Concludes Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Negative Impact of Unilateral Coercive Measures on the Enjoyment of Human Rights
The Human Rights Council this morning held its biennial panel discussion on the right to development, focusing on 35 years on: policy pathways to operationalising the right to development. The Council also began its interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, and concluded its interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights.
The key-note speakers in the panel discussion on the right to development were Nada Al-Nashif, Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights; Martin Chungong, Secretary-General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union; and Saad Alfarargi, Special Rapporteur on the right to development.
Ms. Al-Nashif said the panel celebrated the thirty-fifth anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development and represented an important opportunity to reflect on the centrality of human rights to development in a context of multifaceted global challenges. Establishing a new global deal underpinned by solidarity and cooperation would help rebuild trust between people and governments, give priority to combatting inequalities, and create an enabling environment for realising the right to development and all human rights for all.
Mr. Chungong said that it was time to revitalise efforts to make the right to development a reality both in the North and the South. Parliaments had legislative, budgetary and oversight powers that were indispensable for the implementation of human rights recommendations. Building back better was the best chance to deliver on commitments under the 2030 Agenda.
Mr. Alfarargi said the global climate crisis, the increasing number of natural disasters, and new global pandemics all had the potential to undo decades of development and hamper the enjoyment of human rights by all. It was more important than ever to take a hard look at the way economic recovery and development efforts were approached, and come up with a response that would deliver on the promises to build back better and to leave no one behind.
The panellists speaking on the right to development were Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, Vice Chair of the United Nations Committee for Development Policy; Mihir Kanade, Chair of the Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development; Attiya Waris, Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights; and Ordukhan Gahramanzade, Designated Chairperson of the Non-Aligned Movement Youth Organization.
Ms. Fukuda-Parr said that addressing extreme inequality and the State obligation for cooperative action were two top priorities for implementing the right to development. The pandemic had exacerbated inequality and exposed already existing social divides and their root causes. A mounting debt crisis loomed for much of the developing world. Collective action was needed to address these problems.
Mr. Kanade said the thirty-fifth anniversary of the adoption of the 1986 Declaration on the Right to Development was an opportune moment to take stock of the role that policies could play in both its realisation and in creating obstacles thereto. The best practice moving forward to operationalise the right to development was to adopt and implement a legally binding instrument.
Ms. Waris said that the issue of resources remained a pressure point globally. It was important to advance policies for providing rights through resources. There was still a need for many countries to strengthen their fiscal systems, and a need to protect the sovereign ability of States to formulate appropriate national development policies.
Mr. Gahramanzade said that the implementation of the right to development was a continuous cycle of participating, contributing, and enjoying the fulfilment of this right, with young people at the centre of it. The nations of the developed and developing world needed to grant young people the opportunities and platforms to discuss and exchange ideas over current challenges and come up with innovative and effective solutions.
In the ensuing discussion, many speakers reiterated their commitment to protecting and promoting the right to development, and explained policy initiatives for achieving those goals. Some speakers said that the right to development was a fundamental human right. The global cost of living crisis had tipped millions of people in developing countries into poverty. The growing gap between developed and developing countries needed to be addressed. To secure the right to development, it was important to tackle extreme poverty, the COVID-19 crisis, the climate crisis, terrorism and other crises that had disproportionately affected developing countries.
The Council also began its interactive dialogue with Tomoya Obokata, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery.
Mr. Obokata said latest estimates showed that there were 50 million people held in contemporary forms of slavery on any given day. In this context, he had closely monitored slavery-related developments at the national and global levels over the past year. The new thematic report on contemporary forms of slavery affecting minorities noted that in all regions of the world, minorities continued to be subjected to contemporary forms of slavery, caused mainly by deep-rooted and systematic discrimination often resulting from historical legacies such as slavery, colonisation, systems of inherited status, and formalised and State-sponsored discrimination, which pushed them further into poverty.
Mr. Obokata also spoke about his country visit to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka spoke as a country concerned.
In the ensuing discussion, some speakers said that slavery was a contemporary reality in many parts of the world. Combatting forced labour was a world-wide priority. Contemporary forms of slavery were affecting linguistic, religious and ethnic minorities, in particular women and children, and exposed victims to sexual exploitation, or the worst forms of labour and domestic labour. There were growing inequalities and the poverty gap was the major cause of slavery around the world in many communities. The international community should therefore support States in efforts to combat poverty and inequalities, which were a major cause of the violation of human rights.
