Forced Labor Research Articles

Sodišče slovenske narodne časti v Novem mestu

The Court of Slovenian National Honour was established in early June 1945. Until the end of August 1945, it tried those who had (allegedly) collaborated with the occupying forces during the war in any way. Senates consisting of five members held sessions in Ljubljana, Kranj, Novo Mesto, Celje, Maribor, Ptuj and Murska Sobota. In Novo Mesto, the first trial took place on 10 July, but the court ceased to operate as early as 14 July due to the dissatisfaction of the district committee of the Communist Party with the work of the jurist judges. The court treated the acts allegedly perpetrated by the accused very leniently and imposed fairly mild penalties. In nine trials, it sentenced 34 persons to the loss of national honour, 22 persons to light forced labour and six persons to a partial confiscation of property. After the court was abolished and a pardon was declared, the convicted were fully excused of forced labour. The legal implications of the penalty of the loss of national honour were limited to losing political and civil rights, including the right to vote. The penalty of property confiscation remained in effect.

ACTIVITIES OF KHARKIV POLYTECHNICAL INSTITUTE DURING THE GERMAN OCCUPATION

The article examines the activities of employees of the Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute who remained in Kharkiv during the nazi occupation during the Great Patriotic War. These employees were unable to leave the city on time due to the poor organization of the evacuation of the institute. Difficult circumstances forced many of them to cooperate with the occupiers. However, this cooperation did not give much to the invaders, but it helped most of the scientists of the Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute to survive and preserve the buildings of the institute, library collections and laboratory equipment. The names of outstanding scientists and teachers who were in the occupation are given. The horrors of the new government are shown: hunger, cold, the death of civilians. Most of the teachers and staff of the Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute were forced to exchange their own things, jewelry, and building materials for food. The facts of violation of international law by German troops are given. It is shown that the German authorities promoted small-scale handicrafts, retail trade, and the provision of household services. However, the main goal of the German troops was to provide the German army with food, equipment, transport, housing, as well as sending young people and the able-bodied population to forced labor in Germany. The German press was engaged in disinformation, spreading false assurances about the happy life of Eastern workers in Germany, about introducing them to European culture, about their rest and leisure. It is described that thanks to the activities of an outstanding chemist, Professor Pavel Didusenko, it was possible to establish the production of matches and soap. Thanks to the implementation of these essential necessities, scarce in wartime, it was possible to save the lives of a large number of employees of the Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute.

The Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in COVID-19 Recovered Patients: A Cross-sectional Study

Objective Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the anxiety disorders caused by a specific event, which can be catastrophic events (natural disasters, war, imprisonment in a forced labor camp) or everyday adversities (death of relatives, divorce, carrying bags). Since patients who have recovered from COVID-19 are exposed to such events, this research was conducted to determine the prevalence of PTSD in this group. Materials & Methods This study was cross-sectional. The statistical population included all patients who recovered from COVID-19 between November 2021 and February 2022 in Hamedan City, Iran; based on Krejcie and Morgan’s sample size table, 185 patients were selected by simple random sampling method. The research tool was the demographic questionnaire and the Mississippi post-traumatic stress disorder questionnaire (Mississippi PTSD); the data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Results The results showed that the Mean±SD score of PTSD was 80.37±17.37 in the subjects who recovered from COVID-19. The relationship between the demographic variables of gender (P=0.01), education (P=0.039), occupation (P=0.24), marriage (P=0.62), age (P=0.048), weight (P=0.047), height (P=0.023) with PTSD were reported. Conclusion The results showed that 76.2% of people who recovered from COVID-19 were exposed to PTSD with moderate and high severity; therefore, techniques to reduce anxiety from the coronavirus are recommended.

Korean Judicial Decision

Abstract Each Defendant (Japanese corporations) in this case re claim of victims of forced labor shall pay KRW 100,000,000 to each Plaintiff (victims of forced labor of Korea).

