme seriousness of the persistent
violations of human rights in Myanmar, and particularly those
relating to the practices of torture and forced labour,
including portering for the army.(168)
192. Since 1993, the Commission on Human Rights has been
urging the Government "to restore full respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms " and "to put an end to
violations of the right to life and integrity of the human
being, to the practices of torture, abuse of women and forced
labour and to enforced disappearance and summary
executions";(169) furthermore, it appealed to the Government
"to fulfil its obligations as a State party to the Forced
Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29)".(170) Since 1994, it has
been reminding the Government "of its obligation to put an end
to the impunity of perpetrators of violations of human rights,
including members of the military, and its responsibility to
investigate alleged cases of human rights violations committed
by its agents on its territory, to bring them to justice,
prosecute them and punish those found guilty, in all
circumstances".(171) In 1997, it expressed its deep concern at
"violations of the rights of children in contravention of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, in particular by the
lack of conformity of the existing legal framework with that
Convention, by systematic recruitment of children into forced
labour, and by discrimination against children belonging to
ethnic and religious minority groups".(172) In 1998, the
Commission on Human Rights expressed its deep concern at "the
widespread use of forced labour, including work on
infrastructure projects and as porters for the army".(173) It
therefore decided to extend the mandate of the Special
Rapporteur for a further year and to continue its
consideration of the question at its Fifty-fifth
Session.(174)
(3) Secretary-General
193. Requested by the General Assembly to assist in the
implementation of the resolution on the situation of human
rights in Myanmar,(175) since 1993 the Secretary-General has
offered his good offices in assisting the Government of
Myanmar to respond to the concerns of other member States of
the United Nations in this respect.(176) In the context of
this mandate, representatives of the Secretary-General visited
Myanmar on six occasions(177) since, for the adequate
discharge of his mandate, the Secretary-General holds the
considered view that it is essential for his representatives
to meet with the highest governmental authorities as well as
with leaders of other relevant political forces.(178) Despite
the dialogue which was initiated, which he welcomed, the
Secretary-General has been expressing his regret since 1996
that no progress can be reported in the areas on which the
General Assembly and the Human Rights Commission have
repeatedly expressed their concern.(179)
(4) Other United Nations bodies
194. The Committee on the Rights of the Child, established
under Article 43 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
to which Myanmar adhered on 15 July 1997, examined the report
supplied by Myanmar in 1997 in accordance with its obligations
under the Convention. The Committee expressed concern at the
reports from various sources concerning cases of abuse and
violence perpetrated against children, particularly cases of
rape and of children systematically forced into labour,
including as porters.(180) It noted with concern the forced
recruitment of child-soldiers(181) and the insufficient
measures taken to provide physical and psychological recovery
and social reintegration to children victims of any form of
neglect, abuse and/or exploitation.(182) The Committee
therefore recommended the Government to take all necessary
measures to remedy the situation and bring it into conformity
with the provisions of the Convention and in particular that
the army should refrain from recruiting under-aged children
and that forced recruitment should in all cases be
abolished.(183)
195. Finally, other bodies of the Commission on Human Rights
have been dealing at one time or another with questions
relating to forced labour in Myanmar. For instance, in 1993
the Special Rapporteur on the implementation of the
Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and
of Discrimination based on Religion or Belief examined in
detail allegations of acts of discrimination against Muslims
in Rakhine State (Rohingyas) related to forced labour. On that
occasion, the Special Rapporteur expressed the opinion that
these cases merited an investigation that would identify the
persons, locations and situations concerned, which has not
been carried out.(184) In 1994, the Special Rapporteur noted
that the members of the Buddhist, Christian and Muslim
communities continued to be persecuted.(185)
196. The Special Rapporteurs on torture and other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment have dealt since
1992 with allegations of torture perpetrated by the military
against persons compelled to work or perform portering.(186)
197. Finally, in 1994, the Special Rapporteur on
extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, expressed
concern at the allegations brought to his knowledge reporting
the arbitrary and excessive use of force by members of the
security forces, who seemed to enjoy virtual impunity.(187)
**********************************
Part IV
EXAMINATION OF THE CASE BY THE COMMISSION
9. CONTEXT OF GENERAL INTERNATIONAL LAW
AND REQUREMENTS OF THE FORCED LABOUR
CONVENTION, 1930 (No. 29)
A. GENERAL INTERNATIONAL LAW, INCLUDING SLAVERY,
FORCED LABOUR AND OTHER SLAVERY-LIKE PRACTICES
198. In international law, the prohibition of recourse to
forced labour has its origin in the efforts made by the
international community to eradicate slavery, its institutions
and similar practices, since forced labour is considered to be
one of these slavery-like practices.(188) Many conventions and
international treaties prohibit recourse to slavery, both in
times of peace and during periods of armed conflict. Although
certain instruments, and particularly those adopted at the
beginning of the nineteenth century, define slavery in a
restrictive manner, the prohibition of slavery must now be
understood as covering all contemporary manifestations of this
practice.
