Human Rights Council

Fift y-first session

12 September–7 October 2022

Agenda item 3

Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 6 October 2022

5 1 / 15. Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences

The Human Rights Council,

Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that no one shall be held in slavery or servitude and that slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms,

Recognizing the Slavery Convention of 1926, the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery of 1956 and the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), of the International Labour Organization, and the Protocol thereto of 2014, and other relevant international instruments that prohibit all forms of slavery and call upon Governments to eradicate such practices,

Recalling that the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action strongly condemned the fact that slavery and slavery-like practices still exist today in parts of the world, and urged States to take immediate measures as a matter of priority to end such practices, which constitute flagrant violations of human rights,

Reaffirming Human Rights Council resolutions 6/14 of 28 September 2007, 15/2 of 29 September 2010, 24/3 of 26 September 2013, 33/1 of 29 September 2016 and 42/10 of 26 September 2019,

Recalling the adoption by the General Assembly of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,

Condemning contemporary forms of slavery, while acknowledging that it is a global issue that affects all continents and most countries of the world, and calling upon States to increase action as a matter of urgent priority to end such practices,

Deeply concerned that the global estimate of the number of people subjected to contemporary forms of slavery is 49.6 million, of whom 54 per cent are women and girls and more than 12 million are children,

Recognizing that discrimination, social exclusion, gender inequality and poverty lie at the heart of contemporary forms of slavery, and the particular vulnerability of migrant workers,

Stressing the importance of criminalizing all forms of slavery through national legislation,

Acknowledging the challenges to slavery eradication highlighted by the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, including the absence of legislation in some countries, deficiencies and loopholes in legal frameworks, insufficiently dissuasive sanctions, a lack of will and/or resources for implementing law and policy measures, the difficulty in locating and identifying victims and a lack of effective rehabilitation measures,

Recognizing that broad international cooperation among States, and between States and relevant intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, is essential for effectively countering contemporary forms of slavery,

Recalling Human Rights Council resolutions 5/1, on institution-building of the Council, and 5/2, on the Code of Conduct for Special Procedure Mandate Holders of the Council, of 18 June 2007, and stressing that the mandate holder shall discharge his or her duties in accordance with those resolutions and the annexes thereto,

Convinced that the issue of contemporary forms of slavery continues to require the attention of the Human Rights Council,

Bearing in mind the United Nations Voluntary Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery and its importance for addressing the issues raised by the Special Rapporteur, in particular the need for rehabilitation and assistance for victims of contemporary forms of slavery,

1.Welcomes the work and the thematic reports of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, including those on contemporary forms of slavery affecting persons belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minority communities and on the nexus between displacement and contemporary forms of slavery;

2.Also welcomes the cooperation of those States that have accepted requests for visits by the Special Rapporteur and have responded to his requests for information;

3.Further welcomes the steps taken by States to address contemporary forms of slavery through, inter alia, the adoption of new legislation, the revision of relevant policies and the establishment of independent domestic mechanisms, and urges States to increase their efforts further to combat contemporary forms of slavery;

4.R enews the mandate of Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, for a period of three years;

5.Decides that the Special Rapporteur shall continue to examine and report on all contemporary forms of slavery and slavery-like practices, but in particular those defined in the Slavery Convention of 1926 and the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery of 1956, and all other issues covered previously by the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery; in the discharge of the mandate, the Special Rapporteur shall:

(a)Promote the effective application of relevant international norms and standards on slavery;

(b)Request, receive and exchange information on contemporary forms of slavery from Governments, treaty bodies, special procedures, specialized agencies, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and other relevant sources, including on slavery practices and, as appropriate and in line with the current practice, respond effectively to reliable information on alleged human rights violations with a view to protecting the human rights of victims of slavery and preventing violations;

(c)Recommend action and measures applicable at the national, regional and international levels to eliminate slavery practices wherever they occur, including remedies that address the causes and consequences of contemporary forms of slavery, such as poverty, discrimination and conflict, and the existence of demand factors and relevant measures to strengthen international cooperation;

(d)Focus principally on aspects of contemporary forms of slavery that are not covered by existing mandates of the Human Rights Council;

6.Requests the Special Rapporteur, in carrying out the mandate, to continue:

(a)To give careful consideration to specific issues within the scope of the mandate and to include examples of effective practices and relevant recommendations;

(b)To take account of the gender and age dimensions of contemporary forms of slavery;

(c)To participate in relevant international dialogues and policy forums related to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 8, and to advise States, intergovernmental organizations, civil society and other stakeholders on the effective respect, protection and fulfilment of human rights of those affected by contemporary forms of slavery in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, and to undertake thematic research on the effective implementation of Goal 8, with a particular focus on target 8.7;

7.Encourages the Special Rapporteur to compile and analyse examples of national legislation relating to the prohibition of slavery and slavery-like practices in order to assist States in their national efforts to combat contemporary forms of slavery;

8.Calls upon all Governments to cooperate with and assist the Special Rapporteur in the performance of the tasks and duties mandated, to supply all necessary information requested by the mandate holder, and to give serious consideration to responding favourably to the Special Rapporteur’s requests to visit their countries so as to enable the mandate holder to fulfil the mandate effectively;

9.Encourages the United Nations, including its specialized agencies, regional intergovernmental organizations, Governments, independent experts, interested institutions and non-governmental organizations to cooperate to the fullest extent possible with the Special Rapporteur in the fulfilment of the mandate;

10.Encourages States to consider contributing to the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery;

11.Encourages the Special Rapporteur to continue to cooperate fully and effectively with the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, and all other relevant existing human rights mechanisms, the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, the Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons and Alliance 8.7, taking full account of their contribution while avoiding duplication of their work;

12.Requests the Special Rapporteur to submit reports on the implementation of the mandate to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly in accordance with their annual programmes of work.

4 1st meeting 6 October 2022

[Adopted without a vote.]