What are human rights?

They are rights that all human beings inheret, regardless of race, sex, nationality, religion, or any
other status. They are not granted by any state, they range from the most fundamental - the right to
life - to those that make life worth living, such as the rights to food, education, health, etc…

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was the first legal document to be universally protected.
It continues to be the foundation of all international human rights law.
Its 30 articles provide the principles of current and future human rights conventions, treaties and
other legal instruments.

The History of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on
10th of December in 1948, it was the result of the experience of the Second World War. With the
end of the war, and the creation of the United Nations, the international community pledged to
never allow atrocities like these (image) to happen again.

The entire text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was composed in less than two years. At
a time when the world was divided into Eastern and Western blocks, finding a common ground was a
hard task

Article 4
The article 4 protects your right not to be held in slavery or servitude, or made to do forced labour.
Slavery is when someone actually owns you like a piece of property.
Servitude is similar to slavery - you might live on the person’s property, work for them and be unable
to leave, but they don’t own you.

Forced labor means you are forced to do work that you have not agreed to, under some kind of
punishment.
Your right to be protected against slavery and servitude is absolute, which means it can never be
restricted. The right relating to forced labor is also absolute. However, it does not apply to work that
the government requires you to do in a state of emergency, and prisional or community work.
Article 4: Prohibition of slavery and forced labour
This is the actual transcript
1. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude.
2. No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labor.

Example case
In 2005 a 15-year-old girl was brought to France from Togo, in Africa by ‘Mrs D’, who paid for her
journey but then confiscated her passport. It was agreed that the girl would work for Mrs D until she
had paid back her trip cost, but after a few months she was ‘borrowed’ to another couple. They
forced her to work 15 hours a day, seven days a week with no pay, no holidays, no identity
documents and without authorisation of her immigration status.

The girl wore second-hand clothes and did not have her own room. The authorities intervened when
made aware of the situation, but slavery and servitude was not a specific criminal offence in France
at that time. The European Court of Human Rights held that the girl had been kept in servitude,
French law had not given the girl specific and effective protection. That's why article 4 was used in
this case.

“The worst part was that there was no rest. I slept for two hours a night. There was no going out and
no days off. When the bosses were out, the house was locked.
I soon learned that if we refused to work, the police would be brought in to make us work. Once I
was slapped round the face for not ironing my employer’s scarf properly.”
Lehmeire, Mauritanian domestic worker in Saudi Arabia

These example cases shows that slavery is still going on until this day, tens of millions of people are
trapped in some form of slavery, reserarchers estimate that 40 million are ensalved worldwide,
generating 150 billion dollars each yea in illicit profit for trafickers.

Different types of Slavery

Labor slavery
About 50 percent of enslaved workers do manual labor in industries, such as farms, ranches, mines,
factories, etc. Migrant workers are targeted because they often don’t speak the language, have few
friends, have limited rights and depend on their employers.

Fashion is one of the most labor-intensive industries, the poorest people on the planet and their
cheap labor are exploited to make fashion clothing. This modern slavery is really unclear for us, the
western world, but sometimes we need to ask ourselves “Who made my clothes?” (image)

Sex slavery
Sex slavery involves males and females, both adults and children, and constitutes an estimated 58
percent of all trafficking activities. It consists of different types of servitude, including forced
prostitution, pornography, and sex-related occupations. Many victims are runaway girls who had
been sexually abused.
Forced Marriage slavery
It is estimated that about 15,4 million people are in a forced marriage, the vast majority being little
girls. It is fuelled by gender inequality, poverty and insecurity, and has devastating consequences all
over the world. It can vary from culture to culture.

In conclusion
We believe everyone, everywhere has the right to a life free from slavery. But right now, millions of
children and adults are trapped in slavery in every single country in the world. Including Portugal.

From the outside, it can look like a normal job. But people are being controlled. Many have fallen
into this oppressive trap simply because they were trying to improve their lives and support their
families. Now, they can’t leave. But is there a way we can actually help these people? Yes. There are
many ways to get involved and help end this slavery cycle.

For example Buying Slave free clothes, Volunteer with antislavery communities, make a small
donation, report a possible case, etc. It’s in our hands to stop this now.