199. The first initiatives to abolish the slave trade date
from 1815 when the States participating in the Congress of
Vienna expressed their desire, in the name of the universal
principles of morality and humanity, to put an end to a
scourge which had desolated Africa, degraded Europe and
afflicted humanity for so long.(189) Following the Congress of
Vienna, national laws were adopted and bilateral treaties
concluded which gave effect to the commitment to prohibit the
slave trade and enforce its prohibition with penal
sanctions.(190) Furthermore, multilateral instruments were
signed under the auspices of the Great Powers for the purposes
of prohibiting the practice and coordinating action to
suppress it. These included the Treaty of London of 20
December 1841 for the Suppression of the African Slave
Trade,(191) the General Act of the Berlin Conference of 26
February 1885 prohibiting the slave trade in the Congo
Basin,(192) the General Act of the Brussels Anti-Slavery
Conference, held from 18 November 1889 to 2 July 1890 to bring
about the suppression of the slave trade,(193) the 1904
International Agreement as well as the 1910 International
Convention for the Suppression of the White Slave Traffic(194)
and the 1921 International Convention for the Suppression of
Traffic in Women and Children.(195)
200. After the First World War, slavery and slavery-like
practices were among the first issues addressed by the League
of Nations. The work of this organization was highly
significant since, under its impetus, nearly all States
adopted legislation to prevent slavery internally and the
importation of slaves. Moreover, the Slavery Convention,
concluded on 25 September 1926,(196) specified for the first
time the components which constitute slavery, by defining it
as "the status or condition of a person over whom any or all
of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are
exercised".(197) Under the terms of the 1926 Convention, the
High Contracting Parties undertake 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
and to adopt the necessary measures in order to ensure that
breaches of laws and regulations enacted with a view to giving
effect to the purposes of the Convention are punished by
severe penalties.(198) Recognizing the grave consequences that
recourse to forced labour may have, the Contracting Parties
undertake "to take all necessary measures to prevent
compulsory or forced labour from developing into conditions
analogous to slavery".(199) The Convention endeavours to limit
as far as possible the circumstances under which compulsory or
forced labour may be exacted by laying down that the
responsibility for any recourse to compulsory or forced labour
shall rest with the competent central authorities of the
territory concerned.(200) It was against this background that
the ILO Forced Labour Convention (No. 29), the provisions of
which are discussed below, was adopted by the International
Labour Conference in 1930.(201) The Convention explicitly
states that "the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory
labour shall be punishable as a penal offence" and that the
penalties imposed must be "really adequate" and "strictly
enforced".(202)
201. Thirty years later, the Supplementary Convention on the
Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and
Practices Similar to Slavery was adopted at the initiative of
the United Nations Economic and Social Council on 7 September
1956. This Convention supplements the 1926 Convention by
condemning the practice in a more general manner and
establishing more far-reaching provisions for the
criminalization of slavery, the slave trade and practices
similar to slavery;(203) among the latter, the Convention
refers, inter alia, to debt bondage, serfdom and the
exploitation of the labour of a young person under the age of
18 years by someone to whom he or she was delivered by his or
her parents or guardian for this purpose.(204) The Forced
Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), was complemented by the
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) which
was adopted by the International Labour Conference in
1957.(205)
202. Since 1945, many States have prohibited forced labour at
the constitutional level.(206) Moreover, several international
human rights instruments explicitly prohibit this form of
denigration of the individual.(207) These instruments do not
define forced labour; reference should therefore be made to
