Judgement: European Court of Human Rights failure to adequately protect potential victims of child trafficking in landmark case of VCL and AN v UK

Philippa Southwell, founder of HTMSE and leading modern slavery lawyer represented one of the victims, VCL, in the landmark ECHR case, in relation to victims of human trafficking. Philippa represented VCL in both domestic proceedings and in his application to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.  

The ECHR judgement finds failure to adequately protect potential victims of child trafficking. Judgement in the case of V.C.L. AND A.N. v. the United Kingdom (applications nos. 77587/12 and 74603/12) was handed down last week held, unanimously, that there had been:  

  • a violation of Article 4 (prohibition of forced labour) of the European Convention on Human Rights, and  
  • a violation of Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair trial).  

This case is likely to have wide reaching impact for victims of human trafficking.   

As part of VCL’s legal team also instructed were Henry Blaxland QCEmma Fitzsimons and Stephen Clark of Garden Court Chambers alongside Michelle Brewer, a former tenant who left Chambers to become a First-Tier Tribunal judge in the Immigration and Asylum Chamber.  Liberty (National Council for Civil Liberties), GRETA (Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings) responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings and Anti-Slavery International intervened in this case.   

You can find the full judgement here.  

 

Photo Credit @ Wikimedia Commons

United States: National Human Trafficking Awareness Day

January 11th marked the National Human Trafficking Awareness Day in the US. Designated in 2007, it aims to raise awareness in the United States about human trafficking and modern slavery on national level.

The Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery Expert Directory was established to bring together leading professionals and specialist organisations working in the counter human trafficking and modern slavery sector and provides access to specialists from around the globe, from all different professions and disciplines.

We encourage all professionals, NGOs, charities, businesses, lawyers, medical practitioners, or other experts or specialist organisations not listed in the HTMSE directory to sign up to create a profile here: https://humantraffickingexperts.com/main/signup

Anti-Slavery Day, 18th October 2020

October 18th was the UK’s Anti-Slavery Day, enacted back in 2010 as an Act of Parliament, with the intention to acknowledge and raise awareness for the estimated 40 million victims of modern slavery and human trafficking victims worldwide. Though the UK made strides in the global fight against modern slavery by enacting the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the first of its kind, in 2019, there were over ten thousand potential modern slavery victims identified in the UK alone. Each year Anti-Slavery Day reminds us of the individuals, communities, and even business exposed to the crime of Modern Slavery.

This year, over 50+ NGOs, academics and law firms have signed an open letter directed to the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, calling for better protections and improved immigration policies for survivors of Modern Slavery. The letter highlights the plight of victims in immigration detention centres run in ‘prison-like’ conditions, and the practical disparity whereby more survivors than perpetrators are held ‘behind bars’.

Experts are calling on the UK Government to ‘turn the tide’: by ensuring victims of trafficking do not face punitive immigration control measures and Modern Slavery survivors receive needed support, particularly urging the Government to ensure victims receive support and immigration protection for at least 12 months – in line with the proposed Modern Slavery (Victim Support) Bill. At present, traffickers threats of detention and deportation as a mechanism to control vulnerable whilst victims already struggle to secure protection under the current asylum process as it is ‘notorious for disbelief’.

Several signatories to the letter can be found in the HTMSE Directory which connects modern slavery and human trafficking victims with experts in modern slavery across all areas of practice. We encourage anyone, whether a professional, NGO, charity, business, lawyer, medical practitioner, or other expert or specialist organisation not listed in the HTMSE directory to sign up to create a profile here: https://humantraffickingexperts.com/main/signup

Millions more cases of FGM, Child Marriage and Gender Based Violence due to Coronavirus Pandemic

Child marriage constitutes forced marriage, FGM constitutes organ removal, and both acts are considered exploitation under the umbrella of Modern Slavery

By exacerbating existing vulnerabilities and subjecting more potential victims into vulnerable status, Coronavirus has uprooted much progress made towards protecting women’s rights around the world. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) deems 19 medical practices rooted in gender inequality a violation of human rights, including practices such as breast ironing and virginity testing. Their 2020 report Against My Will focuses on female genital mutilation (FGM), child marriage and extreme bias against daughters in favour of sons as three widespread practices that constitute a “silent and endemic crisis“. These acts involve exploitation and fall under the umbrella modern slavery or violate fundamental human rights of female victims. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an exponential increase in gender based violence and the breakdown of critical sexual health services which deprive women of their reproductive health rights. 