The Anarchy of Nazi Memorabilia: From Things of Tyranny to Troubled Treasure by Michael Hughes

Reviewed by: The Anarchy of Nazi Memorabilia: From Things of Tyranny to Troubled Treasure by Michael Hughes Melissa Etzler The Anarchy of Nazi Memorabilia: From Things of Tyranny to Troubled Treasure. By Michael Hughes. London: Routledge, 2022. Pp. 260. Hardcover $170.00. ISBN 978-0367422004. The Anarchy of Nazi Memorabilia offers an in-depth study of the symbols displayed on the badges provided to German citizens, soldiers, and veterans during WWI and through WWII. Each chapter outlines the historical and political backdrop of the period as a means to establish the functionality of a given badge. Hughes gives examples of the quintessential emblems, how, where, and by whom they were produced, in which materials and quantities, and concludes with a note on the collectors of the pieces and the current market. The text fills a gap in historical Third Reich studies since, as Hughes states, “there is a shortage of scholarly literature on the symbols and [End Page 324] ritual objects produced and deployed by the Nazi Party (NSDAP), emblems created to construct a Nazi identity and ethos” (1). In each chapter, there is a discussion of the material culture of the object, its aura, aesthetic appeal, and commercial value. In the opening chapter, “From Weimar to the Third Reich,” Hughes examines to what extent Hitler’s mass deployment of symbols contributed to his chancellorship, maintaining his hold on Germany, and isolating German Jews. Hughes often highlights the irony of the symbols and begins by identifying how the Great War Iron Cross “objectified the veteran’s bravery” and yet, with abundant wounded veterans, their “disability showed the price [they] paid for it” (15). Otto Dix and George Grosz’s paintings featuring disabled veterans wearing the Iron Cross are included to visually represent this conflict. Likewise, each subsequent chapter problematizes how these badges were used to manipulate individuals and identify outsiders. The second chapter, “The Materiality of the People’s Community,” focuses on the symbols and badges created to facilitate the Gemeinschaft or “fellowship, cooperation, and solidarity of the German community” (36), which the Nazis wanted to create. As with the Iron Cross, Hughes explores the dual meaning of various emblems. He looks at the emblem of the German Labor Front (DAF), which features a swastika encased in a cogwheel, and explains that while the emblem is meant to show how each individual member makes a valuable contribution to society, it ultimately became a “metaphor under which the rights of workers were obliterated” (38) since each individual was expected to perform at the same, unrealistically high level. The emblem later became a convenient excuse for participation in war crimes, for instance, the commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, claimed to have been a “cog in the wheel” (39). Another moment of irony is mentioned with the badges being produced to raise funds for the NSDAP organization Strength through Joy (KdF) which funded workers’ vacations but used forced labor to create the badges. Lastly, the chapter describes an initiative that the NSDAP assumed, the Winter Relief of the German People (WHW), which dispersed badges for financial donations. Each campaign by the WHW featured a differently styled badge; thus, if a citizen did not possess the latest badge, it was obvious that they had prioritized individual needs over the common good and risked becoming an enemy of the people. The chapter “Pre-War Awards” discusses how medals such as the Cross of Honor, which was issued in 1934 and which Jewish war veterans could receive, provided Jewish veterans with a false sense of security since they assumed the medal would protect against antisemitism. The chapter also introduces key figures who accepted badges from Hitler, such as Henry Ford’s German Eagle Order badge. Regardless of the quality of these badges, they had the symbolic power to imply those accepting were sympathetic to the regime. Likewise, the next two chapters, “Medals for Babies,” which explains the role of the Mother’s Cross, given to mothers after they had birthed four or more children, and “Wartime Awards,” given initially to an elite group, but [End Page 325] eventually to children as an incentive, are about the badges’ ability to show allegiance. The chapter “Trash or...

Climate change and vulnerabilities of children in rural Zimbabwe: The case of ward 14 of Bikita District, Zimbabwe

The paper interrogates the impact of climate change towards the vulnerabilities of children in rural Zimbabwe. The paper utilised qualitative case study research design so as to generate the empirical evidence for this paper and the Ubuntu or Hunhu philosophy was used as a theory for analysing and, interpreting the lives of these vulnerable children. Research findings suggest that the impact of climate change has been unprecedented on the lives of children in rural Zimbabwe. Some of the impact included; hunger and food insecurity, decrease in school attendance, early or forced marriages, sexual exploitation, gold panning, child labour and abuse, child prostitution, drug use and abuse, the spread of climate change related diseases among others. The paper concludes by lobbying and advocating the Government of Zimbabwe and other key stakeholders to invest more resources on climate proof and adaptation strategies particularly in rural areas.
 How to reference using ASWNet style:
 Chikoko W. and Chihiya P. (2023). Climate change and vulnerabilities of children in rural Zimbabwe: The case of ward 14 of Bikita District, Zimbabwe. African Journal of Social Work, 13(2), 78-86. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ajsw.v13i2.4
 Visit journal website: https://ajsw.africasocialwork.net

The prohibition of forced or compulsory labour and conditional welfare under the United Kingdom's Universal Credit Scheme

Abstract To address the issue of persistent unemployment, the UK Government implemented a conditional welfare scheme. Prompted by Mantouvalou's argument that the scheme forces people into exploitative work, this paper addresses the ‘pressing’ question of whether the scheme is compatible with the prohibition on ‘forced or compulsory labour’ under Article 4(2) of the European Convention on Human Rights. It is argued that, whether the scheme imposes the menace of a penalty, is involuntary, seriously exploitative or a normal civic obligation, ultimately depends on different understandings of the demands of distributive justice. Given the politically contested nature of those demands, Article 4(2) is a poor weapon to use when challenging the UK's conditional welfare scheme.

