FORCED LABOUR, HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND SLAVERY BY - HAREESH KUMAR C, GUHAN T & ARUNACHALAM MUTHULINGAM

FORCED LABOUR, HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND SLAVERY

AUTHORED BY - HAREESH KUMAR C,

GUHAN T & ARUNACHALAM MUTHULINGAM

Abstract:

This article critically discuss about the bonded labour system and there are several problems associated with it.And also deals with the factors for bonded labour

Article is divided into two parts .The first part focuss upon the overview of bonded labour system.

The second part consist of salvary and human trafficking.

And also focus upon the factors and remedies for abolition

Keywords: forced labour, slavery,

Introduction:

Forced labour is a sad mark on human history that persists even in the present world. It is a significant violation of human rights, stripping persons of their freedom and dignity. This essay seeks to shed light on the subject of forced labour by investigating its causes, repercussions, and the urgent need for worldwide action to end this heinous practise.

What is forced labour?

Definitions:

According to Article 2.1 of ILO Convention No. 29, “all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily” is considered forced or obligatory labour. The Convention allows for a few exceptions, including those for military service for tasks that are solely military in nature, regular civic duties, work performed by prisoners who have been found guilty in court and are under the control of a public authority, and minor communal services.

 (Art. 2.2). A later ILO Convention No. 105, adopted in 1957, states that forced labour may never be employed for economic development, political education, discrimination, labour discipline, or as retribution for striking. It is evident from this definition that forced labour does not simply mean low pay or unfavorable working conditions. It constitutes a curtailment of human freedom, a breach of human rights, and the complete reverse of what the ILO and UNDP define as “decent work” or “human development,” respectively. As defined by different international instruments, forced work also includes instances of serfdom, debt bondage, and slavery and acts that are akin to slavery.

Exception :

Regular civic duties. Prison labour (under specific circumstances). Work in emergency conditions (such conflict, disaster or danger of disaster, such as fire, flood, starvation, or earthquake). In-community, minor communal services

With a few exceptions, such as mandatory military duty, the Convention defines forced labour as “all work or service which is exacted from any person under the threat of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.”

Constitutional Safeguard :

Article 45 specifies the right of children to free and compulsory education. It specifies that “the State shall endeavour to provide for free and compulsory education for all children until the age of fourteen years within ten years of the commencement of this Constitution, “safeguards children who are forced to work.

Article 51 A(k)- who is a parent or guardian to give educational opportunities to his kid or ward between the ages of six and fourteen years

Kadar vs Muthukoya Thangal on 17 July, 1961

Human beings and Begar and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited and any contravention of this provision shall … compliance with the same, amounts to a form of ‘forced labour’ .

Jute Mill Mazdoor Sabha, Through … vs State Of Bihar And Ors. On 1 September, 1989

Service which a person is forced to provide and force which would make such labour or service ‘forced labour … action may properly be regarded as ‘force’ it would be forced labour’.

2016 UNDP- 17 GOALS: Central Sector Scheme for Bonded Labour Rehabilitation 2016  focuses on eradication of forced labour and human trafficking. These are some of constitutional and legal measures to protect person and eradicating forced labours.

Land Mark Cases:

M C MEHTA VS STATE OF TAMIL NADU 1996 6 (SCC) 756

The Court ordered that any offender who employs child work have their premises sealed and pay a fine of Rs 20,000, which will be used for the rehabilitation of the child victim.

Bandhua Mukti Morcha v Union of India and Ors On December 16, 1983, the Bandhua Mukti Morcha sued the Union of India and others.

Sanjith Roy v State of Rajasthan On January 20, 1983, Sanjit Roy sued the State of Rajasthan.

Which a person is compelled to provide and ‘force’ which would make such labour or service ‘forced labour… coerced as a result of such 279 ‘force,’ it would be ‘forced labour’.