FGM 

FGM involves surgical manipulation of a girls body in a way that diminishes their ability to achieve equal rights as men. It is a targeted act to subjugate and control a woman’s sexuality, thereby violating their right to equality and exposing them to extreme health risks. Despite most countries in the world deeming the practice illegal, FGM is rooted in the choice of a girls family or community, and goes ahead within this private sphere often without the knowledge of the state. This means it usually takes place in unsterile, black market conditions posing higher risk of infection and other complications such as haemorrhage, sepsis and even death. Mental and physiological repercussions include depression, irreversible loss of sexual pleasure and potentially sexual function. UN treaty bodies and international health organisations reject medicalisation of FGM to achieve safer sterile conditions because it would make the health professionals complicit in human rights violations. The UNFPA estimates the Coronavirus led disruption to preventative programs will lead to 2 million more cases of FGM between 2020 – 2030. 

Child Marriage 

Rates of child marriage have begun to rise as a result of the delay to preventative programs and the extreme economic hardship that vulnerable families are are experiencing as a result of the pandemic. UNFPA predicts an additional 13 million child marriages between 2020 – 2030 that could have been prevented by intervention services disrupted by the pandemic. Deepening poverty incentivises parents to marry off their daughters at a young age, to avoid the cost of their living. Although most countries follow the international Child Rights Convention and thereby establish a minimum age of consent between 16 and 21, the majority of countries allow parental consent to override age restrictions of their children to marry. Governments have a duty to end the harm to children, whereby effective laws need to be supported by economic and social restructuring to promote the equal rights and opportunities of vulnerable girls. 

Sex Selection & Reproductive Health Rights 

A preference for boy babies over girl babies leads to prenatal sex selection in favour of boys, or girl babies being neglected in infancy. 140 million females are ‘missing’ in the world population due to extreme bias against daughters in favour of sons, most significantly in China and India. Whilst in some cases this results in direct physical harm to baby girls, this mentality of systemic gender bias manifests in the ongoing issues of female subjugation later in their lives, such as through child marriage or domestic violence.  During the Coronavirus pandemic, there are restricted means to regulate such abuses. Due to overrun health systems, women’s reproductive health rights and sexual health are being neglected in both contexts of the developing world and developed world. The distribution of contraceptives have been severely disrupted due to supply chain issues. UNFPA assessed service disruptions in minimum lockdown cases (of three months) predicting 13 million women being unable to access contraception, leading to 325,000 unintended pregnancies. Malta, for example, has recorded 12 unintended pregnancies per day since lockdown. This in turn, will increase cases of neglect and murder of baby girls, due to an inability to access abortion practices during the pandemic. 

Coronavirus lockdown: Gender based violence 

Coronavirus lockdown posed an unprecedented necessity for families to stay indoors, that has led to increased gender based domestic violence and exploitation. Crisis centres, justice officials and domestic violence hotlines received increased reports during the lockdown period, indicating an increase in total acts of violence, whilst women and girls were forced to stay indoors with their abusers. Increased stresses caused by the pandemic has, and will continue to exacerbate tensions between families, causing violent outbreaks. Furthermore rates of abuse have increased due to disruptions to support programs such as open victim shelters, safe houses and intervention services. UNFPA predicts six months of lockdown would result in up to 31 million additional cases of gender based violence.

2030 Target 

Statistics provided by UNFPA along with partners Avenir Health, Johns Hopkins University (USA) and Victoria University (Australia) estimates the vast human cost of the pandemic in relation to the rights and health of women and girls. The report includes targets for 2030 to gain back the global progress disrupted by Coronavirus, including: keeping girls in school for as long as possible, engaging men and boys in social change, and investment of $3.4 billion per year dedicated to ending FGM and child marriage. This will alleviate the suffering of approximately 84 million young females over the next decade. Along with the necessity for legal obligations around women’s rights and equality, UNFPA stresses the need for a social and cultural shift to prevent these harmful practices going ahead. Raising awareness within communities, empowering women through education and economic opportunities, and providing effective protective services to vulnerable women are essential to addressing this “silent and endemic crisis”, brought about by the Coronavirus pandemic.