Also this morning, the Council concluded its interactive dialogue with Alena Douhan, the Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights.
In the discussion, some speakers said that sanctions were against international law and the basic law of human rights, and often created internal instability, triggering serious humanitarian disasters. In the context of the pandemic and the complex economic situation, unilateral sanctions trampled on basic human rights, such as the rights to subsistence, health, and development. The use of unilateral coercive measures led to the disruption of internal systems, unemployment, and stagnation of scientific development.
Ms. Douhan, in her concluding remarks, said that unilateral coercive measures were ineffective and inefficient. A universal monitoring system would help experts to collect and verify information on sanctions. The Special Rapporteur called on States to settle international disputes through ethical, international mechanisms, and to lift all sanctions that constituted unilateral coercive measures.
Speaking in the panel discussion on the right to development were the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Kazakhstan on behalf of a group of countries, Pakistan on behalf of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation, Azerbaijan on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, Côte d’Ivoire on behalf of the African Group, Saudi Arabia on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Maldives on behalf of a group of small island developing States, Bahamas on behalf of the Caribbean Community and Commonwealth Group in Geneva, European Union, Qatar, United Nations Development Programme, Venezuela. Iran, Morocco, Mauritania, Cuba, Ethiopia, South Africa, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Tanzania, Bahrain, and Thailand.
Also speaking were Associazione Comunita Papa Giovanni XXIII, International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations, Association for Women’s Rights in Development, iuventum e.V., and Rencontre Africaine pour la defense des droits de l’homme.
Speaking in the interactive discussion on contemporary forms of slavery were the European Union, Côte d’Ivoire on behalf of the Group of African States, Norway on behalf of a group of countries, Mauritania, Israel, France, Sovereign Order of Malta, India, and Luxembourg.
Speaking in the interactive dialogue on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights were Association pour la défense des droits de l’homme et des revendications démocratiques/culturelles du peuple Azerbaidjanais-Iran, China Foundation for Human Rights Development, China Society for Human Rights Studies, and Pars Non Trading Development Activists Co.
The webcast of the Human Rights Council meetings can be found here. All meeting summaries can be found here. Documents and reports related to the Human Rights Council’s fifty-first regular session can be found here.
The next meeting of the Council will be at 3 p.m. this afternoon, when it will conclude its interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, and begin an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right to development.
Biennial Panel Discussion on the Right to Development – 35 Years on: Policy Pathways to Operationalising the Right to Development
Keynote Speakers
NADA AL-NASHIF, Acting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the panel celebrated the thirty-fifth anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development and represented an important opportunity to reflect on the centrality of human rights to development in a context of multifaceted global challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic had exposed and exacerbated pre-existing inequalities, setting back development by several years in many parts of the world. Weighed down by unsustainable debt burdens and their repercussions for providing social protection, many countries faced unprecedented challenges, including social unrest. The war in Ukraine had brought about major human suffering and triggered additional pressures, beyond its borders, to already disrupted global supply chains, contributing to increased inflation and skyrocketing fuel and food prices.
While such impacts were global, they were not experienced the same way everywhere and by everyone. In particular, women and girls suffered these adverse effects in differentiated and disproportionate ways. The confluence of crises had created spin-off effects on food and nutrition, health and education, the environment, and peace and security, further undermining progress towards the realisation of the 2030 Agenda and jeopardising sustainable recovery from the pandemic. In his Call to Action for Human Rights and his report on Our Common Agenda, the Secretary-General had called for a renewed social contract, based on equal rights and opportunities for all. Establishing a new global deal underpinned by solidarity and cooperation would help rebuild trust between people and governments, give priority to combatting inequalities, and create an enabling environment for realising the right to development and all human rights for all.
