HUMAN RIGHTS India in gaining access to jobs, especially higher-level posts. It has also looked into the influence of ‘racial’ criteria in accessing jobs and promotions in Peru, where many indigenous peoples are illiterate and hindered by language barriers. It has also highlighted problems faced by minorities in accessing educational and training facilities in Bulgaria (Turks), Czech Republic (Roma), Romania (Roma, Russians, Turks, etc.), to name a few. For more information on discrimination issues, please contact: Equality and Employment Branch (EGALITE) Standards Department ILO CH-1211 Geneva 22 Switzerland tel: +41 22 799 7115 fax: +41 22 799 6344 e-mail: egalite@ilo.org 3. Forced labour lthough slavery and the slave trade were deemed illegal in the 1800s, the practice continued in many parts of the world. The conditions may have changed, but people were still working in conditions similar to those of slavery. This practice was common in colonial countries, especially among what were called ‘native populations’ – i.e. including people who may belong to indigenous or minority communities today. In 1926, the League of Nations (precursor to the UN), adopted the UN Convention on Slavery, Servitude, Forced Labour and Similar Institutions and Practices (Slavery Convention) to prohibit all aspects of the slave trade. However, realizing that the problem was a complex and multi-faceted one, and that one standard alone was insufficient to deal with the whole range of problems and situations the practice gave rise to, the League of Nations asked the ILO to complement its work. In 1930, the ILO adopted the Forced Labour Convention (No. 29), and this Convention, supplemented by a second ILO Convention on forced labour, adopted in 1957, provides important tools in the struggle to eradicate this unjust practice. A 3.1 Forced Labour Convention (1930) (No. 29) The following is a brief description of the main points of Convention No. 29: Aim of the Convention • To suppress the use of forced or compulsory labour in all its forms within the shortest possible time. Definition • All work or service which is not voluntary and is exacted through coercion or under the menace of a penalty. Elements • It is carried out due to fear or duress or threat of a fine or other punishment; • It is not voluntary, i.e. not done freely and willingly; • Includes work or service. Action required by governments • Carry out regular inspections of labour conditions; • Ensure punishments are both adequate and effective; • Make forced or compulsory labour a penal offence. Exceptions (i.e. not deemed to be forced labour) • Emergencies, e.g. earthquakes, epidemics, floods; • Military service, for purely military activities; • Minor community service; • Normal civic obligations, e.g. voting; • Prison labour (although restrictions are placed on its use). All other exceptions have to be removed from national law and practice. Thus, if a country has laws or regulations requiring its citizens to perform any work or service which does not fall within the scope of the five above exemptions, then these must be annulled. In many countries, minorities and indigenous peoples are among those affected. The ILO Global Report, Stopping Forced Labour, points out: ‘The coincidence of traditional forms of slavery with ethnic divisions suggests a linkage between eliminating forced labour and eliminating discrimination in societies.’18 To cite a few examples: in Sudan where an ethnic conflict continues to rage, prisoners captured during the fighting are enslaved according to age-old tradition; in Congo Brazzaville, there are reports of Pygmies (Twa) working for Bantus under forced labour conditions;19 and in Indonesia, there are reports of Dayaks in East Kalimantan working under conditions of debt bondage.20 The gravity of the problem of bonded labour in India, despite national legislation making it illegal in 1976, has also been a continuing cause of concern for the ILO supervisory bodies. The Indian Government has appeared before THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION: A HANDBOOK FOR MINORITIES AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES 13