the relevant Conventions and resolutions of the ILO.(208) The
prohibition of recourse to forced labour, including the right
to the free choice of employment, is closely related to the
protection of other basic human rights: the right not to be
subjected to torture or to other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment, and even the right to life. In the case of armed
conflicts, civilians and prisoners of war are offered
protection against forced labour under the terms of the
applicable international instruments.(209)
203. The Commission concludes that there exists now in
international law a peremptory norm prohibiting any recourse
to forced labour and that the right not to be compelled to
perform forced or compulsory labour is one of the basic human
rights. A State which supports, instigates, accepts or
tolerates forced labour on its territory commits a wrongful
act for which it bears international responsibility;
furthermore, this wrongful act results from a breach of an
international obligation that is so essential for the
protection of the fundamental interests of the international
community that it could be qualified, if committed on a
widespread scale, as an international crime under the terms of
article 19 of the draft articles of the International Law
Commission on state responsibility.(210) Similarly, the
International Court of Justice has qualified the obligation to
protect the human person against slavery as an obligation erga
omnes since, in view of the importance of this right, all
States can be held to have a legal interest in its
protection.(211)
204. Finally, any person who violates this peremptory norm is
guilty of a crime under international law and thus bears
individual criminal responsibility. More specifically,
enslavement, which was defined by the International Law
Commission as "establishing or maintaining over persons a
status of slavery, servitude or forced labour contrary to
well-established and widely recognized standards of
international law"(212) is also, if committed in a widespread
or systematic manner, a crime against humanity that is
punishable under the terms of the statutes setting up the four
ad hoc international criminal tribunals established since the
Second World War to try those responsible for serious
violations of international humanitarian law,(213) as well as
under the draft statute for an international criminal court
and the draft code of crimes against the peace and security of
mankind adopted by the International Law Commission in
1994(214) and 1996(215) respectively.
_____________________
NOTES
158. Report of the Special Rapporteur, Mr. Rajsoomer Lallah,
submitted in accordance with the Commission on Human
Rights resolution 1996/80, UN doc. CES E/CN.4/1997/64 of 6
Feb. 1997.
159. ibid., para. 80.
160. Interim report on the situation of human rights in
Myanmar, prepared by Mr. Rajsoomer Lallah, Special Rapporteur
of the Commission on Human Rights, in accordance with General
Assembly resolution 51/117 of 12 Dec. 1996 and Economic
and Social Council decision 1997/272 of 22 July 1997, UN doc.
UNGA A/52/484 of 16 Oct. 1997. See in particular paras.
50-68.
161. ibid., para. 57. Porters were also reported to have
accompanied the offensives in Shan and Kayah States in 1996
and 1997. As a result of the ceasefires with the Kachin (1994)
and a number of other groups, and the surrender of Khun Sa's
Mong Tai army in 1996, there had reportedly been a reduction
in the number of actual front line operations. The Special
Rapporteur reviewed other cases brought to his knowledge,
including one on 28 June 1997, when 17 villagers were
reportedly seized by troops at the village of Ho Thi, in
Laikha township and were forced to carry ammunition and other
military equipment (para. 58).
162. ibid., para. 59. In this respect, the Special Rapporteur
received reports about forced labour in Thabaung township,
Ayeyarwady Division, according to which it seemed that all the
villages in the community had to construct at their own
expense temporary camps, barracks, stores, houses and
furniture. They also had to construct a road for which each
family had to provide soil. On 4 July 1997, villagers who had
been forced to relocate in Kunhing (Shan State) in 1997, were
reportedly forced to cut bamboo, build four layers of fences
around the military camp and dig trenches between the layers
of fences (paras. 60 and 61).
163. ibid., para. 62.