Are we seeing the unseen of human trafficking? A retrospective analysis of the CTDC k-anonymized global victim of trafficking data pool in the period 2010-2020.

Human trafficking is considered a hidden global crime with unsubstantiated numbers. Despite the challenges in counting or measuring this crime, reports revealed the presence of around 40.3 million victims worldwide. Human trafficking results in severe detrimental impacts on both mental and physical health. Given the sensitivity and negative consequences of human trafficking on the global system and victims, and considering the scarce research in this area, our current study aimed at describing the (i) Sociodemographic profiles of anonymized victims, (ii) Means of control, and (iii) Purpose of trafficking, utilizing the largest anonymized and publicly available dataset on victims of human trafficking. This is a retrospective secondary analysis of the Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative (CTDC) data pool in the period from 2010 to 2020. The utilized dataset is called the k-anonymized global victim of trafficking dataset, and it is considered the largest global dataset on victims of human trafficking. Data from the k-anonymized data pool were extracted and exported to Statistical Package for Social Sciences, SPSS® version 27.0 for Windows (IBM Corp. Version 27.0. Armonk, NY) for quality check and analysis using descriptive statistics. A total of 87003 victims of human trafficking were identified in the period from 2010 to 2020. The most age category encountered among victims was 9-17 years with 10326 victims (11.9%), followed by 30-38 years with 8562 victims (9.8%). Females comprised 70% of the sample with 60938 victims. The United States (n = 51611), Russia (n = 4570), and the Philippines (n = 1988) comprised the most countries of exploitation/trafficking. Additionally, the year 2019 witnessed the greatest number of victims registered for assistance by anti-trafficking agencies with around 21312 victims (24.5%). Concerning means of control, threats, psychological abuse, restriction of the victim's movement, taking the victim's earnings, and physical abuse were the most reported means. 42685 victims (49.1%) reported sexual exploitation as the purpose of their trafficking, followed by forced labor with 18176 victims (20.9%). Various means and methods can be used by traffickers to control the victims to be trafficked for many purposes, with sexual exploitation and forced labor being the most common ones. Global anti-trafficking efforts should be brought together in solidarity through utilizing the paradigm of protection of victims, prosecution of traffickers, prevention of trafficking, and inter-sectoral partnerships. Despite being a global concern with various reports that tried to capture the number of trafficked victims worldwide, human trafficking still has many unseen aspects that impose a significant challenge and adds to the global burden in combatting this threat.

Indigenous war captives and mobility-oriented punishments: An Atlantic-Mediterranean world perspective

ABSTRACT This study explores two well-known case studies involving the removal of Indigenous war captives from their places of origin to fortifications or to Mediterranean galley ships to do forced labor. I draw on known scholarship on Indigenous war captives in New England and New France during the seventeenth century to consider the local conditions in Europe and North America that created the possibility for the dispersal of captives. Europeans moved Indigenous captives for various reasons and responded to the actions and demands of Indigenous polities, particularly during times of warfare or raiding. Rather than placing Indigenous history into European power frameworks, I focus on how mobility-oriented punishments are simultaneously connected to events in interior continental Indigenous and the European mainland. By doing so, I offer a critique of the settler colonial paradigm.

Labor Use of Polish Prisoners of War in the Camps of Central Russia,
 1920–1921

Based on the materials of the federal and regional archives of Central Russia, the article analyzes the practice of labor use of prisoners of war of the Polish-Soviet War in the camps of Central Russia in 1920–1921. The author examined the regulatory framework for the labor use of prisoners of war of the Polish army. The study showed the professional composition of Polish prisoners of war, as well as their level of education. In fact, Polish prisoners of war were a large group of educated special-
 ists whose work was used in various fields. The regions also requested the necessary number of Polish prisoners of war for certain labor tasks, partially covering the shortage of labor. An attempt to organize labor squads from captured Poles is considered. But, labor squads were formed in Moscow and in those provinces where there was a high concentration of prisoners of war of the Polish army. In the rest, for the most part, labor unions were never formed. With the beginning of the repatriation of Polish prisoners of war, they began to gradually remove from work and look for a replacement for them. Before repatriation, prisoners of war submitted applications
 to the sub-departments of forced labor to issue them salaries, funds earned from forced labor, which they were supposed to receive on the day of departure to their homeland. The labor of Polish prisoners of war was paid at local rates, and they
 were equated with Red Army soldiers in terms of supply.