MARTIN CHUNGONG, Secretary-General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, said the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development asserted that the human person – individually and above all, collectively – was at the heart of all activity, not only in economic but also in social, political and cultural terms. Any serious development process should be based on people’s active, free and meaningful participation. Parliaments should leverage human rights to support the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and their overall aim to leave no one behind. It was time to revitalise efforts to make the right to development a reality both in the North and the South. All development efforts needed to be in line with human rights principles, and needed to make use of the countless synergies that existed between human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Parliaments had legislative, budgetary and oversight powers that were indispensable for the implementation of human rights recommendations. Much more needed to be done. Members of parliaments needed to be aware of human rights mechanisms and their recommendations; and United Nations human rights bodies needed to recognise the key role played by parliaments. The Inter-Parliamentary Union had a long and fruitful history of cooperation with the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, and was working with the Council and other treaty bodies to reproduce this model. There was no time to lose regarding the right to a safe and clean environment, the right to food or the right to health. Investments in healthcare were critical for resilience to pandemics. Guidance from treaty bodies showed that these investments needed to be free from any discrimination and made accessible to all, including people living far from economic centres. Building back better was the best chance to deliver on commitments under the 2030 Agenda.
SAAD ALFARARGI, Special Rapporteur on the right to development, said this was a critical time. The global climate crisis, the increasing number of natural disasters, and new global pandemics all had the potential to undo decades of development and hamper the enjoyment of human rights by all. The COVID-19 pandemic had triggered an unprecedented global public health emergency and the largest global economic crisis in more than a century, leading to a dramatic increase in inequality within and across countries. The economic impacts of the pandemic had been especially severe in emerging economies. It was therefore more important than ever to take a hard look at the way economic recovery and development efforts were approached, and come up with a response that would deliver on the promises to build back better and to leave no one behind. This could not be achieved without adhering to the principles of the right to development in all aspects of work.
Today the Special Rapporteur would like to hear, in particular from States from the Global South, what were, according to them, the most important achievements related to the implementation of the right to development during the past years; what were the challenges that they were still facing to integrate the right to development in plans and policies in order to make the implementation of the right to development a reality; and what should be the crucial actions and interventions for the years to come to move forward.
Statements by Panellists
SAKIKO FUKUDA-PARR, Professor of International Affairs at the New School, and Vice Chair of the United Nations Committee for Development Policy, said that addressing extreme inequality and the State obligation for cooperative action were two top priorities for implementing the right to development. The pandemic had exacerbated inequality and exposed already existing social divides and their root causes. Gender disparities were exacerbated during the pandemic as women disproportionately lost work or withdrew from employment due to the increase in unpaid care work. Domestic violence skyrocketed as women were trapped in lockdown at home. The pandemic response took a huge toll on healthcare and other social services, household incomes, employment and food security. The pandemic added some 100 million more people to extreme poverty.
A mounting debt crisis loomed for much of the developing world. Inequality was a core challenge. The gap between the ultra-rich and the ultra-poor had grown. The elites had power to allocate resources, set rules and norms, and shape national policies and investments. The economic disruptions of lockdowns and illnesses had led to business closures, and low-wage workers in global value chains often paid the price. Vaccine inequities were another illustration of how the pandemic had widened inequalities. These examples cast a spotlight on the importance of implementing the right to development at this critical juncture for sustainable development. The right to development spelled out the obligations of international cooperation to take collective action to address problems that could not be solved by national action alone. States were compelled to do all they could to meet the vaccination needs of the world at large, not just within their own national borders or jurisdictions.
MIHIR KANADE, Chair of the Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development, said the thirty-fifth anniversary of the adoption of the 1986 Declaration on the Right to Development was an opportune moment to take stock of the role that policies at the international and national levels could play in both the realisation of the right to development and in creating obstacles thereto. The international community must sear into its collective consciousness that the right to development had been reaffirmed unanimously in almost 25 international instruments and agendas, and yet, it remained an unfortunate fact that this right had not yet been effectively operationalised. One of the main reasons was that for over 35 years, the operationalisation of this right had been undermined by some normative myths.
The nature of development entailed was one where all human rights and fundamental freedoms could be fully realised, meaning that the right to development could not be advanced if the policy aimed at its realisation violated some other human rights. States, individually or through international organizations, continued to limit or even deny this necessary governance and policy space. Development cooperation was not charity; it needed to be implemented through the lens of the duty to cooperate with full respect for the right to development. The best practice moving forward to operationalise the right to development was to adopt and implement a legally binding instrument, and it was time to move beyond the rhetoric and do so.