164. ibid., para. 63. The Special Rapporteur summarized the
information contained in reports received by him as follows:
in Oct. 1996, the authorities used forced labour to build a
road from Ywamon to Zeebyugon in Natmauk township. People from
more than 40 villages in Natmauk were made to take part in the
project. Households that could not supply labourers were
made to pay. Thirteen people, including two women, were
reported to have been arrested on 15 Jan. 1997 because they
refused to take part in a forced labour project to build a
road from Pathein to Talakwa to Morton Point in Ayeyarwady
Division. Each household in village-tracts had to provide
one-and-a-half baskets of rock. Those households which could
not do so had to pay 2,000 kyat to the Village-tract Law and
Order Restoration Council (paras. 64 and 65). The farmers of
Wuntho township in Sagaing Division were reported to have had
to provide forced labour to build a stupa in Kyingyi village
(para. 66). Forced contributions were required for the
construction of roads (Kanthagyi-Kyaungdawya, Salin, Natyegan)
and a bridge (Man Bridge) in Pwinbyu township, Magway Division
(para. 67). Forced labour was also reportedly used in Kawhmu
township (Yangon Division) in Dec. 1996 for the construction
of a road to Htamanaing village (para. 68). The workers were
regularly subjected to ill treatment.
165. Report of the Special Rapporteur, Mr. Rajsoomer Lallah,
submitted in accordance with Commission on Human Rights
resolution 1997/64, UN doc. CES E/CN.4/1998/70 of 15 Jan.
1998.
166. ibid., para. 65.
167. ibid., para. 66. In this connection, the Special
Rapporteur referred to the following case: on 8 June 1997,
troops from Mongpan (eastern Shan State) allegedly arrested 17
villagers (ten men and seven women) at Ter Hung village and
forced them to carry military supplies from Kengtung to
Mongpan. When they arrived, the men were released while the
women were detained all night and were reportedly gang-raped
before being released the next morning.
168. Commission on Human Rights resolution 1993/73 of 10 Mar.
1993, preamble (7); Commission on Human Rights resolution
1994/85 of 9 Mar. 1994, preamble (6); Commission on Human
Rights resolution 1995/72 of 8 Mar. 1995, preamble (8);
Commission on Human Rights resolution 1996/80 of 23 Apr. 1996,
preamble (5) and (7). In 1997, the Commission on Human Rights
expressed its deep concern "at the continuing violations of
human rights in Myanmar, as reported by the Special
Rapporteur, including [...] forced labour by children as well
as adults, including portering for the military": Commission
on Human Rights resolution 1997/64, para. 2(a).
169. Resolution 1993/73, para. 6; resolution 1994/85, para.
7; resolution 1995/72, para. 11; resolution 1996/80, para. 12.
170. Resolution 1993/73, para. 11; resolution 1994/85, para.
13; resolution 1995/72, para. 16; resolution 1996/80, para.
14; resolution 1997/64, para. 3(g) (in this resolution, the
Commission explicitly calls upon the Government to cooperate
more closely with the ILO, "in particular with the Commission
of Inquiry appointed in accordance with art. 26 of the
Constitution of the International Labour Organization"); and
resolution 1998/63 of 21 Apr. 1998, para. 4(j).
171. Resolution 1994/85, para. 8; resolution 1995/72, para.
12; resolution 1996/80, para. 12; resolution 1997/64, para.
3(g); resolution 1998/63 of 21 Apr. 1998, para. 4(l).
172. Resolution 1997/64, para. 2(g). In 1998, it expressed
its deep concern at continuing violations of the rights of
children by recruitment of children into forced labour
programmes and into the armed forces: resolution 1998/63,
para. 3(d).
173. Commission on Human Rights resolution 1998/63, para.
3(a).
174. Resolution 1998/63, para. 5(a) and (d).
175. UN doc. UNGA A/RES/48/150 of 23 Dec. 1993, para. 15.
176. As the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar already had the
mandate to "establish direct contacts with the Government and
people of Myanmar, with a view to examining the situation of
human rights in Myanmar" and to report to the General
Assembly, the Secretary-General therefore interpreted his role
"as being not one of fact-finding, but rather one of good
offices in assisting the Government of Myanmar to respond to
the concerns of other member States": Report of the
Secretary-General on the situation of human rights in Myanmar,
UN doc. UNGA A/49/716 of 25 Nov. 1994, para. 2.
177. They were not able to visit the country in 1996: Report
of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights in
Myanmar, UN doc. CES E/CN.4/1996/157 of 17 Apr. 1996 and
Report of the Secretary-General to the General Assembly
on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, UN doc. UNGA
A/51/660 of 8 Nov. 1996.
178. See in particular report to the General Assembly, ibid.,
para. 13.