Kadar v Muthukoya Thangal  On October 15, 1970, Gujarat Beedi Karkhana Owners’… v. Union of India and Others

Muthukoya Thangal vs. Kadar On July 17, 1961

Humans, Begar, and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited, and any violation of this rule shall be construed as “forced labour” in accordance with the law.

Jute Mill Mazdoor Sabha, Through… vs. State Of Bihar And Ors. On September 1, 1989 service that a person is forced to perform, and force that would make such labour or service “forced labour… action may properly be regarded as “force” it would be forced labour.”

The reasons for forced labour :

As a problem primarily of exclusion, poverty demonstrates the persistent nature of preconceived notions about its causes and, consequently, the causes of other social problems. The roots of forced labour in the global economy. It follows from the residual position that the key to eradicating forced labour lies in greater inclusion in labour markets in accordance with the fundamental concepts underlying both the ILO’s decent work agenda.

To address these issues, we need some typologies of the poverty slavery nexus, as well as some disaggregation of the major kinds of forced labour in the globe today. It is nearly a given that the poorest and most deprived people are the most vulnerable to forced labour and slavery. However, in simple terms, two types of situations must be distinguished. First, there are those individuals, families, and maybe entire communities that have been trapped in forced or bonded labour for decades.

These are scenarios of traditional bondage or serfdom, in which people are bound to a traditional landowner or an exploitative agent in the informal sector, such as a brick kiln or a small mine. These people are new to the market economy. Second, there are people who, while initially free agents, are duped and ensnared into conditions of compulsion by recruitment agents and intermediaries. This is most likely to occur when vulnerable people are away from their own communities or even countries. This is part of the expanding issue of human trafficking, which primarily affects young women and children for sexual or labour exploitation and has captured the world's attention. The ILO Director General has adequately characterised such human trafficking – now affecting almost every country as place of origin, transfer or destination – as the “underside of contemporary globalization”.

Remedy and my proposals to end forced labour:

Many projects and measures have been enforced by the government, but they should have a greater impact on society.

Labour migration is unlikely to decrease in the future. As a result, we must be able to recognize victims of all forms of labour exploitation and provide protection to all those in need, whether they are ideal victims or Bless ideal victims. Given the fluidity of exploitation, a rigorous interpretation of the term of forced work is not always appropriate in characterizing contemporary forms of labour trafficking. Instead, a wide definition of compelled labour is required, one that takes into account the lack of options, rights, agency, and difficulty in leaving one’s workplace.

The definition of what constitutes trafficking for the purpose of forced labour places employment at its core.

Given that forced work is still prevalent in the UK today, a more nuanced reaction is required. The issue of forced employment requires a multifaceted strategy that unites criminal justice and labour justice responses and incorporates the protection of human and labour rights into practice. And policy. Policies should allow all individuals impacted access to remedies in both sectors and combine criminal justice, labour market regulation, and enforcement mechanisms. The goal of labour justice should be to ensure that all workers are subject to the same labour laws and to correct the power imbalance that is brought about by the lack of adequate recourse and bargaining power to certain class of workers.

Additionally, it’s important to address the motive, demand, and socioeconomic elements that permit the exploitation to occur. By doing this, we can get closer to fixing the root issues of the impunity enjoyed by those who exploit others and the ignorance of labour laws and workers’ rights. Focusing solely on severe scenarios ignores the root reasons of actual circumstances, where the presence of forced work is ensured by the legality of smaller-scale violations. This essay looked at several definitions of forced labour and methods for addressing the complex issue of labour exploitation. It makes the case that in order to comprehend and address instances of forced labour, these must be viewed through the lens of a continuum, which not only encompasses all the many circumstances that occur on the axis from decent work to forced labour, but links them within the existing regulatory framework from which remedies can be derived.

Conclusion:

Forced labour continues to be a heinous violation of human rights, causing unimaginable pain and impeding social advancement. It will need all-encompassing efforts to end this reprehensible practice, including tackling the underlying issues of inequality and poverty, bolstering the legal system, and encouraging global cooperation. Governments, organizations, and people all have a responsibility to work together to end forced labour so that everyone can live with respect and freedom

Part 2: Salvary and Human Trafficking

What does slavery mean?