In the shadow of the Holocaust. Poles and their attitudes towards Jewish forced laborers in HASAG ammunition factory in Skarżysko-Kamienna during World War II

ABSTRACT The State Ammunition Factory in Skarżysko-Kamienna, just after the outbreak of World War II was taken over by the German company Hasag from Leipzig which produced weapons and ammunition for the Wehrmacht during the occupation. In Skarżysko the German authorities used the Jewish forced laborers, who were forced to work at an inhumane rate and endure horrendous sanitary and living conditions. The plight of exploited Jews may have been influenced by their Polish colleagues who worked side by side with them in factory halls. The aim of this article is to characterize the attitudes Polish nationals of towards the Jews working in Hasag in Skarżysko.

Geography of Genocide: Deportation and Mass Murder in Romanian-Occupied Territories during World War II

ABSTRACT While many scholars insist on the role that shootings had in the genocide of Jews of Eastern Europe, the ‘Holocaust by bullets’ continues to be a problematic theoretical model/concept, because it ruptures the link between organized/industrial mass murder, shootings, the usage of Jews for forced labor, and the means of deportation by local actors. In this article, I look at what deportation meant in the territories of the USSR occupied by Romania during World War II, both in administrative and military terms. More specifically, I try to map out the geography of murder and establish if there is a link between deportations from Romania proper into Transnistria and the deportations from inside Transnistria (e.g., Odesa) to other parts of the same region (e.g., Berezovka). As such, I look at the following questions: Why were some Jews from specific places in Romania’s Old Kingdom deported to Transnistria en masse, while other communities were not touched by the same wrath of deportation? Did local military leaders have a say in these decisions? How were deportations within Transnistria different from the ones that took place from Romania proper? Did the historical perceptions of these territories by local actors, perpetrators, and soldiers influence the course of deportations? In which way did massacres inform subsequent deportations? Using both historical examples like the Odesa Massacre and the deportations that followed it, as well as an analysis of ideology, antisemitism, and local actions in the regions of Northern Romania and Transnistria, I look at the way geography informs decisions of deportation and the relationship between ethnic cleansing and forced displacement.

The Polish Wild West: Forced Migration and Cultural Appropriation in the Polish-German Borderlands, 1945–1948 [Polski dziki zachód. Przymusowe migracje i kulturowe oswajanie Nadodrza 1945–48

The Polish Wild West: Forced Migration and Cultural Appropriation in the Polish-German Borderlands, 1945–1948 [Polski dziki zachód. Przymusowe migracje i kulturowe oswajanie Nadodrza 1945–48

General Considerations Regarding the Crime of Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is a real social phenomenon with destructive repercussions on the entire society, materialized by serious violations of human rights and freedoms, as well as the dignity or integrity of human beings. This phenomenon has existed since the most remote times, being manifested especially in the form of forced labor, that is, slavery, a form that can still be found even today. Although we live in such a developed society, the facts involving the trafficking of persons, minors, slaves, cells and tissues of human origin are more and more numerous. If we take a simple look at the statistics made by the competent bodies regarding the number of trafficked persons, victims of such a barbaric act, we will find that it is on a continuous rise. In this sense, with the passage of time, the states of the world have been concerned with finding the most suitable, but also effective measures so necessary to prevent and combat the trafficking of live meat, being outlined a series of national and international acts.