HTMSE’s Founder and Director Appears Before Home Affairs Select Committee on Modern Slavery

Earlier this year our founder and director Philippa Southwell was called to give oral evidence as a legal expert in the Home Affairs Select Committee Modern Slavery Inquiry. As well as giving oral evidence our director Philippa also gave written evidence. Issues that were raised during the inquiry concern the Modern Slavery Act 2015, in particular the section 45 modern slavery defence and excluded schedule 4 offences, and section 54 corporate modern slavery compliance. Also of note were concerns regarding the exploitation of British national minors involved in child criminal exploitation in the forms of forced drug possession, robbery, burglaries, and weapons running. Philippa gave legal analysis on all of these topics. Further areas of focus by the inquiry were:

  • The detention of Modern Slavery victims in immigration removal centres, and the adequacy of policy in relation to victims of modern slavery and human trafficking being held in immigration detention centres.
  • The role of the independent anti-slavery commissioner and the relationship between the different law enforcement agencies, e.g. the police, NCA, GLAA, etc, with the national referral mechanism was a major focus of the evidence given by law enforcement professionals and the former Independent UK Anti-Slavery Commissioner.
  • and, Victim, and victim support services’, perspectives on policy and support available to victims of modern slavery and human trafficking.

The evidence for the inquiry was presented as a combination of oral and written evidence and is drawn from a wide variety of professionals and organisations representing a broad spectrum of sectors. At present those who have given evidence include legal practitioners from a wide range of specialisms; the NGO sector; law enforcement professionals and organisations, including the Home Office, NCA, Local Authorities and multiple police forces; Academic institutions and the research sector; various corporate bodies; and multiple individual experts and specialist organisations.

The Home Affairs Select Committee Modern Slavery Inquiry is ongoing, with oral evidence continuing to be heard. The final findings have yet to be announced. Both the written and oral evidence that have been heard as part of the inquiry, including those submitted by Philippa Southwell, can be found here.

The Rise of Technological Responses to Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery

Technology and Human Trafficking

Technology, and in particular mobile applications, is being increasingly identified as an important method of tackling modern slavery and human trafficking. Mobile applications have recently been responsible for the identification of nearly 1000 cases of modern slavery in car washes around the country. With the release of the Modern Slavery Helpline annual report for 2018, which recorded approximately 1 in 7 reports were made by webform submissions or through the Unseen App, it is clear that there is a rising awareness of modern slavery and human trafficking in the UK and a significant proportion of reports are made through technological methods.

However, mobile applications are not the only technologies being identified and implemented to help tackle modern slavery and human trafficking. So far in 2019 there have been several reports of new implementations of technology to combat modern slavery and human trafficking. For example, satellite imaging being recently used in a study by Nottingham University to accurately map the number of brick kilns in India. Brick kilns in India, which are associated with the exploitation of labourers through forced labour and debt bondage, exhibit unique features that can be mapped by satellite imaging and it is hoped that other industries associated with modern slavery may be vulnerable to satellite imaging too; scaling this use of technology into a major method of tackling modern slavery in remote areas. By contrast, algorithms that measure activity against a set of variables have been piloted by banks in the Netherlands to identify unusual behaviour that may be indicative of human trafficking or modern slavery.

However, whilst the use of technology to combat human trafficking and modern slavery is advancing in new directions and receiving high profile acclaim concerns have been raised that technology merely constitutes a tool and its use alone may not be enough. TechUK, an organisation responsible for representing approximately 900 companies that develop technology, has raised concerns that for technological tools to be truly effective corporations need to ensure they have a strong anti-slavery culture with a willingness to act. Whilst strong corporate and social anti-slavery cultures are vital, the development of technological tools and processes to target human trafficking and modern slavery demonstrate positive commitments by a wide range of actors to tackling these issues. Many of these technological developments are recognised as new and as these tools are refined it is quite possible that technology will take play a greater role in combating human trafficking and modern slavery.

