Conclusion

Despite the abolition of slavery in the nineteenth century, the practice is prevalent in the contemporary world. It is estimated that more people are enslaved today than during the few centuries of the transatlantic slave trade. Modern slavery poses a serious challenge to human rights protection worldwide, and many governments as well as international and regional bodies are working towards preventing and combating it.

This course explored the historical origins and forms of slavery from ancient times to the twenty-first century. It also looked at the international legal instruments regulating the prohibition of slavery: international human rights treaties, ILO conventions, as well as regional human rights instruments.

You should now be able to:

• understand the historical origins of slavery as well as examples of slavery
• understand the international legal framework prohibiting slavery
• understand the concept of modern slavery and its various forms
• analyse the applicable law and apply it to a given example/case study
• think critically about human rights aspects of slavery in a variety of contexts and to articulate an independent view
• critically analyse and evaluate proposals for new legislation addressing modern slavery.

If you are unsure about any of these, go back and reread the relevant section(s) of this course.