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Forced
labor, like slavery, involves the deprivation of liberty, but differs
from slavery in that no claim of permanent right of ownership is
made over a person subject to it. International agreements put strict
limits on the use of forced labor by the State and prohibit its
use by non-State bodies and individuals, but they do not ban it
outright.
Forced labor is a common feature of modern wars. In Burma (Myanmar),
for example, conscription of civilians as unpaid labor for the military
authorities is widespread. Typical duties include the construction
of roads, barracks, and railways, and porterage for army contingents.
Such projects often involve large-scale relocation of populations.
In the worst instances, civilians from ethnic minorities in areas
of rebel activity have been forced to march ahead of troops as a
human shield against landmines.
In the former Yugoslavia, between 1993 and 1996, forced labor was
used by all sides, but most systematically in the Serb-controlled
areas of northern Bosnia, where non-Serb minorities under Bosnian
Serb control were subject to a “work obligation.” Forced
labor details were assigned to the front line of conflict; they
were also put to work in factories and mines; the work obligation
was used as a means of public humiliation for prominent members
of minority ethnic groups.
All these practices involve infringements of one or other of the
various international agreements that touch on the issue of forced
labor. Article 3 common to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 applies
in internal conflicts and requires humane treatment to those who
do not take part in hostilities and arguably limits forced labor
by imposing minimum standards on it. The Fourth Geneva Convention
specifies that, in occupied territory, civilians cannot be compelled
to join the armed forces of an occupying power, or to engage in
certain kinds of war-related work, such as the production of munitions,
and if under age eighteen they may not be forced to work at all.
Civilians under military occupation, both in wars between States
and, as specified in Additional Protocol II of 1977, in internal
conflicts, cannot be required to work longer hours or under conditions
worse than the local norm. Civilian internees in a war between States
cannot be compelled to work, unless they are medical personnel (who
can be required to attend fellow internees) or are employed in administrative,
kitchen, civil defense, or other work on behalf of other internees.
Enforced prostitution is specifically prohibited in Article 27 of
the Fourth Convention.
There are detailed rules in international law for the treatment
of prisoners of war set out
in the Third Geneva Convention of 1949. Most of the restrictions
on civilian employment detailed above also apply to them; beyond
this, the Geneva Conventions specify that POWs forced to work must
be paid a wage, unless their work involves only the maintenance
or administration of their place of detention. They cannot be forced
to do degrading, unhealthy, or dangerous work. Military officers
cannot be forced to work.
In order to determine whether a particular case of forced labor
contravenes any or all of the international norms specified above,
it will be useful to know the following. First, who is being forced
to work: whether they are prisoners of war, women, under the age
of eighteen or over forty-five, or members of an ethnic or other
minority. Second, the nature of the work and working conditions:
who the work is for, the hours and days worked, the distances from
home, whether the work is war-related, whether the products are
exported, and whether or not they are paid.
Forced labor is also addressed by two conventions of the International
Labor Organization (ILO), a constituent organization of the UN.
ILO Convention 29 (1930), which was an attempt to tackle the issue
of forced labor in European colonies in Africa and Asia, restricts
forced labor duties to able-bodied males between eighteen and forty-five,
and to those whose absence “will not affect family life in
the community.” Another ILO Convention (105) forbids parties
from using forced labor as a punishment for expressing political
views or as a means to economic development.
The applicability of the ILO Conventions in wartime is limited by
the exemption they make for emergencies (including war). But they
have nevertheless proved effective in drawing attention to abuses
in countries where there are undeclared internal conflicts, such
as Burma (which has ratified ILO Convention 29, but not Convention
105). Signatories to ILO Conventions are obliged to submit reports,
which are considered by meetings of experts at the International
Labor Conference. Outside bodies cannot make official representations
at these meetings, but information from human rights reports may
be put on the record and governments involved can be asked to respond.
Some Western countries have laws banning the import of products
manufactured using a conscript labor force. This constraint on trade
may be the most effective sanction against many forms of forced
labor.
Other international agreements that touch on the issue of forced
labor include the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the
UN Declaration of Human Rights. The UN International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights reiterates the ban on the use of forced
labor as a punishment for holding political views, as a means of
economic development, or as a form of discrimination against a social
group.
(See compelling military
service; sexual violence:
enslavement and forced prostitution.)
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