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Slavery

My Lords, I do not mind repeating that this year we celebrate the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade. It was one of the most inhuman and shocking chapters in our history. I am delighted that the noble Baroness, Lady Howells, obtained this debate as a reminder that more than12 million people were transported and some2 million lost their lives. She talked about slavery in its historical context and, in the modern context, highlighted the shocking murder of Stephen Lawrence. I want your Lordships’ House to note that she was a tower of support to the Lawrence family when, in the early days, there was reluctance to accept that it was a racist murder. The noble Baroness worked actively to effect policy changes that have changed the shape of policing in this country. We must not forget the contributions of modern reformers who have done much to put right the injustices suffered by minorities. They include people such as Michael Ramsey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury; Learie Constantine, the famous cricketer who was at one time refused accommodation in a hotel in Russell Square; Lord Pitt of Hampstead; Roy Jenkins; and my noble friend Lord Lester of Herne Hill, who has done pioneering work on human rights and equality. Two events in Parliament this week add significance to the Act passed 200 years ago: the speech by Kofi Annan about poverty and its consequences and the exhibition on slavery in Westminster Hall, which will formally open on 23 May. Despite its abolition, slavery remains a major problem globally. We have moved from chains and shackles to blackmail and corruption, ugly factors oppressing those least able to fend for themselves. Poverty traps many of them in a cycle of deprivation and ultimately into economic bondage. Today, forced labour is a significant component of all forms of contemporary slavery. The number of men, women and children in forced labour is estimated at approximately 12.3 million. How can we continue to ignore this deplorable practice, found in many parts of the world today, as was so ably demonstrated by the noble Baroness, Lady Cox? Bonded labour begins when impoverished individuals exchange their labour for a loan from a private contractor. An estimated 8.4 million children are suspected to be working in the worst forms of child labour, known as unconditional labour, which the International Labour Organisation names as: slavery, trafficking, debt bondage, forced labour, prostitution and other illicit and unthinkable activities, and forced recruitment for armed conflict—for example, the infamous child soldiers. Children in Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo andSri Lanka, to name only three countries, are made to live in fear and hardship, unprotected by their Government. As with all aspects of forced labour and slavery, the most helpless seem to go the least helped, and the terrible example of children as some of the greatest sufferers goes quite unnoticed and unimpeded. Human trafficking can be traced as one of the main channels through which exploited labourers are gathered. Approximately 2.5 million people have been trafficked into forced labour and about one third of them are enrolled into forced or exploited labour, such as domestic or factory work. Migrant workers are undervalued and so unprotected by many Governments, and most face restricted access to legal migration channels despite a demand for labour in destination countries. The same resolve applies to the problem of forced labour imposed by the state. Although states are responsible for a much smaller percentage of forced labour, certain Governments, such as that of Burma, are directly responsible for this form of slavery. Governments are far more difficult to prosecute than guilty individuals, especially when there is little or no legislation against the act. For the eradication of contemporary slavery to be possible, there need to be highly prioritised national and global action plans; but, before even that is possible, total acceptance of the situation of modern slavery is necessary. Trafficking in human beings is one such example. Many of the world’s Governments seem to have their eyes closed to the culpable practices either in their own countries or in the world around them. The continued denial of or indifference to the existence of contemporary slavery licenses those in breach of human rights to continue. Before any valid solutions can be found, the world’s Governments must undertake extensive and reliable field research so that any proposed resolutions fully reflect the extent of contemporary slavery. It has been proven and emphasised by the International Labour Organisation that forced labour ““is hardly ever prosecuted””. This can be for many reasons, particularly the absence of appropriate legislation. There needs to be clear legislation and practical ease in administrating it to ensure that the law is always properly enacted and followed. Even where there is legislation, the rightful sanctions for prosecuted criminals are often lacking. Correct, firm and implemented legislation will root out the causes of slavery and ensure that individual slavery cases do not recur. An important step towards ensuring the successful prosecution of those leading contemporary slavery is protecting victims. In Italy, for example, trafficked people receive residency permits so that they can safely assist the authorities with prosecution cases against traffickers, a scheme that has reaped success. Victims of trafficking and all other forms of slavery are clearly vulnerable people, weakened by their experiences. Their enslavement should not continue when they attempt to assist the complicated legal process of prosecution. A serious threat of prosecution will be one of the most successful deterrents. There is an important role for the Serious Organised Crime Agency to root out this practice, and I have no doubt that our recent legislation on this subject will help. What action should we be taking? First, national and international plans of action to fight slavery need to cover the structural make-up that makes people susceptible. As I have already said, discrimination, disadvantage and deprivation are the factors that trap people into slavery. Statistics show that the most targeted members of society are from minority or marginalised groups. Sexual discrimination also plays an important role; for example, 98 per cent of sexual exploitation affects women and girls exclusively. Young people especially are literally enslaved due to their youth and defencelessness. Poverty is the other factor highly influential in slavery. As we saw with debt bondage, the poor often enter an unending cycle of slavery in a genuine attempt to earn a wage. When faced with the choice of extreme poverty and starvation or slave labour, even the latter appears attractive. The slavery cycle seems to merge with the poverty cycle in many cases. Intergovernmental organisations such as the World Bank and the World Health Organisation need to encourage and make allowances for Governments who are taking the initiative to deal with contemporary slavery now, before they find that their attempts at combating discrimination and poverty are useless in an enslaved society. Let us remember what slavery did to a large section of our global community, of which we were rightly reminded by the noble Baroness, Lady Howells. Several years ago I was at the extermination camp in Auschwitz, where there was a slogan, a timely reminder for us all: never forget history in case it repeats itself.