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

Introduction and the Transatlantic Slave Trade 

Slavery and slave trade are two of the most brutal violations of human rights in the history of mankind. To honor and remember the victims of slavery, the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 62/122 has designated the 25th of March as the annual International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. This is a day to reflect on the slavery tragedies including the translantic slave trade, examining its causes, the long-lasting consequences it left behind, and the crucial lessons. We must learn to combat the evils of racism and prejudice that continue to happen as a result of the slavery events that have occurred.

Slavery has existed all over the world for a great deal of time. To this day, the Atlantic Slave Trade can be said to be the largest, most cruel, and longest-lasting slave trade tragedy. Between 1501 and 1867, approximately 12.5 million men, women, and even children from Africa’s shores were forced to sail to be exchanged for manufactured goods such as metals, knives, tools, textiles, etc. The slaves were even recognized as “moveable property” in one of the French Law named “Code Noir” of 1685.

Development of slavery into Modern Slavery

Slavery practices form a bloodline for the development of the human race which dated back to the prehistoric era and scattered across various cultures. The economic factor is the red thread in slavery matters, serving as the key point of slavery and the proliferation of the usage of slavery over the years. The utilization of slaves, owing to its cost-effectiveness factors, also facilitated the circumvention of well-established working norms. Back then, slavery was more gruesome and vicious than it is today. However, this does not negate its clear violation of human rights which undermines human dignity.

The first record of slavery was centered on agriculture issues; the use of free labor for harvesting agriculture was one of the many reasons for the vast usage of slavery back in the days. However, with the passage of time, an apparent transformation in the novelty of slavery became apparent. During World War II, torturing prisoners of war (“POWs”) was a very common operandi. The predominant portion of captured prisoners of war found themselves drudge into unsanitary and perilous factory environments. Those factories proved the incapability of sustaining the livelihoods of a considerable number of POWs, sparking a substantial toll of inhumane fatalities among them.

Nowadays, modern slavery is typically not utterly visible to a brief assessment, as employers find new ways to conceal their exploitative practices to evade the law. One of the renowned instances of present slavery practices is the presence of sweatshops. Sweatshops are factories that are concealed from the public, where people work with unorthodox working hours, low pay, and hazardous working environments. In some instances, even juveniles participate in these factories, as companies seek to reduce production costs, resulting in cheaper final products. Thus, increasing cost efficiency and profit. 

One of the tangible cases was located in Burma, where a floor cleaner named Win Win Mya, worked at a giant supermarket chain named Tesco. She was subjected to crummy working regimens and lopsided wages. Moreover, Tesco terminated her employment unilaterally when she asked for a wage increase. She was only earning a daily remuneration of 3 dollars daily, a figure that is disproportionate to the minimum wage mandated by the Burmese government. 

Fighting Slavery: Key International Law Instruments

The influential Restatement on Foreign Relations of the United States defines jus cogens as to include slavery. As a peremptory norm, the prohibition of slavery has also been codified in several international legal instruments:

1. Slavery Convention of 1926: The League of Nations was the first international body to address the issue of slavery by forming the Temporary Slave Commission, leading to a major anti-slavery agreement called the League of Nations Slavery Convention of 1926. Article 1(1) of the Slavery Convention defines slavery as “the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers of the right of ownership are exercised”. In 1953, the Slavery Convention was amended to ensure the United Nations to uphold the rights and obligations under the Convention.
2. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (“UDHR”): The UDHR establishes the same set of fundamental rights that all States should strive to preserve for their people. One of which is Article 4 of the UDHR which states “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.”
3. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (“ICCPR”): The ICCPR goes beyond the general principles of the UDHR by establishing a comprehensive legal framework for specific civil and political rights. Among these rights is the prohibition of slavery and compulsory labor under any circumstance. Article 8 of the ICCPR explicitly declares that enslavement is forbidden, and it also bans slavery and the slave trade in all manifestations.
4. Customary International Law: One of the recognition of the prohibition of slavery as a customary norm is given by the International Committee of the Red Cross, particularly Rule 94 regarding slavery and slave trade. As a customary international law norm attaining a jus cogen status, prohibition of slavery is widely accepted, with almost each state having their own laws banning slavery and forced labor.

The Path to Rebuilding Lives

When human rights violations occur, reparations from the parties responsible may at the very least help the victims to recover. It is important to recognize that the impact of slavery does not only stop with the victims who experienced it directly, the legacy of slavery also continues to impact the descendants of the victims. Descendants of enslaved people often face disadvantages in areas such as wealth, education, and housing due to the systemic oppression their ancestors experienced. While there is no formal mechanism for direct compensation to descendants of enslaved people, there are some approaches that can be tried. One example is what Caribbean countries requested to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for an advisory opinion to demand compensation from 10 European countries for the practice of slavery in the past.

An example of a domestic case regarding the provision of compensation to victims of modern slavery is the case of Galdikas & Ors v DJ Houghton Catching Services Ltd & Ors. In 2016, six Lithuanian workers sued their employer, DJ Houghton Catching Services for horrific working conditions, poor living quarters, and failure to pay the minimum wage. The England and Wales High Court ruled in the worker’s favor, citing the employer’s failure to pay minimum wage, and denying basic worker necessities. This marks the first case of an English Court awarding damages against a corporation regarding a suit relating to modern slavery.

Why Law Enforcement Failed to Solve Slavery Issues

There are myriad factors that contributed to policing slavery issues. The reluctance of victims to report modern slavery is one of the crucial parts. The underlying issues of the reluctance might be the psychological factors, as many of these people were subjected to forceful actions and discrimination. Thus, it will be difficult to erase modern slavery. However, the Galdikas & Ors v DJ Houghton Catching Services Ltd & Ors case does set a precedent and a valuable legal source for victims of modern slavery to protect their rights in a civil proceeding. 

Conclusion

Both the historical and voguish realities of slavery, ranged from the Transatlantic Slave Trade to modern reality of coerced labour, requires attention and proactive measures. The International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery serves as a wistful nudge on the grave injustice perpetrated and underscored the continuous quest for maintaining human dignity. The development of slavery throughout the history of human rights undermines its economic roots and perpetuates its enduring violation of human rights. While the legal framework, such as the Slavery Convention of 1926 and many others provide legal foundation for combating slavery, enforcement will always remain an issue.

Rebuilding lives shattered by slavery of those who were affected necessitates more than just providing reparation to slavery victims. The urgency of recognizing the upcoming and enduring impact of future generations should be underlined. Pursuing compensation through international courts might open a glimmer of hope in addressing historical wrongdoings. To this end, unwavering commitment to human rights, along with the recognition of various parties’ shared responsibility, is necessary to ensure that the horrors of the past are never repeated in the present or future. As the world has encountered both past and present realities of slavery, the determination to create a world free of slavery will require more synergy from the international community.