The idea of slavery was treating people like objects that could be bought and sold. Long ago, people from Africa like Nigeria or Libya were taken away and sold to other countries like Europe and America. They were forced to work for no pay and couldn't leave. This was called slavery. These slaves were forced to do anything their owners wanted, like cleaning or even selling their bodies. But most of the time, they had to work in places like farms, plantations, mines, and forests owned by white people. Some lucky slaves were able to help white mothers take care of their kids and do other household tasks.

Slavery was caused by two main things.

The belief that white people are better than black people is called racism.

The need for people to work as slaves.

Superiority means being better or higher in quality, status, or performance than others.

White people thought they were better than black people, so they bought black slaves. This caused slavery to be linked with racism. The writer thinks that it's possible that treating black people unfairly might have contributed to making them slaves. This is why the government back then agreed with this way of selling people.

When a white person buys a slave (who is usually black), the reason behind it is racism. This means they believe black people are not as good as them and they can force them to do anything they want. Racism is at the heart of slavery.

These slaves were not allowed to learn or get an education. They were thought to only be able to work for white people and were not given the chance to learn anything. They were forced to stay ignorant. People thought that if slaves learned to read and write, they might realize they don't like being slaves and could try to fight back against their owners. A mean person wouldn't let a black kid named Nat read a book because they thought only white people could understand them.

Slaves were treated like animals. In the movie, it was shown that when the owners needed to save money, they would give less food to the slaves. In the past, slaves had to live with the animals in a barn and didn't have good hygiene. In the movie, something really scary happens when a girl who is white ties a rope around a black girl's neck like a dog's collar and plays with her while running. If slaves didn't want to eat, their teeth were broken with a chisel and hammer.

There were people called slave hunters. They would punish or even kill slaves who left their owner's house or stole something. The movie showed that people in the past thought white people were better than others, and this led to slavery and treating slaves badly.

People who wanted to buy other people and make them work for them.

When people from Europe came to the new land, they wanted to grow their sugar crops there too. This has led to a big increase in the number of sugar plantations over the years. They decided to bring slaves from West Africa instead of from India because there was already a system there, and they thought the people from West Africa were stronger. In the past, some white people used to buy other people called slaves. They did this because having a slave helped them a lot. Buying a slave means purchasing someone who will do whatever you want, like a thing, instead of treating them like a living person. You can do anything you want to slaves, like work on farms or hurt them for fun. If they don't obey, you can hurt them or kill them.

Because there were many cheap slaves making lots of sugar, which was very popular in Europe and made people very rich, the European economy did really well. This made other countries want cheap slaves too, so they could make money.

The people from Spain and Britain liked the idea and used it in their colonies in the Caribbean. In North America, tobacco became very important and they needed cheap African slaves to help grow it and make money. More people wanted to buy slaves because they thought it would make them richer. Sadly, this made the problem of slavery even worse.

Treating slave women in a mean and unfair way.

In some movies, it has been shown that women who were slaves were forced to have sex by their owners or visitors in exchange for money. In the movie, a lady who was a slave served dinner to her master's visitors. The visitors touched her legs wrongly in front of her master. This tells us that slave women were not treated with respect and were in a very weak position. They didn't know who they might have to sleep with because their master could make them. In a different part of the story, a woman who was a slave was attacked by 3 men because she didn't have permission to be away from her owner's place. They hurt her in a terrible way.

In another part of the story, it showed how badly slave women were treated. They were sold like objects at an auction and forced to be sex slaves.

What happens if the slaves fight back?

