1950 to Present Day
1954
China passes the State Regulation on Reform through Labor allowing prisoners
to be used for labor in the Laogai prison camps.
1956
The Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade
and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery regulate practices
involving the
sale of wives, serfdom, debt bondage and child servitude.
1957
The British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society changes its name to the
Anti-Slavery Society for the Protection of Human Rights, in the 1990’s the name will
be changed to Anti-Slavery.
1960
Harry Wu is sentenced to serve 19 years in the Laogai slave labor camp
system.
1962
Abolition of slavery in Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
1964
The sixth World Muslim Congress pledges global support for all anti-slavery
movements. The oldest Muslim organization, founded in 1926, the Congress
has Consultative
Status with the United Nations and observer status with the Organization
of Islamic Countries.
1973
The UN General Assembly adopts the International Convention on the
Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid. The Convention
outlaws a number
of inhuman acts committed for the purposes of establishing and maintaining
domination
by one racial group over another, including exploitation of the labor
of members of a racial group or groups by submitting them to forced
labor.
1974
Mauritania’s emancipated slaves form the "El Hor" (freedom) movement
to oppose slavery. Leaders of El Hor insist that emancipation is impossible without
realistic means of enforcing the anti slavery laws and providing former slaves
with the means of achieving economic independence. The movement demands land
reform and encourages the formation of agricultural co operatives. The influence
of El Hor was strongest between 1978 1982, and the organization still exists
today.
1975
The United Nations Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery
is formed to collect information and make recommendations on
slavery and
slavery-like
practices
around the world.
1976
India passes a law banning bonded labor.
1977
The ILO adopts a Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning
Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, a set of recommended
standards with
no means of enforcement.
1980
Slavery is abolished for the fourth time in the Islamic republic
of Mauritania, but the situation is not fundamentally changed.
Although the law decrees
that "slavery" no
longer exists, the ban does not address how masters are to be compensated or
how slaves are to gain property.
1983
The civil war in Sudan breaks out again, pitting the Muslim
north of the country against the Christian and Animist
southern tribes.
1989
The National Islamic Front takes over the government
of Sudan and begins to arm Baggara tribesmen to fight
the
Dinka and
Nuer tribes
in the
south of the
country.
These new "militias" raid villages, capturing and enslaving the inhabitants.
1989
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child seeks
to promote the basic health care and education of
the young,
as well
as their
protection from abuse,
exploitation or neglect, at home, at work, and in
armed conflicts.
1992
The Pakistan National Assembly enacts the Bonded
Labor Act, which abolishes indentured servitude
and the peshgi
(bonded
money)
system. Unfortunately,
the government
failed to provide for the implementation and enforcement
of the law’s provisions.
1993
Charles Jacobs, Mohamed Athie, and David Chand
break the story in the American press about widespread
slavery in
the African
countries of
Mauritania and
Sudan. They then found the American Anti-Slavery
Group.
1994
OECD Declaration and Decisions on International
Investment and Multinational Enterprises is
adopted. The document
recommends that companies observe
guidelines approved by the OECD that address
investment policy and practice in non-industrialized
countries. Trade unions note that these guidelines
are not an
alternative to obligations that all enterprises
have under the OECD Guidelines
for Multinational Enterprises adopted by governments.
1995
The United States government issues the Model
Business Principles, a voluntary model business
code (apparently
to pacify human
rights and
labor activists
in the U.S. who protest the renewal of China’s trade status). The Principles
urge all businesses to adopt and implement voluntary codes of conduct, including
the avoidance of child and forced labor, as well as discrimination based on race,
gender, national origin or religious beliefs. The Principles also promote respect
for the right of association and the right to organize and bargain collectively.
1995
Christian Solidarity International, a Swiss
based charity, begins the campaign to liberate
slaves
by buying them
back in Southern
Sudan.
1996
After representatives from the American
Anti-Slavery Group testify before the
US Congress about
slavery in Mauritania,
US foreign
aid to that country
is
cut.
1996
The International Organization of Employers,
a subsidiary of the ILO, calls on employers
and employers’ organizations immediately to end slave-like, bonded
and dangerous forms of child labor and simultaneously to develop formal policies
with a view toward the eventual elimination of child labor in all sectors. The
resolution notes, however, that "attempts to link the issue of working children
with international trade and to use it to impose trade sanctions on countries
where the problem of child labor exists are counter-productive and jeopardize
the welfare of children."
1996
Rugmark campaign established in Germany
to ensure handwoven rugs were not
made with
illegal (slave)
labor. The
Rugmark seal guarantees
that
the entire
production
of the rug was made without slave
or child labor.
1996
World Congress against Commercial
Sexual Exploitation of Children
1997
United Nations establishes a commission
of inquiry to investigate reports
of widespread enslavement
of people
by the Burmese
government.
1997
A bill entitled the "International Child Labor Elimination Act" (H.R.
267) is introduced in the United States House of Representatives to prohibit
U.S. assistance, except for humanitarian aid, to countries that utilize child
labor.
1997
Imports to the U.S. made by
child-bonded labors are banned.
1998
The Burmese government refuses
to allow the United Nations
commission of inquiry
to enter
Burma.
1998
Global March against Child
Labor established. This
organization plans and
coordinates
demonstrations against
child labor worldwide.
One
aim is a
new Convention in
the UN on the Worst Forms
of Child Labor.
1999
A consortium of non-governmental
agencies calls for
international aid and a cease-fire
in Sudan
to help
end slavery there.
1999
Despite being barred
from entering the
Burma the
United Nations
collects sufficient
evidence
to
condemn government-sponsored
slavery in Burma.
The official report
states that the Burmese
government "treat the civilian population as an
unlimited pool of unpaid forced laborers and servants at their disposal as part
of a political system built on the use of force and intimidation to deny the
people of Myanmar democracy and the rule of law."
1999
The ILO passes the
Convention against
the Worst Forms
of Child Labor.
This convention
establishes
widely
recognized international
standards
protecting
children against
forced or indentured
labor, child prostitution/pornography,
use
of children in
drug trafficking, and
other work harmful
to the health,
safety, and
morals of
children.
2000
The Trafficking
Victims Protection
Act is
signed into law.
This
legislation increases
penalties for
traffickers, provides
social
services for
trafficking victims
and provides
for victims to
remain in the
United States while
trafficking cases
are investigated.
2003
Year that Pakistan
has assured
the United Nations
that ‘all bonded labor
will stop’ in their country
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