Thirtieth Anniversary Success Story: In 2021, the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery Has Helped 18,000 people
Kidnapping, sale, exploitation, various forms of child abuse including in the context of armed conflict, early and forced marriages, human trafficking, forced work and debt slavery, domestic slavery, sexual slavery: Modern forms of slavery are numerous, and affect around forty million people around the world today, according to most estimates.
It is obvious that to eliminate slavery in all forms it is vital to deal with its root causes, in particular poverty, social exclusion, and all forms of discrimination. The United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery supports non-governmental organizations dealing with these issues, and brings humanitarian, judicial and financial help to those whose rights have been violated by contemporary forms of slavery.
As the Fund celebrates its thirtieth anniversary, we spoke with Georgina Vaz Cabral about the work done by this important mechanism, which since its creation has helped hundreds of thousands of survivors. A lawyer and an international expert on issues linked to human trafficking, Ms. Vaz Cabral is a member of the Fund’s Board of Trustees.
The Fund is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary. The Durban Plan of Action, adopted twenty years ago, in its second paragraph, urged “States to take all necessary and appropriate measures to end enslavement and contemporary forms of slavery-like practices”. Awareness of the existence of contemporary forms of slavery is not a recent thing. What was its genesis, and where are we now?
Since the formal abolition of slavery, civil society has kept raising States’ and the international community’s awareness of the continuing existence of slavery-like practices. In 1956, the United Nations adopted the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery . Faced by a resurgence in human trafficking in many countries in the 1990s, some States came to the realization that they had to operate more efficiently, and, in particular, protect and help the victims of these practices. That was why a small group of States (Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Greece, Netherlands, Marocco, Nigeria, Romania, Portugal and Venezuela) took the initiative to create the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, on 17 December 1991, by resolution A/RES/46.122 of the General Assembly. Today, a large majority of United Nations Member States—178 of them— have ratified the Additional Protocol (to the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime ) to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, and have adopted legislation condemning and punishing those perpetrating crimes such as trafficking, forced work, and servitude. Sadly, their efforts to live up to their commitments under the Protocol are not what we were hoping for twenty years ago.
Can you tell us how the Fund operates in the field, and what balance sheet can be drawn up of its efforts on this thirtieth anniversary?
The Fund is a humanitarian mechanism defined by its victim-centred approach. Thanks to the annual subsidies it receives, it supports associations working in the field to come directly to the aid of persons affected by contemporary forms of slavery. Every year, civil society organizations around the world are encouraged to submit their projects on direct assistance to victims. A certain number of the projects are then financed, according to their quality and the amount of funding that we have available, as well as their geographical repartition. In 2021, the Fund was able to subsidize organizations acting in thirty different countries, notably Serbia, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Nepal, Pakistan, Lebanon, Philippines, Brazil, Chili, Haiti, Ireland, France, Great Britain, Australia, Cyprus, and the Netherlands, as well as Gabon, Kenya, Togo, and Uganda. Every country on our globe is afflicted by this criminal phenomenon. This year, 18,000 people received medical, psychological, legal, social or educational aid, thanks to the support of the Fund; since its creation, it has helped hundreds of thousands of victims.
Alongside its specific mandate to support civil society organizations providing direct assistance to victims, the Fund identifies and supports local initiatives. The Secretariat of the Fund helps small associations to submit their projects, encouraging and supporting some whose access to the Internet is difficult, or even nonexistent. We try, as much as possible, to strengthen their capacities, so that they can access other means of financing. Many organizations have told us that receiving a subsidy from the Fund gave them a certain legitimacy in the eyes of their own State. I am thinking, for example, of the Maison de la Gare, in Senegal, which helps “talibé boys” who are exploited by being forced to beg, and who are abused in the streets. This organization, financed by the Fund, today collaborates with other UN institutions. When the Fund began its support, the talibé phenomenon was still unknown.
In November 2020, a joint press release was published by several UN experts who were concerned about the increased risk, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, of populations at the margins of society becoming victims of slavery, servitude, forced work, or trafficking. What is the current situation, as far as we know, of the impact of the pandemic on contemporary forms of slavery?
A year ago, we alerted governments to the fact that the pandemic was pushing more people to the margins of society, and that it was increasing the risk of exploitation. A year after that press release came out, we can confirm that there has been an increase in the number of victims being cared for by non-governmental organizations, while at the same time the means and conditions of work of these organizations has been strongly affected by the pandemic—as is the case for all sectors of activity.
The pandemic has also forced exploiters to adapt their working methods. While some forms of exploitation, and its victims, are less and less visible, others are growing exponentially. This is the case of the sexual exploitation of children on-line, with new technologies.
In her 2019 report on current and emerging forms of slavery, the previous Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, Urmila Bhoola, said “the risk of being held in slavery (seems to be) much higher among migrants, refugees, displaced persons, or asylum seekers”. We can also legitimately expect that, due to the population displacements that they cause, climate and environmental changes will also have a heavy impact on contemporary slavery. In view of the complex interweaving of participants and factors influencing contemporary forms of slavery, who would you like to see joining the Fund in its work?
Only truly joint and global action against trafficking and other forms of slavery will put an end to these scourges. The criminals, whether they are individuals, companies or organized groups, are a step ahead. That is why we should be more proactive, and make sure we integrate the human dimension, the risk of exploitation and the abuse of vulnerability in all strategies aiming to fight these harmful phenomena, whether they are fueled by conflicts, poverty or by environmental problems.
The fight against contemporary forms of slavery must take place through prevention and repression, yet helping victims is equally necessary and fundamental. It is vital that the States Parties continue to support the Fund, not only in the financial context, but also in the political domain. It would also be helpful if the private sector joined us, through foundations for example.
Ms. Bhoola noted in her above-mentioned report that “the new Global Fund against all contemporary forms of slavery today managed more than 75 million dollars, the Freedom Fund 100 million dollars, and States have paid 724 825 dollars to the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for the fight against contemporary forms of slavery”. What is the real added value of your Fund in this context?
Our role as members of the Board of Trustees is specifically to raise funds. This year, we raised more than one million dollars. Speaking for the Board, I would like to thank the small group of donor countries: Germany, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Republic of Korea, Greece, United Kingdom, Luxemburg, Qatar and Portugal. Without their regular support, the Fund could disappear.
To be able to fully support the excellent projects that are submitted to us, we need contributions to double at least, as these last years, the number of projects submitted has never stopped increasing. The Board of Trustees has prioritized increasing the visibility of the Fund, as well as underlining its unique and universal role. The specificity of the Fund lies particularly in its adaptability and in its ability, with the cooperation of the field offices of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, to reach all distant actors in the field, including the non-governmental organization Consejo Nacional de Desplazados (CONDEG), located in an isolated region of Guatemala, which aids indigenous populations that are exploited in palm oil plantations.
The Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery is a strategic partner. In total, 90% of the money donated is redistributed throughout the world to organizations without which thousands of children, women and men would not be freed, would go unaided, and would not have their rights respected. In its thirty years of existence, the Fund has worked with more than 450 civil society organizations in more than 100 countries.