Introduction
Modern slavery received increasing attention over recent years, both in the
media and in research. According to the US State Department, slavery exists
any time an individual is recruited, transported or pressured to work by force,
fraud, or coercion.1 It is a global issue which is of significant interest for both
anti-slavery professionals and the Criminal Justice System. Under the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights ‘No one shall be held in slavery or servitude’2,
therefore makes slavery an act which is now prohibited all around the world
despite that many still practice it. The UN preamble charter has recently been
subject to criticism and debate over its effectiveness in protecting human
rights as the numbers of people constrained in modern slavery is daily growing
or whether it needs to overturn. The lack of the UN in its ability to stop modern
slavery is seen with its capacity to control vulnerable people heading in much-
developed countries than their own, in the faith of better lives.
In this essay, I will explore the matter as a doctrinal research methodology with
the comparative-legal approach. This would assist the research in building a
systematic explanation of the role of the UN in the abolition of slavery and
forced labour. It will also be discussed the effectiveness and productivity of the
UN in protecting enslaved forced-laboured individuals concerning their needs
and the breach of rights they face upon having ‘equal rights ….of nations large
1
TIP Office, 'What is Modern Slavery?' (US Department of
State, 2018) <https://www.state.gov/what-is-modern-slavery/> accessed 16 March 2020
2
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, U.N. Doc A/810 at 71 (1948), Article 4
Modern slavery received increasing attention over recent years, both in the
media and in research. According to the US State Department, slavery exists
any time an individual is recruited, transported or pressured to work by force,
fraud, or coercion.1 It is a global issue which is of significant interest for both
anti-slavery professionals and the Criminal Justice System. Under the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights ‘No one shall be held in slavery or servitude’2,
therefore makes slavery an act which is now prohibited all around the world
despite that many still practice it. The UN preamble charter has recently been
subject to criticism and debate over its effectiveness in protecting human
rights as the numbers of people constrained in modern slavery is daily growing
or whether it needs to overturn. The lack of the UN in its ability to stop modern
slavery is seen with its capacity to control vulnerable people heading in much-
developed countries than their own, in the faith of better lives.
In this essay, I will explore the matter as a doctrinal research methodology with
the comparative-legal approach. This would assist the research in building a
systematic explanation of the role of the UN in the abolition of slavery and
forced labour. It will also be discussed the effectiveness and productivity of the
UN in protecting enslaved forced-laboured individuals concerning their needs
and the breach of rights they face upon having ‘equal rights ….of nations large
1
TIP Office, 'What is Modern Slavery?' (US Department of
State, 2018) <https://www.state.gov/what-is-modern-slavery/> accessed 16 March 2020
2
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, U.N. Doc A/810 at 71 (1948), Article 4