Once, a person who was enslaved did not want to eat. They were bound in a dirty barn where cows poop, and their mouths were covered with a metal object. The owner used a chisel and hammer to break all of the slave's teeth and put a funnel in their mouth. Then he takes a big bite of the strange gravy that they used to give to slaves as food, and he chews it forcefully in his mouth. Sometimes, people were forced to get bitten by dogs or stay outside all day in the cold with no warm clothes.

What rules in the IPC (Indian Penal Code) to abolish  slavery?

 Human trafficking means taking people from one place to another for bad reasons. It is like modern-day slavery, where people are treated very badly and forced to do things they don't want to do. It can happen to anyone, anywhere in the world. It is a very serious problem and needs to be stopped.

This is a section in a document that has the number 370.

 The act of trafficking people is when someone does one or more of the following for the purpose of using them unfairly: (a) convinces them to come along, (b) moves them to another place, (c) gives them a place to stay, (d) passes them on to someone else, or (e) takes them in.

First - making a threat or using intimidation.

Fourthly, by lying or tricking others.

The fifth way is by using power in a bad way.

The sixth way is when someone offers you money or something else to agree to let them recruit, transport, harbor, transfer or receive another person.

If someone is found guilty of trafficking, it means they did something wrong and broke the law.

This part gets rid of buying slaves, so it stops slavery from starting. The movie showed that in Africa's slavery system, people were taken away and sold to Portuguese traders as slaves. If this happened in modern India, these traders would get punished under a law called section 370.

The Indian Penal Code has a section called Section 367. This section is written down and has specific words that people need to follow.

Taking someone against their will to hurt them or make them a slave is called kidnapping or abduction.

If someone takes another person and intends to hurt them badly, enslave them, or force them to perform sexual acts, they will go to jail for up to 10 years and will have to pay a fine.

This law in India says that it's wrong to make someone a slave. If someone kidnaps another person and makes them into a slave, they can go to jail for 10 years and have to pay money as well. The people who took someone without permission mentioned earlier would only be punished under Section 367.

Being mean and unfair to people who are forced to work for someone else.

Section 358 says the following: -

I am sorry, but the given text "358." cannot be simplified as it is a number without context. Please provide more information so I can assist you better. If someone attacks or uses force against another person because they were provoked suddenly and seriously, they can be punished with either one month in jail, a fine of up to 200 rupees, or both.

This section has the same explanation as section 352.

This text talks about very bad things that can happen to people. These things include being taken away from their families, being forced to work, and being treated like they are not free.

In the movie, a slave talks with his boss about a part in the Bible, and the boss hurts him by hitting him 100 times with a whip. If this happened now in India, the man would be charged with a particular law called article 358.

Human trafficking means forcing someone to do things they don't want to do. This could include selling them for sex or making them work long hours for very little pay. It is a terrible thing that happens and we need to stop it.

Human trafficking is modern slavery. It happens when people are taken illegally and forced to work or participate in sexual activities for someone else's benefit. This can happen through deception or force. Human trafficking is a big issue that happens all around the world and it harms people of different ages. Around one million people are taken and used for things they don't want to do every year all around the world.

Anyone, regardless of their age, gender or where they come from, can be impacted by human trafficking. This is when someone takes control of other people using force, threats, or trickery, to use them for their own benefit. It means when someone goes into a country without permission or stays there when they aren't supposed to.

Some instances of people being forced to work or sold as property.

Grown-ups and kids can be taken and made to work as prostitutes. Some people are forced to work against their will and are treated like property. This is called human trafficking or enslavement and it can happen when people are used for their labor.

To do a job on a farm or in a factory.

To work in someone's home and help with cleaning, cooking, or taking care of children.

To ask people for money while on the sidewalk or road.

Conclusion:

Slavery existed for a long time and was difficult to stop because of one main reason. White people thinking they are better than black people is a bad idea. People wanted to use slaves to do work for them. Long ago, people who forced others to work for them (called "slavers") could be hurt and tortured in many ways, but it was allowed by the law. Women had a harder time than men because they had to work hard and also do things with their bodies that they didn't want to do. Men didn't have to do those things.