Monitoring International Labor Standards Techniques and Sources of Information (2004) / Chapter Skim
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5 Forced or Compulsory Labor
5 Forced or Compulsory Labor
Pages 135-160
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From page 135... ...
. Despite universal condemnation, however, eradicating forced labor's "numerous forms -- old and new, ranging from slavery and debt bondage to trafficking in human beings -- remains one of the most complex challenges facing local communities, national governments, employers' and workers' organizations and the international community" (International Labour Organization, 2001b, p.
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From page 136... ...
The remaining three sections follow the pattern of the previous and subsequent two chapters: assessing compliance, sources of information, and conclusions and recommendations. ILO CONVENTIONS AND DECLARATION The development of international labor standards on forced labor in the ILO have evolved over time and have been influenced by other instruments developed in the United Nations.
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From page 137... ...
2) : · compulsory military service -- any work or service exacted in virtue of compulsory military service laws for work of a purely military character; · normal civic obligations -- any work or service which forms part of the normal civic obligations of the citizens of a fully self-governing country; · prison labor under governmental supervision and control -- any work or service exacted from any person as a consequence of a conviction in a court of law, provided that the said work or service is carried out under the supervision and control of a public authority and that the said person is not hired to or placed at the disposal of private individuals, companies, or associations; · work in cases of emergencies -- any work or service exacted in cases of emergency, that is to say, in the event of war or of a calamity or threatened calamity, such as fire, flood, famine, earthquake, violent epidemic or epizootic diseases, invasion by animal, insect or vegetable pests, and in general any circumstance that would endanger the existence or the well-being of the whole or part of the population; and · minor communal work -- minor communal services of a kind which, being performed by the members of the community in the direct interest of the said community, can therefore be considered as normal civic obligations incumbent upon the members of the community, provided that the members of the community or their direct representatives shall have the right to be consulted in regard to the need for such services.
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From page 138... ...
: · as a means of political coercion or education or as a punishment for holding or expressing political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social, or economic system; · as a method of mobilizing and using labor for purposes of economic development; · as a means of labor discipline; · as a punishment for having participated in strikes; and · as a means of racial, social, national, or religious discrimination.2 The treaty has been ratified by more than 155 countries. 2The substance of Convention No.
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From page 139... ...
. The first global report on forced labor under the declarations' followup procedures identified seven major categories of forced labor that constitute pervasive failures to achieve the elimination of forced labor (International Labour Organization, 2001b)
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From page 140... ...
DEFINITIONS We use as the central definition of forced labor the one found in ILO Convention No. 29: all work or service that is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself or herself voluntarily.
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From page 141... ...
6) ." Contemporary forms of slavery include a wide range of exploitative practices, including compulsory participation in public works, mandatory labor in remote rural areas, bonded labor, domestic workers in involuntary labor situations, and involuntary labor resulting from trafficking.
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From page 142... ...
. Similarly, the ILO supervisory bodies that monitor compliance with ratified ILO forced labor conventions consider minor communal services to be minor services relating primarily to maintenance work and, in exceptional cases, to the erection of buildings intended to improve the social conditions of the community, for example, building a small school or a medical treatment room.
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From page 143... ...
The precise meaning of the term "bonded labor" and whether this phenomenon is distinct from debt bondage can also be difficult to discern. Moreover, not all debt bondage is forced labor.
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From page 144... ...
The matter is further complicated by the fact that being indebted to a landowner does not automatically imply bondage, nor does noninstitutional debt (International Labour Organization, 2001a)
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From page 145... ...
Although not as widespread as bonded labor, trafficking in persons is a global problem found in no less than 60 countries, including developed economies. Trafficking in persons exists within individual countries as well as across international borders and is broader in scope than the particular form that often receives the most attention -- the movement of women and girls engaged in the sex sector.
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From page 146... ...
But it can degenerate into forced labor when debt bondage or trafficking is involved -- or when the worker is physically restrained from leaving the employer's home or has his or her identity papers withheld" (International Labour Organization, 2001b, para.
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From page 147... ...
Prison labor in those circumstances is exempted, and prisoners may be compelled to perform all types of work, including the functions needed to run the prisons, the production of goods or services that may be sold to market by the public authority, and public works (International Labour Organization, 2001b)
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From page 148... ...
For example, there is no protection from forced prison labor for political strikes, illegal strikes, strikes involving violence or property damage, or strikes involving essential services. The absence of a clear blanket rule makes measurement difficult.
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From page 149... ...
182; and A-4. constitutional provisions, statutes, or regulations prohibiting the principal forms of forced labor, including: · slavery and abductions; · compulsory participation in public works projects; · coercive recruitment systems, particularly in rural areas; · bonded labor, including bonded child labor; · trafficking in persons; · domestic workers in forced labor situations; and · prison labor and rehabilitation through work.
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From page 150... ...
community awareness and use of local vigilance committees to identify and monitor forced labor situations; B-5. government-sponsored credit institutions; and B-6.
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From page 151... ...
statistics on the number of workers still in the prohibited forms of forced labor: · slavery and abductions; · compulsory participation in public works projects; · coercive recruitment systems, particularly in rural areas; · bonded labor, including bonded child labor; · trafficking in persons; · domestic workers in forced labor situations; and · prison labor and rehabilitation through work. These statistics need to be assessed with caution.
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From page 152... ...
Although strengthened labor inspectorates can improve a nations' capacity to enforce its forced labor prohibitions, the violent, corrupt nature of forced labor practices frequently exceeds the capacity of national labor departments by themselves (International Labour Organization, 2001b, para.
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From page 153... ...
than the labor force participation rate.6 Percentage of Population Located in Rural Areas With so much forced labor originating or taking place in rural areas -- e.g., trafficking, slavery, or bonded labor -- knowing the percentage of the population located in rural areas will spotlight populations where forced labor may be more likely to occur. Percentage of Children Under 14 Not in School Regrettably, children, especially in poor countries, are highly susceptible to forced labor, as they are frequently the primary breadwinner for their families.
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From page 154... ...
In particular, informal economy employment is most often associated with low pay and absence of social protection and benefits. SOURCES OF INFORMATION Follow-Up to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights The promotional follow-up procedures under the ILO Declaration on the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work includes the Annual Review; it is composed of reports from governments describing the efforts made to respect the principles and rights relating to all unratified fundamental ILO conventions and comments from workers' and employers' organizations.
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From page 155... ...
embassy staff assigned to complete these sections of the annual country reports on human rights practices include the following questions (U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Labor, and Human Rights, 2002)
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From page 156... ...
156 MONITORING INTERNATIONAL LABOR STANDARDS Report on Trafficking in Persons The first annual Trafficking in Persons Report was released by the Department of State in June 2001. As one of the requirements of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, the report is to address "severe forms of trafficking in persons," defined as sex trafficking in which a commercial act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of fraud or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.
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From page 157... ...
FORCED OR COMPULSORY LABOR 157 1. whether the government vigorously investigates and prosecutes acts of trafficking within its territory; 2.
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From page 158... ...
Furthermore, it criticizes the lack of assessment of government programs and the inconsistencies among the State Department's own reports. Pakistan is cited as an example, since it moved from Tier 3 to Tier 2 in the 2001 Trafficking Report, while the Department of State's country human rights report indicates that Pakistan "has done little to stem the flow of women trafficked into the country or to help victims of trafficking" (Human Rights Watch, 2002)
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From page 159... ...
Geneva: International Labour Office. International Labour Organization.
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From page 160... ...
U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
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