How effective is the International Response regarding slavery?
The
United Nations has several different offices and commissions that
deal with slavery, including slavery in India: Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights UN’s STOP-Slavery UN Protocol to
Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons (signed by 177
countries including India) The UN Security Council has multiple
times condemned slavery, including slavery in India UN Office on
Drugs and Crime
There are even more non-government organizations,
known as NGO’s, that deal with slavery, including slavery in India.
This is a list of just some of them: Amnesty International Anti
Slavery International Free the Slaves Global Alliance Against
Trafficking Hope for Justice Know the Chain Oxfam Polaris
Samaritan’s Purse Unicef Walk Free Foundation World Vision
The UN’s
Article 4 was established in 1948, and modern-day slavery has only
grown since then. Legal posturing by these international legal
bodies I believe has had only a moderate effect in stemming the
practice of slavery. They encourage and lead countries to enact
laws to abolish slavery and impose severe consequences, but the lack
of enforcement of these laws, in India in particular, means they
have very limited effectiveness.
I believe that independent NGO’s
have proven much more effective, in terms of the actual freeing of
individuals, raising awareness, and putting pressure on governments
and large corporations to end practices that allow slavery to
continue and thrive. From housewives boycotting buying sugar in
Britain in the mid nineteenth century to contemporary awareness
campaigns, grassroots movements have always been most effective in
seeing sustained, widespread and lasting positive changes in
society.