Human Rights Council

Twenty-fourth session

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 *

24/3. 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, as well as other relevant international instruments which 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 RightsCouncil resolutions 6/14 of 28 September 2007 and 15/2 of 29 September 2010,

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 take appropriate measures as a matter of priority to end such practices,

Deeply concerned that the minimum estimate of the number of people subjected to contemporary forms of slavery is that of 21 million victims of forced labour worldwide,

Recogni z ing that discrimination, social exclusion, gender inequality and poverty lie at the heart of contemporary forms of slavery, as well as 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, as well as 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 oninstitution-building of the Council and 5/2 on theCode of Conduct for special procedures mandateholders of the Council of 18 June 2007, and stressing that the mandate holder shall discharge his/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,

1.Welcomes the work and takes note with appreciation of the thematic reports of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, including those on servile marriage and child slavery in the artisanal mining and quarrying sectors;

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

3.Decides to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for a period of three years;

4.Also decides that the Special Rapporteur shall 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, as well as 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 actions 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, as well as 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;

5.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 as well as relevant recommendations;

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

6.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;

7.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;

8.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;

9.Encourages the Special Rapporteur to continue to cooperate fully and effectively with all other relevant existing human rights mechanisms, taking full account of their contribution while avoiding duplication of their work;

10.Requests the Special Rapporteur to submit annual reports on the activities of the mandate to the Human Rights Council, together with recommendations on measures that should be taken to combat and eradicate contemporary forms of slavery and slavery-like practices and to protect the human rights of victims of such practices;

11.Requests the Secretary-General to give the Special Rapporteur all necessary human and financial assistance, from within existing resources, for the effective fulfilment of the mandate.

34 th meeting

26 September 2013

[Adopted without a vote.]