179. Report to the Commission on Human Rights, op. cit., note
177, para. 15; report to the General Assembly, ibid., para.
13; report to the Commission on Human Rights on the situation
of human rights in Myanmar, UN doc. CES E/CN.4/1997/129
of 27 Mar. 1997, para. 16; report to the General Assembly on
the situation of human rights in Myanmar, UN doc. UNGA
A/52/587 of 10 Nov. 1997, para. 14; and report to the
Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in
Myanmar, UN doc. CES E/CN.4/1998/163 of 9 Apr. 1998, para. 16.
180. Concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights
of the Child: Myanmar, UN doc. CRC/C/15/Add.69 of 24
Jan. 1997.
181. ibid., paras. 21 and 22.
182. ibid., para. 25.
183. ibid., paras. 42 and 45.
184. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Implementation
of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of
Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief,
UN doc. CES E/CN.4/1993/62 of 6 Jan. 1993, paras. 45-47.
185. Report of the Special Rapporteur, Mr. Abdelfattah Amor,
on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Elimination of
All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on
Religion or Belief, UN doc. CES E/CN.4/1995/91 of 22 Dec.
1994, p. 64.
186. Report of the Special Rapporteur, Mr. P. Kooijmans, on
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment, UN doc. CES E/CN.4/1993/26 of 15 Dec. 1992, paras.
335-350; Report of the Special Rapporteur, Mr. Nigel
S. Rodley on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment, UN doc. CES E/CN.4/1994/31 of 6
Jan. 1994, paras. 399-403; Report of the Special Rapporteur on
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment, UN doc. CES E/CN.4/1995/34 of 12 Jan. 1995,
paras. 492-500.
187. Report of the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial,
Summary or Arbitrary Executions, UN doc. CES E/CN.4/1995/61
of 14 Dec. 1994, para. 230.
188. Report of the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of
Slavery on its ninetieth session, UN doc. CES
E/CN.4/Sub.2/1994/33, para. 101(12); Report of the Working
Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery on its twentieth
session (Geneva, 19-28 Apr. 1995), UN doc. CES
E/CN.4/Sub.2/1995/28, para. 123(7). Benjamin Whitaker, Special
Rapporteur of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of
Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, in his updated
version of the Report on Slavery, submitted to the
Sub-Commission in 1966, identified more than a dozen
manifestations of slavery and slavery-like practices including
forced labour. Report by Benjamin Whitaker, Special
Rapporteur, Updating of the "Report on Slavery" submitted to
the Sub-Commission in 1966, UN doc. CES
E/CN.4/Sub.2/1982/20/rev.1.
189. Final Act of the Congress of Vienna, reproduced in De
Martens, "Nouveau Recueil de Traits" ("NRT"), 1814-1815,
Tome II, p. 433. Austria, France, Great Britain, Prussia and
Russia, meeting in Verona in 1822, reaffirmed their commitment
to seeking the most effective means of preventing a trade
which had already been declared illegal and repugnant by
almost all civilized countries and to rigorously punish those
who continue in breach of these laws: De Martens, ("NRT"),
1822-1823, Tome VI.1, pp. 136-137.
190. By way of illustration, see the treaties concluded by
Great Britain for the suppression of the slave trade at sea,
including the additional Convention to the Treaty of 22 Jan.
1815 with Portugal, signed on 18 July 1817, replaced on 3 July
1842 and modified by the additional Convention of 18 July 1871
(reproduced in De Martens, "Nouveau Recueil Gnral de
Traits" ("NRG"), Tome III, p. 511); with Spain on 23 Sep.
1817 (reproduced in De Martens, "Nouveau Recueil de Traits"
("NRT"),1808-18, Tome III, pp. 135-140), as modified and
extended by the Treaty of 28 June 1835; with the Netherlands
on 4 May 1818 (reproduced in De Martens, ("NRT"), 1808-19,
Tome IV, pp. 511-523); with Sweden-Norway on 6 Nov. 1824
(reproduced in De Martens, ("NRT"), 1824-26, Tome VI.2, pp.
619-655); with France on 30 Nov. 1831, supplemented on 22
Mar. 1833 and suspended by another Treaty dated 29 May 1845
(reproduced in De Martens, "NRG", 1845, Tome VIII, pp.
