Attachments
Human Rights Council
Fifty-first session
12 September–7 October 2022
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development
**Summary//
The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, visited Sri Lanka from 26 November to 3 December 2021.
Following an analysis of the normative framework and the existing institutional architecture to combat contemporary forms of slavery, the Special Rapporteur examines the labour conditions in various sectors of the economy, including in the garment industry, on tea plantations and in the domestic sector, as well as the conditions related to microfinancing schemes.
The Special Rapporteur acknowledges some progress achieved, for example in preventing and addressing the worst forms of child labour, while highlighting persisting shortcomings in ending contemporary forms of slavery in Sri Lanka.
The report concludes with recommendations to assist the Government and other stakeholders in addressing the remaining challenges.
I. Introduction
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The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, Tomoya Obokata, visited Sri Lanka from 26 November to 3 December 2021.
The objective of the visit was to assess the labour conditions in various economic sectors, including in the garment industry, on tea plantations and in the domestic sector. The Special Rapporteur also assessed the implementation of relevant laws and policies, and systemic barriers that hamper access to decent work, including for migrant workers in the country, as well as assessing the implementation of target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals. -
The Special Rapporteur met with officials from a broad range of government departments, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Labour, the AttorneyGeneral’s Department, the Ministry of Justice, the Plantations Ministry, the Police Department, the National Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force, the Bureau of Foreign Employment, the Department of Probation and Child Care Services, and the National Committee on Women. The Special Rapporteur also met with the President of the Labour Tribunal and with representatives of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka.
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Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur visited several private and public tea estates in Kandy district, where he spoke with plantation workers and the management of the estates in order to gain an insight into the working and living conditions. The Special Rapporteur also visited two garment factories in the free trade zone of Katunayake. He met with representatives of the garment sector, current and former workers, civil society representatives, and representatives of the Joint Apparel Association Forum of Sri Lanka.
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The Special Rapporteur also met with representatives of trade unions and of national and international civil society organizations, sex workers, migrant workers, academics and human rights defenders, as well as the United Nations Resident Coordinator, and representatives of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Organization for Migration, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women).
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The present report was shared with the Government of Sri Lanka before its publication and the response of the Government is being issued separately.1 6. The Special Rapporteur extends his appreciation to the Government of Sri Lanka for the invitation to visit the country and to officials from the various State entities for engaging in a fruitful and meaningful dialogue. He further expresses his sincere gratitude to all workers, civil society organizations, trade unions, corporations, business associations and individuals that took the time to meet with him.