Modern Slavery Act 2018- What does it do?

Australia_Parliament_House_Lauri_Vain
Photo Credit: Business & Human Rights Resource Centre; Lauri Väin

New Modern Slavery Act 2018 in Australia introduces strict reporting requirements for businesses among other key objectives.

There has been significant interest recently over the introduction of the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (MSA) in Australia, and its likely coming into force in early 2019. The act will carry with it significant thresholds for businesses to meet in terms of reporting requirements. But what is the new act?

Section 3 (Part 1) of the MSA 2018 details the main objectives of the act are to:

  • Combat modern slavery,
  • Provide assistance and support for victims,
  • Establish an Anti-Slavery Commissioner,
  • Provide for detection and exposure of modern slavery,
  • Raise community awareness and provide education on modern slavery,
  • Encourage collaborative cross-sector and multi-agency responses,
  • Introduce provisions for the ongoing assessment of anti-slavery laws,
  • Criminalise forced marriage,
  • and, penalise further involvement in cybersex trafficking and CSE.

 

Statistically reports of  modern slavery in Australia are low in comparison to other countries, but there are concerns this is because of a lack of awareness on the matter. As part of this, there are concerns that businesses are not fully aware of the risks of modern slavery in their supply chains. Part of the act focuses on supply chain transparency, and appears to be heavily oriented towards tackling these issues. The focus on business accountability and corporate supply chains suggests a main focus on forced labour, which is not unsurprising given forced labour accounted for approximately half of all modern slavery cases in the ILO’s 2016 statistics. However, the objective statements of the act regarding forced marriage and child exploitation demonstrate the wide reaching and comprehensive aims of the act to eradicate modern slavery in all forms.

A link to the act itself can be found here.

Child Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Child Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility
Child Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been understood and conceptually used since the 1990s, yet only recently gained weight in legal terms. It was designed to hold businesses accountable for the environmental wellbeing and human rights within their production and supply chains that they financially benefit from, and in turn to uphold the rights of the most vulnerable sector of society – children.

The importance of child rights

The interaction between businesses and children is inevitable, as people under 18 years old make up a third of the worlds population. The importance of this interaction, whether as consumers, relations to employees or young workers themselves is critical because childhood is the most fundamental stage of development, where young people are more sensitive both to psychological and physical harm. Furthermore, they are most vulnerable to violence and abuse, deeming defenceless when forced into certain situations either out of desperation or before their own autonomy has developed to protest. If they are exposed to hazardous operations whether directly or indirectly, they are at high risk of mental and physical damage. In extreme yet unfortunately widespread cases of child labour exploitation within supply chains, for domestic work or other forms of illicit labour, the consequences to a child’s wellbeing can be irreversible.

Furthermore, the wellbeing of children is important to the long-term economic growth within communities. 215 million children are engaged in child labour worldwide, and 101 million children are not attending primary school. By being exploited from a young age, the stunt in education that children undergo will ultimately feedback negatively on the future overall productivity rates of businesses within certain economies.

The development of CSR

In the development CSR, rights observers have understood that corporate interests generally outweigh the voluntary demand for an ethical and socially responsible supply chain. There are various examples of CSR that have developed, which compels corporations to comply with legal standards. For example the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 that that dictates national legal standards, which requires corporations to publish the steps they are taking to ensure their supply chains and free of modern slavery, child labour, human trafficking. This regulation applies both domestically and for international sourcing, in which certain export standards of mandatory social compliance are placed onto developing countries with cheap labour. The California Transparency in Supply Chain Act (CTSCA) 2010 operates similar obligations but working at state level. The Indian Companies Act (2013) compels Indian corporations to spend 2% of their pre-tax profit on CSR.

