Trevor Sargent
Ceist:156 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on whether there are more slaves on earth today than ever before. [29168/01]
Written Answers. - Slavery Estimates.
The United Nations Working Group on Contemporary forms of slavery estimates that there are currently 27 million persons living in what it defines as conditions of slavery. This is more than twice the number of persons estimated to have been taken from Africa during the 400-year transatlantic slave trade. Of these, an estimated 20 million are bonded labourers. This means that the number of persons currently living in what are described as conditions of slavery is approximately five times greater that the population of the island of Ireland.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "No one shall be held in slavery or servitude: slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms." Full adherence to the absolute values enshrined in the declaration is of paramount importance.
The Government is committed to the active promotion of full observance of universal human rights standards, including opposing and seeking the elimination of all contemporary forms of slavery. Contemporary forms of slavery include practices such as bonded labour, the sale of children, child prostitution, child pornography, the exploitation of child labour, the sexual mutilation of female children, the use of children in armed conflicts, debt bondage and trafficking in persons. We voice our concerns wherever possible in partnership with other like-minded countries, in international fora such as the UN General Assembly, the UN Commission on Human Rights, the Council of Europe, the OSCE and, where the occasion arises, the UN Security Council
Efforts to eliminate contemporary forms of slavery involve a wide spectrum of international organisations, NGOs and governments. Slavery and human rights issues in general are normally considered by the UN bodies which have a specific role and expertise in this area, notably the Commission on Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation.
The working group on contemporary forms of slavery, an inter-sessional working group of the sub-commission on the promotion and protection of human rights, is the UN body which has responsibility for the study of all aspects of slavery.
The Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Tom Kitt, led the delegation to the 89th International Labour Conference in Geneva in June of this year, where he raised the issue of bonded labour, in the course of the discussion at the plenary session of the conference he put forward a number of practical measures to address this specific problem.
The protection and promotion of the rights of all human beings is the first responsibility of every Government. The persistence of contemporary forms of slavery, a most fundamental abuse of human rights, presents a challenge to all governments. The Government will continue to highlight and address this issue at every appropriate opportunity.