Rights Lab

This report provides an analysis of the costs and benefits of extending support to adult conclusive victims of human trafficking in England and Wales for 12 months after exiting the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), the UK’s identification and support system for victims of modern slavery. This extended support is proposed under S.48B of The Modern Slavery (Victim Support) Bill (the Bill). The Bill includes provision (S.48A) to guarantee in law the support that is already provided on a non-statutory basis.

How can the UK best protect human rights in Asia, an area historically weak in protecting and promoting human rights, when it comes to securing new trade deals after exiting the European Union (EU)? This policy brief assesses potential pathways for the UK to protect human rights in Asia through trade after exiting the EU, accounting for the specific challenges of advancing human rights in the region. It draws on existing practice, with a focus on the EU, to make suggestions for future UK trade policy through both unilateral and bilateral arrangements.

The identification of contemporary forms of slavery is often problematically demarcated by reference to transatlantic enslavement as the definitive archetype. Such an approach overlooks other historic slaveries and neglects the totality of the maangamizi—the African holocaust. This article addresses the problematics of positioning the transatlantic system as the paradigm and unpacks the constituent elements of de jure slavery to construct an understanding of slavery as a condition as well as a status. By identifying the core features of de jure chattel slavery through time, this paper displaces the assumption that legal status is determinative, giving meaning to the concept of slavery in the contemporary world.

The purposes of the study was to examine what is known about effective policy to achieve SDG Target 8.7 in the context of justice, by: (1) collecting and collating existing evidence on what works; (2) identifying the range of claims and hypotheses captured in academic and grey literature, and the evidentiary foundations of these hypotheses; and (3) conducting mixed methods analysis of strengths, weaknesses, and trends in the evidence base. As such, the overarching research question for this study was: What is known about works at the State and multinational policy level to address modern slavery in the context of justice? Justice in this context is understood as encompassing criminal justice, civil justice, international justice, survivor engagement and support, and health policy and practice. The study further considers additional cross-cutting themes (applicable in the context of justice, but also in the parallel contexts of markets and crisis), namely gender, education, social po...

The debate around reparations for the transatlantic slave trade has been discussed for centuries with no end in sight. This article does not intend to cover the historical or political aspects of this debate, but instead to shed more light on the legal options with regards to reparations. In particular this article examines the role of politically negotiated reparations in transitional societies and the limits of avenues of redress in international law. Key to such discussions is the identification of eligible victims and appropriate measures of redress from responsible actors. With the so-called ‘transatlantic slave trade’ the passage of time has strained legal principles of causation to identify those victimised by atrocities of the past. Instead this article argues that reparations beyond the international law construct can be politically negotiated to at least acknowledge the past and offer some symbolic measures of redress to victimised populations of transatlantic enslavement.

On the implications of this status, see Jean Allain, 'Slavery and Its Obligations Erga Omnes' (2019) 36(1) The Australian Year Book of International Law 83. 3 This occurred in international instruments adopted in the early twentieth century in relation to both slavery and the slave trade, and the so-called 'white slave traffic'. See International Agreement for the Suppression of the White Slave Traffic,

One of the biggest failings of contemporary regimes governing human exploitation is their treatment of ‘victims’. This paper roots narratives of victimhood and agency in the legal frameworks through analysis of the right to effective remedy in human rights and international law. Dominant characterisations of ‘victimisation’ are problematised and an alternative formulation - the ‘victim-agent’ - proposed in order to recognise agency and its abrogation, advocate for participation consistent with the demands of procedural justice, and contribute to meaningful redress.

Vulnerabilities. www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/1171-law-enforcement-steps-up-response-to-modern-slavery, 9 These figures represent a 35% increase from 2016. National Crime Agency, National Referral Mechanism Statistics-End of Year Summary 2017 (EOY17-MSHT, 2018). Note also that anecdotal evidence from service providers is that potentially up to 50% of total victims do not access the NRM due to failures to identify that modern slavery has occurred, or where adults refuse referral to the NRM. 17 Nicholas Pleace, An Estimation of the Financial Costs of Single Homelessness in the UK (Crisis, 2015) iv. www.york.ac.uk/media/chp/documents/2015/CostsofHomelessness.pdf 18 Based on those who would have the same pattern of service use by those interviewed who had been homeless for 90 days. Crisis, Better Than Cure? Testing the Case for Enhancing Prevention of Single Homelessness in

as well as being Assistant Professor of Antislavery Law and Policy in the School of Law. Her research interrogates the law and policy frameworks that operate at the global, regional, and domestic level to determine the elements of effective anti-slavery governance and map trends, successes, and failures in this area.

How can the UK best protect human rights in Asia, an area historically weak in protecting and promoting human rights, when it comes to securing new trade deals after exiting the European Union (EU)? This policy brief assesses potential pathways for the UK to protect human rights in Asia through trade after exiting the EU, accounting for the specific challenges of advancing human rights in the region. It draws on existing practice, with a focus on the EU, to make suggestions for future UK trade policy through both unilateral and bilateral arrangements.

Despite its stated protective purpose, the Modern Slavery Act has often fallen short when it comes to ensuring support, facilitating effective remedy, and safeguarding victims of modern slavery. Support services have been repeatedly flagged as insufficient to meet the needs of those recovering from modern slavery. Survivors have faced a ‘cliff-edge’ of support exiting the national referral mechanism, depriving them of access to essential services and leaving them vulnerable to re-trafficking. Decision-making timeframes have far exceeded stated benchmarks, leaving many survivors in limbo for extended periods of time. In addition, victims of modern slavery continue to be detained by immigration authorities and criminalised for actions committed while they were being exploited. Yet, at the same time, increasing numbers of survivors have been identified and supported as a result of the Act and associated care systems. This article explores developments in support for victims of modern s...