284-311); with the United States on 7 Apr. 1862 (reproduced in
De Martens, "NRG", 1847-64, Tome XVII.2, pp. 259-277) which
was modified and extended in Feb. 1863 and June 1870
(reproduced in De Martens, "NRG", 1837-1874, Tome XX, pp.
504-511).
191. The Treaty of London was signed by France, Great Britain,
Austria, Russia and Prussia (reproduced in De Martens, NRG,
1841, Tome II, pp. 508-534). The Treaty deems the slave trade
equal to piracy. It was not ratified by the French Government.
192. Art. 9, General Act of the Berlin Conference (reproduced
in De Martens, "NRG", 1853-85, Tome X, p. 419).
193. Reproduced in De Martens, "NRG", 1881-90, II
me Srie,
Tome XVI, pp. 3-29. The General Act of Berlin of 26 Feb. 1885
and the General Act of the Brussels Conference were revised by
the Convention signed at Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 10 Sep. 1919
under the terms of which the Signatory Powers "will endeavour
to secure the complete suppression of slavery in all its forms
and of the slave trade by land and sea" (reproduced in "League
of Nations Treaty Series" ("LNTS"), 1922, Vol. VIII, No. 202,
p. 35). Finally, at the Brussels Conference, the Treaty for
the Suppression of the African Slave Trade was signed between
Great Britain and Spain (reproduced in De Martens, "NRG",
1882-93, II
me Srie, Tome XVIII, pp. 168-173).
194. International Agreement with a view to securing the
Effectual Suppression of the Criminal Traffic known as the
"white slave traffic", signed in Paris on 18 May 1904 and the
International Convention for the Suppression of the White
Slave Traffic signed in Paris on 4 May 1910 by Germany,
Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Spain, France,
Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia and Sweden
(reproduced in De Martens, "NRG", 1894-1913, III
me Srie,
Tome VII, pp. 252-264).
195. It was signed by Albania, Germany, Austria, Belgium,
Brazil, the British Empire (with Canada, the Commonwealth of
Australia, the Union of South Africa, New Zealand and India),
Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Estonia, Greece,
Hungary, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Netherlands,
Persia, Poland (with Danzig), Portugal, Romania, Siam, Sweden,
Switzerland and Czechoslovakia (reproduced in LNTS, 1922, Vol.
IX, No. 269, pp. 415-433). The agreement of 18 May 1904 and
the Conventions of 4 May 1910 and 30 Sep. 1921 were
supplemented by a Convention for the Suppression of Traffic in
Women of Full Age, signed in Geneva on 11 Oct. 1933
(reproduced in "LNTS", 1934, Vol. CL, No. 3476, pp. 433-456).
Previous instruments were unified in the Convention for the
Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation
of the Prostitution of Others, approved by United Nations
General Assembly resolution 317 on 2 Dec. 1949.
196. Reproduced in "LNTS", 1927, Vol. LX, No. 1414, pp.
253-270. The Convention was amended in 1953 (reproduced in
"United Nations Treaty Series UNTS"), 1953, Vol. CLXXXII, No.
2422, pp. 51-72.
197. Art. 1(1).
198. Arts. 2 and 6.
199. Art. 5.
200. Art. 5(3).
201. As of 31 May 1998, 146 States have ratified ILO
Convention No. 29. See below Ch. 9, section B, paras. 205-218.
202. Art. 25 of Convention No. 29.
203. Reproduced in UNTS, 1957, Vol. CCLXVI, No. 3822, pp.
3-87. As of 31 May 1998, 117 States have ratified this
Convention.
204. Art. 1(a), (b) and (d) of the 1956 Convention.
205. As of 31 May 1998, 130 States have ratified ILO
Convention No. 105 (although not by Myanmar).
206. By way of illustration see: Constitution of Barbados,
art. 6; Constitution of Colombia, art. 17; Constitution of
Congo, art. 31; Constitution of El Salvador, art. 9;
Constitution of Ethiopia, art. 17; Constitution of Georgia,
art. 30; Constitution of Greece, art. 22(3); Constitution of
India, art. 23; Constitution of Malaysia, art. 6; Constitution
of Malawi, art. 27; Constitution of Mongolia, art. 16;
Constitution of Nigeria, art. 33; Constitution of Pakistan,
art. 11; Constitution of Rwanda, art. 17; Constitution of the
Russian Federation, art. 37(2); Constitution of Suriname, art.
