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| LAW AND POLICY : INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS |
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In the international arena, many legal instruments and procedures exist and can be called upon to support action at the national level. These include ILO Forced Labour Convention No. 29 , ILO Abolition of Forced Labour Convention No. 105 and ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention No. 182 , as well as the UN Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, 1956 . All of these international instruments define forced and bonded labour and require States to eliminate these practices as a matter of urgency. Convention No. 29 specifies that the exaction of forced labour must be punishable as a penal offence, with adequate and strictly enforced penalties. The ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at work , adopted in 1998, includes the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour as one of four basic labour rights that should be respected in all countries -- the others being freedom of association, and the elimination of child labour and of discrimination at work.
The ILO has various mechanisms to monitor and supervise the extent to which member States fulfill their commitments under the Conventions they have ratified, in both law and practice. An independent Committee of Experts examines reports submitted by member States, and enters into a dialogue with them to improve their labour laws and implementation at national level, if weaknesses are identified. Employers' and workers' organizations can also submit their points of view to the Committee, as well as those of other organizations defending human and labour rights.
Everyone engaged in the fight against forced and bonded labour, including the victims themselves, needs to be aware and make full use of these international legal frameworks and procedures. This section of the website aims to make information on these accessible
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