ATTIYA WARIS, Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights, said that humanity had come a long way over the past 35 years and still continued to build and develop across the world. However, the issue of resources remained a pressure point globally, across continents and within and between nations. The 2022 Financing for Development report stated that to finance social protection gaps alone, low-and middle-income countries needed to spend an estimated additional $ 751 billion and $ 351 billion. There was a need for performance standards and accountability elements in development policy, which were necessary in the operationalisation of a right-based approach. It was important to advance policies for providing rights through resources. There was still a need for many countries to strengthen their fiscal systems, as many countries were facing the cumulative dangers of high-debt related distress, illicit financial flows, severe socio-economic impacts of the pandemic, increased climate-related emergencies, and wars.
Ms. Waris said her mandate continued to work on this. The two-pillar solution on tax issues may end up benefitting some high-income countries, thus depriving low-income countries of crucial revenue. Global financing, fiscal and development systems needed to advance the Sustainable Development Goals, and be anchored in positive practices of international cooperation and assistance, and in international human rights standards and norms. There was also a need to protect the sovereign ability of States to formulate appropriate national development policies. It was necessary to continue to build on and develop policy pathways regarding information access, informed participation, resource access and distribution. Also, it was necessary to ensure the financing of progressive, positive and forward-looking development through support of policies and frameworks, with a concerted drive and vision to financing the future.
ORDHUKHAN GAHRAMANZANDE, Designated Chairperson of the Non-Aligned Movement Youth Organization, said it was hard to argue against the fact that the right to development encompassed all other human rights. It incorporated the principles of equality, non-discrimination, participation, transparency, accountability, as well as international cooperation in an integrated manner, and it was the right of every human being to the constant improvement of well-being. The inequalities in the global political, economic and social systems impeded the realisation of the right to development of people living in developing nations. In this regard, the outbreak and continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic for three years had been a significant blow to the existing gaps, challenges, and unfair distribution of opportunities and resources between the North and the South. There was a need for a sustainable recovery and development, which would enable the effective realisation of the right to development.
In this regard, achieving the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda now required much more attention and the mobilisation of efforts by both developing and developed nations all over the world. The implementation of the right to development was a continuous cycle of participating, contributing, and enjoying the fulfilment of this right with young people at the centre of it. The youth segments of society were the ones who had the ability to learn and adapt to the environment. The nations of the developed and developing world should merge their efforts to empower the young people who were the present changemakers and future leaders, by granting them the opportunities and platforms to discuss and exchange ideas over current challenges and come up with innovative and effective solutions.
Discussion
In the ensuing discussion, many speakers reiterated their commitment to protecting and promoting the right to development, and explained policy initiatives for achieving these goals. The right to development was a fundamental human right. The international community was commemorating the thirty-fifth anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development, and this was an opportune time to discuss new strategies for promoting sustainable development. Some speakers expressed support for the creation of a United Nations convention on the right to development, and for the inclusion of the right to development in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The global cost of living crisis had tipped millions of people in developing countries into poverty. Inequality had reached crisis levels across the world. There were sufficient funds in the world, but there were problems with the distribution of these funds. Nations needed to take stock of the challenges that remained in supporting sustainable development. The growing gap between developed and developing countries needed to be addressed. Some speakers said that addressing unilateral coercive measures was an important step to promoting the right to development. Realising the right to development involved acknowledging the consequences of the slave trade and colonialism, another speaker said. To secure the right to development, it was important to tackle extreme poverty, the COVID-19 crisis, the climate crisis, terrorism, and other crises that had disproportionately affected developing countries.
Some speakers said policies were fundamental tools for implementing the right to development. The right to development was universal and needed to be made a tangible reality for all. It was important for protecting the security of peoples, for attaining prosperity, for eradicating poverty, and for ensuring that no one was left behind. States needed to remove barriers to development and reorient financing toward people-centred measures. Official development assistance needed to be guided by the principle of local ownership. The global financial system needed drastic reforms to promote equal and just development. Eliminating discrimination against women and girls was essential to promoting their right to development, one speaker said. The rule of law and accountability structures were also vital in ensuring sustainable development.
Concluding Remarks by Panellists
SAKIKO FUKUDA-PARR, Professor of International Affairs at the New School, and Vice Chair of the United Nations Committee for Development Policy, said many delegates had articulated and emphasised the different ways the pandemic had raised challenges to the right to development, set it back, and the ways in which the failure of international cooperation had been a major weakness in the pandemic response. This was a global challenge, needing a global response, and stronger and more proactive collective action in areas such as development and distribution of treatment, vaccines, diagnostics, etc. But this was only a start. Fiscal systems, illicit financial flows and other areas had all been raised, and in terms of operationalising the right to development, the practical policy approaches were what was lacking in terms of international cooperative action to strengthen pandemic preparedness and response on the basis of the principles laid out in the right to development.