15; Constitution of Turkey, art. 18; Constitution of the
United States, art. 13; Constitution of Ukraine, art. 43.
207. Universal instruments: Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, 1948, Art. 4. Even though forced labour is not
explicitly included, examination of the discussions preceding
the adoption of this Article demonstrate that it was
considered to be a form of slavery or servitude. See in this
respect the summary record of the third session of the Human
Rights Commission (UN doc. CES E/CN.4/SR.53); International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966, Art. 8; the
International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of
the Crime of Apartheid, 1973, II(e); Convention on the Rights
of the Child, 1989, Arts. 32, 34 and 36; International
Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant
Workers and Members of their Families, 1990, Art. 11. Regional
instruments: Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms, 1950, Art. 4; American Convention on
Human Rights, 1969, Art. 6; African Charter on Human and
People's Rights, 1981, Art. 5.
208. For an example of such reference to ILO Conventions in
the context of the European Convention on Human Rights, see
"Van der Mussele v. Belgium", 23 Nov. 1983, European Court of
Human Rights, Series A, No. 70.
209. For prisoners of war, see the Geneva Convention (III)
relative to the treatment of prisoners of war of 12 Aug. 1949,
Art. 49-57 and Art. 130. For civilians, see the Geneva
Convention (IV) relative to the protection of civilian persons
in time of war of 12 Aug. 1949, Art. 40, 51 and 52, as well as
the Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 Aug.
1949, and relating to the protection of victims of
international armed conflicts, Arts. 75 and 76. Finally, the
Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 Aug. 1949,
and relating to the protection of victims of non-international
armed conflicts specifically states in Art. 4 that slavery and
the slave trade in all their forms are and shall remain
prohibited "at any time" against all persons who do not take a
direct part or who have ceased to take part in hostilities.
210. "Yearbook of the International Law Commission", 1980,
Vol. II, Part Two, pp. 30 et seq. Art. 19 of the draft
articles reads as follows:
1. An act of a State which constitutes a breach of an
international obligation is an internationally wrongful act,
regardless of the subject-matter of the obligation breached.
2. An internationally wrongful act which results from the
breach by a State of an international obligation so essential
for the protection of fundamental interests of the
international community as a whole constitutes an
international crime.
3. Subject to paragraph 2, and on the basis of the rules
of international law in force, an international crime may
result, inter alia, from:
[...]
(c) a serious breach on a widespread scale of an
international obligation of essential importance for
safeguarding the human being, such as those prohibiting
slavery, genocide and apartheid;
[...]
211. "Barcelona Traction, Light and Power Company, Limited,
Judgement, I.C.J, Reports 1970", p. 33. The Commission
on Human Rights considers that slavery and modern
manifestations of this phenomenon represent some of the
gravest violations of human rights: resolution 1991/58, 6 Mar.
1991, preamble (8); resolution 1994/25, 4 Mar. 1994, preamble
(13).
212. Draft code of crimes against the peace and security of
mankind adopted by the International Law Commission in 1996:
Report of the International Law Commission to the General
Assembly on the work of its forty-eighth session (6 May-26
July 1996), UN doc. UNGA Suppl. No. 10 (A/51/10), pp. 9-121.
To define slavery, the International Law Commission refers to
the 1926 Slavery Convention, the 1956 Supplementary Convention
on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions
and Practices Similar to Slavery, the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights and ILO Convention No. 29. See
also "International Law Commission Yearbook 1991", Vol. II,
Part Two, p. 104.
213. Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal, Art. 6(c); Charter of
the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, Art.
5(c); Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia, Art. 5(c); and Statute of the International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Art. 3.
214. Report of the International Law Commission to the General
Assembly on the work of its forty-sixth session (2 May-22
July 1994), doc. UNGA Suppl. No. 10 (A/49/10), pp. 75-79. On
the notion of crimes against humanity, see also La Rosa,
"Dictionnaire de droit international penal, Termes choisis",
Paris, PUF, 1998, pp. 17-26.
215. Art. 18(d) of the draft code, op. cit., note 212, p. 98.
[END OF SLICE 7]