From 2016-2020, CPA UK delivered a four-year project, funded by the UK Government, providing practical advice and support to Commonwealth legislatures in the pursuit of combatting modern slavery, human trafficking and forced labour.

While the project came to an end in March 2020, CPA UK will continue to build on the successes of the project through continued work with Commonwealth parliamentarians and officials, exchanging learning and sharing good practice to develop and strengthen modern slavery-related legislation across their jurisdictions.

REGIONAL WORKSHOPS ON ROLE OF COMMITTEES

Parliamentarians from Asia-Pacific and Africa participated in regional workshops organised by CPA UK, in partnership with the Parliament of Western Australia and the Parliament of Ghana.

The workshops were an opportunity for parliamentarians to exchange ideas around their role in gathering evidence and research; scrutinising antitrafficking policy and legislation; and oversight of the implementation of antitrafficking laws. Participants were at the forefront of strengthening legislation and raising awareness of these issues at local, national and international level.

The workshops highlighted the issues of football trafficking and orphanage trafficking, with MPs holding public inquiries looking into these practices and how they could address them going forward.

LAUNCH OF e-HANDBOOK

As part of the Modern Slavery Project, CPA UK launched the second volume of the e-Handbook on Legislating against Modern Slavery, Human Trafficking & Forced Labour, which is a comprehensive resource for parliamentarians and parliamentary officials on legislating effectively against modern slavery-related crimes.

The first volume, published in 2018, looked in detail at the process of reviewing and strengthening legislation from gaining cross-party support to drafting a bill itself. Urmila Bhoola, UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery (2014-2020), described it as “the most comprehensive, insightful and practical guide that exists in its field.”

Recognising that modern slavery-related crimes are ever evolving - and with growing global awareness - CPA UK has produced a second volume of the e-Handbook titled Legislating against Modern Slavery, Human Trafficking & Forced Labour: The Role of Parliament to Scrutinise and Raise Awareness, which takes into account emerging trends in addressing modern slavery, human trafficking and forced labour. The resource covers themes such as good practice for parliamentary committees and evidence hearings; the importance of raising awareness in parliament and constituencies; and the role of the media in combatting these heinous crimes.

“The Modern Slavery Project has been ground-breaking in that it has had the significant impact of educating, supporting and transforming not only the parliamentarians involved in the Project but the lives of millions of constituents across the world who are being protected from the atrocity of modern slavery. Its import will be evident for generations to come.”

- R. Evon Idahosa, Human Rights Lawyer and Founder of Pathfinders Justice Initiative

In Focus: Uganda