MIHIR KANADE, Chair of the Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development, said despite the adoption of the Declaration 35 years ago, its operationalisation remained a challenge. What needed to be changed was “business as usual”, as this was the problem. It could be done through the adoption of numerous agendas at international and regional levels, but unless these were based on normative principles, they were bound to fail, as they needed to be based on international cooperation on development as a human right. The agenda was already derailed prior to the pandemic because there was a steady deceleration in progress. Unless international cooperation was discharged as a duty, it was impossible to achieve the international goals: all policies and agendas needed to be based on the normative framework that development was a right, not a charity.
ATTIYA WARIS, Independent Expert on Foreign Debt and Human Rights, said the international community needed to move towards ensuring that financing was progressive and forward-looking. There had been an over-turning of some presumptions, with a highlighting of hidden issues and problems, and a realisation that things needed to change – these were some of the good things to come out of the pandemic. This allowed the international community to create a space where it could now think out of the box. Emergencies always resulted in this happening for a period of time, and then there was a return to the status quo, but the world was not yet out of a series of crises, with tensions in various parts of the world. It was not about coordination; it was about cooperation and assistance. Political decisions could be made faster than they used to be.
ORDUKHAN GAHRAMANZADE, Designated Chairperson of the Non-Aligned Movement Youth Organization, said that as was mentioned earlier, the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms by young people had to be guaranteed. The investment in the future of youth needed to be ensured, and this could be done through education and providing the young with the necessary skills and knowledge on how to survive and bring positive change. This had to be done not on paper but with real summits and conferences. All States should engage in dialogue and explain how they saw this issue. This could not be done alone, it had to be done in solidarity, with result-oriented solutions that came out of discussions and dialogues such as in the hall today.
Concluding Remarks by the President of the Human Rights Council
FEDERICO VILLEGAS, President of the Human Rights Council, said that next year there would be two important commemorations of the Declaration on the Right to Development and of the Vienna Declaration on the universality, indivisibility and interdependency of all human rights and the right to development. These were important social contracts of the international community, but they had unfortunately not been put into reality and implemented. Inequalities had increased at an obscene level and the planet had been destroyed. There was something that had been done wrong over the last 35 years. The right to development had to be implemented in an inclusive manner, protecting the vulnerable, and the best way was always through a human rights perspective.
Mr. Villegas said it was striking to see very few developed countries actively participating in this dialogue – it was important to determine what was meant by the right to development. This gap of perception on the right to development changed dramatically with the pandemic, when the world realised that it was in the same boat, and that when everybody was included, nobody lost.
Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Negative Impact of Unilateral Coercive Measures on the Enjoyment of Human Rights
The interactive dialogue with Alena Douhan, Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, started on 14 September and a summary can be found here.
Discussion
In the discussion on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, some speakers said that sanctions were against international law and the basic laws of human rights, and often created internal instability, triggering serious humanitarian disasters. In the context of the pandemic and the complex economic situation, unilateral sanctions trampled on basic human rights, such as the rights to subsistence, health, and development. No country should force another to bend to its will in order to gain benefits from that country – this was against human rights, and had a serious impact on the vulnerable groups in countries that were often developing countries, and yet countries still adopted these measures in the name of protecting human rights.
This behaviour was in fact a desecration of human rights, and conflicts between countries should be dealt with through dialogue rather than through such sanctions. The use of unilateral coercive measures led to the disruption of internal systems, unemployment, and stagnation of scientific development. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights stated that all had the right to a life in which they could provide for their needs and those of their families.
Concluding Remarks
ALENA DOUHAN, Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, said that humans lived in a world with very broad sanctions, which needed to be assessed from the point of view of international law. Sectoral sanctions affected all the economies, and financial and banking sanctions affected all persons. Unilateral coercive measures were ineffective and inefficient. The Special Rapporteur was ready to cooperate with States and share her expertise regarding reviewing the imposition of sanctions. Many countries had responded well to the Rapporteur’s requests for a country visit, but the United States had not.
