CYIL 2012

MODERN SLAVERY AND CURRENT INTERNATIONAL LAW replace the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery in order to better address the issue of contemporary forms of slavery within the United Nations system. The Human Rights Council resolution requests the Special Rapporteur to: – focus principally on aspects of contemporary forms of slavery; – promote the effective application of relevant international norms and standards on slavery; – request, receive and exchange information on contemporary forms of slavery from Governments, treaty bodies, special procedures, specialized agencies, intergovernmental organizations, and non-governmental organizations and other relevant sources; – 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; – recommend actions and measures applicable at the national, regional and international levels to eliminate slavery practices wherever they occur, including remedies; – cooperate fully and effectively with other existing human rights mechanisms and treaty bodies, including but not limited to the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on children in armed conflict and the Special Rapporteur on human rights of migrants, as well as the Board of Trustees for the United Nations Voluntary Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery and take full account of their continuation and avoid duplication of their work; – propose measures and recommendations to combat and eradicate modern forms of slavery and slavery-like practice. In the discharge of the above functions, the Special Rapporteur carries out country visits in order to obtain firsthand information on the situation from officials, members of the civil society, and UN agencies. A report of these visits, highlighting findings, conclusions and recommendations is submitted to the Human Rights Council. The Special Rapporteur also undertakes research on a specific theme in relation to the mandate and provides the Human Rights Council with advice and specific recommendations in this regard. Although this subsidiary organ has not existed for a very long time, we can already point out a number of reports made by the Special Rapporteur. These reports focus mainly on a new issue within modern slavery – domestic servitude. 29 29 In the shadow of the global domestic work industry, large numbers of people (the majority being women and girls) find their dignity denied. They suffer invisibly in domestic servitude, contrary to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (art. 4) and human rights treaty law. Domestic work

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