Trafficking in Women: A Critical Legal Analysis

Abstract: The trafficking of people is expressly prohibited by the Indian Constitution. The Constitution's Fundamental Rights section forbids "trade in human persons and other comparable forms of forced labour" in Article 23. Even though there isn't a clear definition of "trafficking," one could say that Trafficking inherently entails the movement or transportation of a person via coercion or fraud, followed by their exploitation and eventual commercialization. The abusers take advantage of the vulnerable nature of the trafficked individual, including the traffickers, recruiters, transporters, sellers, buyers, and end-users. With globalisation, trafficking has increased dramatically. The problem is made worse by organised actions, increasing profit with little to no risk, and low attention given to law enforcement, among other things. In order to work as domestic helpers or workers, women are also trafficked into commercial markets. Similar to those who are forced into prostitution, Kuwait is thought to be a key hub for the trafficking of women for commercial exploitation. Futhur this paper will also talk about its impact and vulnerability, human rights and its impact on society and will see cases from real life.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF CONSTITUTIONAL VALIDITY OF LIABILITY TO DEDUCT TAX AT SOURCE (TDS)

Tax is a levy imposed by a government on the income of citizens of a State for which the government does not directly support the taxpayer. It has been a major source of government’s revenue be it Income Tax, GST, Wealth Tax etc. Government has adopted various methods of tax collection one of which is Tax deduction at source (TDS). It is an instrument designed for quick and smooth collection of tax due to the authorities from the taxpayer. The objective of TDS could be said, in general, to be maximization of revenue collection while minimizing the cost of collection. This approach is generally followed in B2B transaction where the purchaser has to pay the government a certain percentage of amounts directly after deducting the said amount from the purchase consideration. The Government has introduced this method to reduce the cost of collection. But the cost which is reduced for the government is imposed on such businesses who are a mere third party to the transaction, a medium between tax-payee and the government. The government has two agencies for tax collection, one being designated tax officers from the government and the other being private tax deductors. The former is paid for his services rendered to the government while the latter receives no such remuneration; however, the latter can be penalized in forms of fine, punishment for negligence or some other error which is not the case with the former. There is a possible and substantial violation of Article 14. Moreover, Article 23 of the Indian Constitution forbids any kind of Bonded / Forced Labour on Indian people. Which makes us think, whether payment of tax on behalf of the other party comes under the ambit of forced labour? Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the scope of TDS provisions under the Income Tax Act, 1960 in light of Article 14 and Article 23, in order to further investigate the Constitutionality of the provisions and taxation procedure as a whole.

Restorative Justice-Based Law Formulation on Corruption Case: A Philosophical Analytic

In Indonesia, corruption has been going on for a long time. It has touched almost all sectors of societal life. So far, there are already efforts to eradicate the act of corruption, though they are working very slowly. There are inadequate legal instruments to eradicate corruption. Thus, to resolve this, the restorative justice philosophy should be applied. The restorative justice approach is not impossible to be applied in punishing corruption perpetrators in Indonesia. The research problem of this paper is: How is the application of restorative justice as an implementation of the ultimum remedium in the effort to recover state financial assets as a method to punish corruption perpetrators? This was normative legal research with philosophical and conceptual approaches. Results show that the application of restorative justice as an implementation of ultimum remedium to return state financial assets to punish corruption perpetrators may be implemented by strengthening norms on returning state losses. This can be carried out by changing the sanction of fines from an additional sanction into a principal sanction. Then, to anticipate perpetrators who cannot repay those losses, the concept of forced labor may be applied to punish corruption perpetrators.

The muddled governance of state-imposed forced labour: multinational corporations, states, and cotton from China and Uzbekistan

ABSTRACT Forced labour persists in our global economy despite dedicated attention and eradication efforts from both the public and private sectors. Given the bounded reach and lack of enforcement by states and international organisations, the private sector has been the linchpin for eradication of forced labour globally. Utilising the brand-to-state boomerang model, this paper examines state-imposed forced labour in cotton production in China and Uzbekistan, and grapples with how interests – those of the states and the multinational corporations involved in forced labour – shape private governance outcomes. By investigating state-imposed forced labour in China (specifically, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) and Uzbekistan, we find that multinational corporations are reluctant to work towards eradicating forced labour when their net sales and profit are threatened by doing so. Building on the stream of international political economy research regarding how interests complicate governance effectiveness, we expose a gap in the literature on the impact of state-imposed forced labour on governance outcomes and illuminate global ramifications.

The Transition to Free Labour in Puerto Rico: Class, Race and Politics in a Nineteenth-Century Colony

AbstractThis article analyses the abolition of slavery and the transition to free labour in late nineteenth-century Puerto Rico, seeking to understand the terms and timing of Puerto Rican abolition and the nature of society in its wake. Especially important in Puerto Rico, it argues, was the intertwined nature of slavery and other forms of forced labour as well as the predominance of foreign merchants and planters in the island's economy, which created multi-class alliances between working-class Puerto Ricans and creole elites. These class dynamics interacted with events in the metropole to influence the terms of labour on the island.

A merely national ‘universal’ basic income and global justice

A merely national ‘universal’ basic income and global justice