The Marginalization of Slavery in International Criminal Justice: Untapping Its Potential in the Fight Against Modern Slavery

Abstract

This chapter explores the role international criminal justice can and should play in the fight against modern slavery. It argues that slavery is not an alien concept in international criminal justice, on the contrary, slave-trading counts among the first international crimes and lies at the origins of the emergence of international criminal law. Section 10.1 briefly outlines its historical, social, and broader legal context, setting into perspective the dual role that international law has played in the history of slavery as a facilitator and only for the last two hundred years as a remedy against it. Despite achieving peremptory status and the complex legal and policy framework to prevent, criminalize and punish slavery crimes, these practices persist and even thrive in many countries. Section 10.2 aims to discuss why the international crimes of slavery remain underutilized and whether international criminal law is fit for purpose to respond effectively to the contemporary forms of slavery which are widespread today. Section 10.3 sets out a few strategies through which international criminal justice actors along with other interlocutors can significantly contribute to broader efforts in the global fight against contemporary forms of slavery. Finally, in Sect. 10.4, this chapter argues that while slavery remains one of the least prosecuted international crimes, international justice actors can and should play a greater role as part of a larger effort to fight modern slavery.