[2] This is affected by the Optional Protocol to the Abolition of Slavery[3] and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
[4] The ICCPR, governed by the Human Rights Committee,[5] is responsible for internationally monitoring present conditions of slavery.
Both are declarations made by the collaboration of the international community, and agreements that signatories would modify their national laws in accordance with the convention, with the assistance of the United Nations if necessary; however, there are no consequences outlined in either document that provide incentive for signatories to abide by the convention The Human Rights Committee is governed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which entered into force on March 23, 1976.
In Mali, the committee noted that the State party has not taken clear action in response the reports of slavery like practices and hereditary servitude in the country.
In acknowledging this, the committee recommended that the state should conduct research to determine if these conditions of slavery still exist, and if they do to take action.
[15] The committee also noted concerns of child trafficking into Côte d'Ivoire, where children were then being subjected to forced labour and slavery.
The committee recommended that the Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) in collaboration with the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG) should ensure that there is adequate investigation of these crimes and victims have access to lawyers, health care, and other forms of assistance.
[19] In India, debt bondage has been illegal since 1976; however, due to widespread poverty in the country, it continues to exist, as a man may need a loan to finance a wedding, funeral, medicine, fertilizer, or a fine.
Debt bondage can also be incurred by specific industries – quarrying, carpet-making, agriculture, and fisheries – where the cost of equipment and supplies falls on the worker who needs a loan to pay for them.
[19] Forced prostitution and sexual slavery are considered contemporary manifestations of this historical crime, and can be found anywhere in the world.
[23] Forced labour can also be imposed by governments who “conscript their own subjects and put them to work for minimal, or no pay, and for varying lengths of time”.