The first step to avoiding overcompliance was to advise States to monitor banks and financial entities’ implementation of sanctions. Guiding principles on overcompliance and secondary sanctions needed to be drafted. There needed to be detailed information about the effects of unilateral coercive measures. A universal monitoring system would help experts to collect and verify information on sanctions. The Special Rapporteur called on States to settle international disputes through ethical, international mechanisms. Sanctions should be ethical and non-discriminatory. The Special Rapporteur called on States to lift all sanctions that constituted unilateral coercive measures.
Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery
Reports
The Council has before it the report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, Tomoya Obokata, addressing contemporary forms of slavery affecting persons belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minority communities, and on his visit to Sri Lanka.
Presentation of the Reports
TOMOYA OBOKATA, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, said latest estimates showed that there were 50 million people held in contemporary forms of slavery on any given day. In this context, he had closely monitored slavery-related developments at the national and global levels over the past year, including during a country visit undertaken to Sri Lanka, and would like to begin by presenting his assessment of this visit.
The main objective of his visit to Sri Lanka was to assess the labour conditions in various economic sectors, including in the garment industry, tea plantations and domestic work, to examine the extent to which relevant laws and policies were implemented and whether systematic barriers hindered access to decent work, including for Sri Lankan migrant workers. Sri Lanka had taken important steps to tackle child labour as part of its commitment. There were, however, various issues which needed to be addressed, one of which was related to the labour and living conditions of workers. There were also indicators of forced labour in the garment industry and domestic work, among others. The report included a number of recommendations to address these and other challenges.
The new thematic report on contemporary forms of slavery affecting minorities noted that in all regions of the world, minorities continued to be subjected to contemporary forms of slavery, caused mainly by deep-rooted and systematic discrimination often resulting from historical legacies such as slavery, colonisation, systems of inherited status, and formalised and State-sponsored discrimination, which pushed them further into poverty. There was also concern for the continuing existence of child labour, including in its worst forms, among minority children in all regions of the world. In addition to these instances of labour exploitation, other contemporary forms of slavery affected minorities. Much remained to be done to fully address deep-rooted discrimination and exploitation among minorities, and States and other stakeholders should promote and implement a joined-up approach with full participation of minorities and migrant workers in all decision-making processes.
Statement by Country Concerned
Sri Lanka, speaking as a country concerned, welcomed the Special Rapporteur’s acknowledgement regarding Sri Lanka’s work in eliminating child labour. The minimum working age had been raised from 14 to 16. Sri Lanka had been one of the first States to ratify the International Labour Organization’s convention on eliminating forced labour. The Government rejected the description in the report of the treatment of Tamils. The Government was cognisant of issues related to Tamils and was working to resolve them. It had introduced measures to regulate microfinancing schemes and promote access for women and vulnerable communities. The Government accorded high priority to supporting migrant workers and other vulnerable groups. It had already taken action to implement some of the recommendations in the report.
Discussion
In the ensuing discussion, some speakers said that slavery was a contemporary reality in many parts of the world. The report was important and well-documented, and all should study its recommendations. Combatting forced labour was a world-wide priority. Contemporary forms of slavery were affecting linguistic, religious and ethnic minorities, in particular women and children, and exposed victims to sexual exploitation, or the worst forms of labour and domestic labour. There were growing inequalities and the poverty gap was the major cause of slavery around the world in many communities. The international community should therefore support States in efforts to combat poverty and inequalities, which were a major cause of the violation of human rights. The Special Rapporteur should continue to update the Council, as well as make further recommendations on how to combat slavery.
Some speakers said that persons belonging to minority groups in some countries were still suffering from deep-rooted and intersecting discrimination. In some cases, the discrimination was State-sponsored and institutionalised in the national legislation. The continued existence of different forms of slavery was a matter for deep concern, including chattel slavery, forced and bonded labour, child labour, child and forced marriage, domestic servitude and sexual slavery in all regions of the world. Several of these were linked to discrimination based on gender and descent, and there should be international cooperation, partnership and responsibility, an increase in funding, debt-burden reduction and other means to allow States to increase aid to vulnerable groups, allowing them to fulfil their commitments to reduce slavery.
It was essential for the international community to combat organised crime, the corollary of which was trafficking in and slavery of persons. Principles of equality and non-discrimination, strengthened by legislative measures, provided shelter and support for members of minorities, the protection of whom required a comprehensive and holistic approach.