How Child Rights fit into CSR

Although such legislation is aimed more broadly at achieving supply chain transparency, upholding child rights is a key element of this. Specifically, there is a set of 10 Child Rights and Business Principles as outlined by Save the Children, the UN Global Compact and UNICEF, which give a comprehensive yet non-exhaustive list of CSR requirements in relation to child rights. Corporations must:

  1. Meet their responsibility to respect children’s rights and commit to supporting the human rights of children
  2. Contribute to the elimination of child labour, including in all business activities and business relationships
  3. Provide decent work for young workers, parents and caregivers
  4. Ensure the protection and safety of children in all business activities and facilities
  5. Ensure that products and services are safe, and seek to support children’s rights through them
  6. Use marketing and advertising that respect and support children’s rights
  7. Respect and support children’s rights in relation to the environment and to land acquisition and use
  8. Respect and support children’s rights in security arrangements
  9. Help protect children affected by emergencies
  10. Reinforce community and government efforts to protect and fulfil children’s rights

As this literature points out, the rights of children are no ‘new legal obligation’, instead are innate human rights, which in turn drives CSR. This can be broken down into the Corporate Responsibility to Respect, which applies to the business’s own activities and to its business relationships, linked to its operations, products or services” as well as the Corporate Commitment to Support, which demands voluntary actions that seek to advance human rights, including children’s rights, through core business activities, strategic social investments and philanthropy, advocacy and public policy engagement, and working in partnership and other collective action.”

The focus of CSR towards children aims to eliminate child labour from supply chains, but also must take the nuanced approach which includes protecting the rights of children in their core business strategy, covering all operations, employee rights, marketing, and delivery of products and services.

The aim is for states to be responsible by implementing such CSR legislation to level out the injustices and inequalities of the world’s wealthiest corporations taking advantage of the worlds most poor and vulnerable. Although this works ideologically, the problem comes with implementation. Limitations with CSR studies show that even passive state regulation does not necessarily lead to thorough commitment to supply chains free of human rights abuses and environmental degradation by corporations. Trends show most corporations only apply resource to CSR when receiving pressure from external organisations. Hence, it takes active pressure by rights groups, NGOs and governments to achieve this, indicating the critical role of UNICEF and organisations to lobby against corporate interests. For CSR to be achieved, strict legal requirements and binding commitments must be met with appropriate sanctions as means of compulsion to achieve child rights.

Anti-Slavery Progress in Mauritania

Rights campaigners had criticised an initial decision to release on bail two men accused of keeping women and children as slaves. By Scott Olson (Getty/AFP/File)
Image by Scott Olson (Getty/AFP/File)

With a hereditary system of servitude, Mauritania has previously demonstrated significantly low slavery prosecution rates. In 1981 slavery was deemed illegal, but the sanctions were increased in 2015 with punishment of 20 years imprisonment recognising slavery as a ‘crime against humanity’.

Two recent ground breaking cases in the country have led to the sentence of two guilty of enslavement to 20 years. The primary victim of this case died before the case conclusion, who alongside his son, were reduced to slavery.

Another defendant was sentenced to 10 years in prison for keeping three women as domestic servants a without pay. Although the defence put forward the argument of treating the servants ‘like family’, the court ruled that slavery is a crime no matter how ‘gentle’.

These verdicts mark significant progress in the slavery case law of Mauritania, marking the success of the legislation and the three tribunals to address modern slavery established in the country. Similar cases that have been pending for several years will be reactivated according to authorities, signifying the normalisation of human rights issues being upheld by law.

Read here for the full article on these Rare Slavery Rulings in Mauritania Sending Three to Prison.

Tribute: International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade

More than 15 million people were enslaved in Africa and sold during the Transatlantic Slave Trade, which constitutes the largest legally sanctioned forced movement of people in history. Spread over 400 years, 96% of those enslaved arrived in the Americas and remain a prominent foothold in the demographic. This year being its 70th anniversary, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights remains a foundation document in international law and slavery legislation:

“Article 4. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.’’

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres acknowledges this and makes a tribute to International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade this week on 25th March. Denoting this period as one of the most brutal and shameful eras in human history and remembering those who died and suffered, he aims to spread the message of equality and remind of the ‘dangers of racism and prejudice’ in social thought. Although modern slavery has changed form and means, much of our understanding is grounded in the history of the Transatlantic slavery era.

For the full tribute on the Victims of Transatlantic Slave Trade read here.