By Taisuke Komatsu

20 April 2012, London 

Human rights NGO René Cassin submitted a proposal for an independent watchdog or ombudsman on contemporary forms of slavery to the UK Government today.  An  independent ombudsman is needed in order to: ensure the systematic collection and analysis of data on slavery in the UK, make recommendations on improvements of existing mechanisms, and monitor implementation of changes and their effectiveness.  

René Cassin is a human rights organisation which uses Jewish historical experience to campaign and educate on universal human rights issues such as discrimination, detention and genocide. The organisation is named in honour of M. René Cassin, a French Jew and Nobel Laureate who was one of the principle co-drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Slavery is illegal under international, European and UK law. However, it continues to exist throughout the world including the UK. Contemporary forms of slavery include but are not limited to issues such as trafficking, forced labour, sexual slavery, forced marriage or early marriage, debt bondage, child slavery and the sale of wives.

One of the major obstacles to fight against slavery is the lack of reliable data on the nature and scale of the problem in the UK.  

The UK Government’s current position on the problem is that the existing Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking is fulfilling the role of an ombudsman.  While René Cassin applauds the effort that has gone into creating the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Human Trafficking, and various other Government institutions seeking to prevent slavery and human trafficking, the organisation does not believe the existing institutions are sufficient to adequately address the problem.  For instance, the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking only meets twice a year, is poorly attended, and does not produce regular public reports. Moreover, there is currently no independent oversight of the Government’s efforts to tackle the problem.  

The proposal outlines: the need for an independent ombudsman, the legal context and the proposed body’s potential mandate, methods of work and relevant laws and norms, including applicable international, regional and domestic laws that are used to combat slavery and trafficking.

René Cassin thanks the UK Government for its invitation to submit the proposal and hopes that it will acknowledge the need for an ombudsman on contemporary forms of slavery and commence implementation of the requested measures.

For further information on the proposal, please contact us at info@renecassin.org.

10 April, 2012

By Persis Eskander

What is the campaign about?

On Wednesday, 21 March 2012, as the United Nations Human Rights Council began its 19^th Session, the International Detention Coalition (IDC) launched an international campaign to end the immigration detention of children.   The IDC, of which René Cassin is a member, released “Captured Childhood”, a report which found that around the worldthousands of children, including unaccompanied minors, are being held in detention because they do not have the appropriate documentation. Immigration detention is said to play a detrimental role in children’s psychological, physical and emotional well being.  The IDC report frames detention as a human rights abuse that must be stopped.

The IDC report contains research from in 11 countries, including interviews with 70 detained children such as Yusef, a Sudanese 16 year old.  When Yusef’s village in Sudan was attacked, he fled to Libya, where he paid traffickers to secure his escape. Yusef was lost at sea for 6 days before arriving in Malta, where he was placed in detention. In his interview he told researchers being placed in detention was like “being in prison. Depriving me of my freedom of movement. You just want to be walking outside.”

“Captured Childhood” contains key recommendations for governments, organisations and individualsto prevent the immigration detention of children. The full list of recommendations can be found here: http://idcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/IDC-Captured-Childhood-Report-Recommendations.pdf

The issue

Indefinite or arbitrary detention is prohibited under international and UK law.  In addition, detention of children should only occur “as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time.”

Despite the unambiguous stance against placing children in immigration detention taken by the international community, many countries around the world continue to deprive thousands of children of their liberty for reasons such as health and security screenings, identity checks and to secure their removal from a territory.[1] In addition to this many States employ detention as a method of deterrence.

Detention conditions range from purpose-built facilities, to prison-like facilities, or even in conditions of squalor. They also risk separationfrom family members when they are placed in detention.[2] The IDC report found that regardless of the sorts of conditions the children are kept in, detention has a “profound and negative impact on children.” Being detained puts children at risk of suffering depression, anxiety; feelings of hopelessness and frustration may manifest themselves in acts of violence, and symptoms such as insomnia, nightmares, and bed-wetting. In addition to this children lose the integrity of the family unit and may be forced to take on roles far beyond their maturity.[3]

IDC Researcher Dr. David Corlettsummarizes the issue: “This is about the basic human rights of children and about obliging governments to respect, care for, and protect their rights as required under international law. It is never in the best interests of a child to be detained for immigration purposes. States should ensure that a minimum level of protection and support for children is in place in the community.”

Where does the UK stand on children inimmigration detention?

The UKBA states that detention must be used ‘sparingly, and for the shortest period necessary[4]However, it was not until 2011 that the UK took real steps to end the practice of placing children in immigration detention.

On the 16^th of December, 2010 Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced that the detention of children of failed asylum seekers would end by May 2011 and that the family section of the Yarl’s Wood Detention Centre would be closed immediately. In addition to this in cases where parents were waiting for forced deportation, children would be assigned minders so that they might move freely. In January 2011, the Home Office announced that there were no more children in detention.

However in October of 2011, a Freedom of Information request revealed that in the four month period between May and August almost 700 children were held in the UK's south-east ports. According to Children’s Society,which made the FOI request, a third of the 697 children detained were unaccompanied, and information was not kept about why and how long they had been detained. A UKBA spokeswoman said that ‘detention’ was defined as the holding of children in immigration removal centres, such as Yarl’s Wood and that the UKBA always intended to retain the ability to hold families.[5]

Although the UK has made efforts in ending detention at the level of pre-deportation, there is still concern over the high number of children being placed in immigration detention at the point of entry and also the lack of information regarding their condition, the length of detention, and their access to family members.

The Jewish Perspective

“When a stranger lives with you in your land, do not ill treat them. The stranger who lives with you shall be treated like the native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were strangers in the Land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God” Vayikra 19:33-34

Finding a country where one is accepted and treated as equal before the law and in society has permeated Jewish history, for example the Kindertransport. 

René Cassin believes that such historical experience means we should have a particular sympathy for the rights of child refugees, appreciate how and why detention is detrimental to them, and take action to end child immigration detention in the UK.

What you can do

There are some steps you can take to help end children in immigration detention.

1.       Sign the global petition here: http://www.change.org/petitions/end-child-detention

2.       Add incidents related to child detention online to the map using this simple form: https://immigrationdetention.crowdmap.com/

3.       If you are under 18, or know someone who is then create a video petition. Instructions can be found here: http://idcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Speak-up-video-instructions-for-young-people2.pdf

4.       Follow the IDC on www.twitter.com/childdetention and www.facebook.com/endchilddetention 

By Sam Grant, 15th March 2012

The word ‘slavery’ conjures up historical images of the ancient Israelites, pyramids and Moses, or perhaps, of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade that displaced millions of Africans between the 15th and 19th century. The words slavery, bondage, segregation and trafficking transport our minds backwards. Unfortunately, we do not need even a basic understanding of history to understand concepts of slavery. Slavery continues to exist today in a modern but equally oppressive form. 

The slave trade and government sanctioned slavery were abolished centuries ago and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights  declares that: ‘No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.’  However slavery is happening and we are connected to it. The narrative of modern day slavery is more prevalent in the U.S.A due to the consequences of the slave trade which make up an indispensible part of American history. However, history does not excuse our inaction, ignorance or apathy. Humans should not have to experience slavery directly to speak up against it, being wronged is not the only way to know wrong.

In the world today there are 12.3 million people working as slaves, further to this there are 150 million  children exposed to forced labour practices. Slavery is legal nowhere, yet it is practiced everywhere. The price of a slave today is actually cheaper than the time of the American Civil War . Emancipation, abolition and Human Rights have not stopped the conditions which help slavery flourish. Slavery has evolved and adapted, however the dehumanising and degrading effects of it remain constant. 

Some say that modern slavery is invisible and impossible to trace making it difficult to monitor and restrict. However, it isn’t invisible; it has just become harder to see. Who made your clothes? What country have the ingredients in your food come from and who picked them? Where were the parts of the computer that you are reading this very article made? We are pretty much, all unwittingly contributing to the slave trade, and in the same way we assess our carbon footprint we should be examining and reducing our slavery footprint.  If there is no economic incentive for slavery we take out its primary motive. 

Human trafficking and forced labour are ongoing problems in the UK and the 2012 Olympic Games could make the situation worse. A mass influx of visitors and infrastructure, such as that generated by the Olympics, can fuel the demand for cheap, temporary labour in these vulnerable sectors.  This is because the industries which benefit the most from an event like the Olympics, such as hotels, restaurants, vendors of low-cost merchandise, construction and cleaning, are the same industries where instances of trafficking and slavery are most commonly seen. The Games have to be held to an ethical standard, the success of an Olympics games should not only be measured by medals and profit margins. London 2012 has the opportunity to create a real lasting legacy for the lives of many, far beyond the sporting arena. 

This article does not have the space to go into the many ways that you can make a difference, but if you are interested please do get in touch, René Cassin are running a Slavery Free London 2012 campaign and this is a great place to start. You can email info@renecassin.org and indicate your interest in being involved.  You can also support our joint initiative with PhotoVoice and the Ma'agan Shelter in Israel.

However, everything starts with knowledge; find someone who doesn’t know that 12.3 million people are enslaved in the world today, and tell them, and tell them to find someone else who doesn’t know and so on. Go to www.slaveryfootprint.org and measure the impact your ‘footprint’ is making on the thriving slave trade.  Sign the Slavery-Free London Pledge.  Let us truly shift slavery to something that people only read about in history textbooks. It’s time to re-abolish slavery.

Below are some links to recent media coverage:

Recent press releases/joint statements

René Cassin is pleased to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

As an organisation that is actively involved in campaigning to end discrimination against the Gypsy and Traveller Communities, we welcome the statement made today by the European Union Agency For Fundamental Rights ('FRA'), which recognised that the Roma are the ethnic group most discriminated against in Europe.

The FRA said as follows:

"We, the signatories of this statement, believe that to combat racism and xenophobia proactively, States should ensure, inter alia, that:

• barriers to education, health care, housing, and employment are removed. Such policies should include the reintegration into mainstream schools of Roma children currently enrolled in special schools, and desegregation in the area of housing;
• adequate data are collected about the participation of vulnerable groups in these areas, in order to target policies better and to allow their impact to be assessed;
• legislation prohibiting racially motivated crime is introduced and enforced, along with training for law-enforcement officials in preventing and responding to these offences;
• measures are taken to address discrimination on other grounds in addition to ethnicity;
• national bodies responsible for the protection of human rights are mandated and adequately resourced to monitor the prevalence of racism and related intolerance and to take measures to promote equality, including advice and support for victims;
• measures are taken to increase awareness of rights and complaints mechanisms, in order to address low reporting levels;
  journalists are provided with training to challenge prejudice and stereotypes, in order to encourage informed and nuanced public debate; and
• educational programmes and awareness-raising campaigns are designed to challenge prejudice and stereotypes and strengthen a climate of mutual tolerance and intercultural dialogue.

Our institutions stand together to support and assist States in finding sustainable solutions at local, national, and European levels, through the provision of data, research findings, specialist advice, and coordinating support, on the basis of our complementary fields of expertise."
As a member of the Fundamental Rights Platform, which participates in contributions by civil society to the FRA,

René Cassin is pleased that this issue of ongoing discrimination and chronic exclusion is being highlighted, and we hope to work with the FRA to improve the situation for Gypsy and Traveller communities.

To learn more, please click here