UN expert on contemporary forms of slavery announces first official visit to El Salvador

GENEVA (15 April 2016) – United Nations Special Rapporteur Urmila Bhoola will visit El Salvador from 18 to 29 April 2016 to assess the extent to which contemporary forms of slavery, including child slavery, forced labour, bonded labour and other slavery-like practices continue to exist in the country.

“This visit will provide an opportunity for a productive exchange on the challenges faced by the Government in the context of an increase in forms of exploitation that amount to slavery in the world, as well as initiatives undertaken to address the issue in El Salvador,” said Ms. Bhoola ahead of her first official visit to the country.

The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery is mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor and report on issues such as forced labour, children working in slavery or slavery-like conditions, domestic servitude and sexual slavery.

“I am looking forward to engaging with Government and civil society to identify the prevalence of contemporary forms of slavery and assess policies and actions taken by the Salvadorian authorities Government to tackle this,” the human rights expert noted.

During the 12-day mission, which takes place at the invitation of the Government of El Salvador, Ms. Bhoola will also meet local authorities and the UN country team.

At the end of her visit, on Friday 29 April, the Special Rapporteur will hold a press conference at 12:00 noon at the UN premises (Boulevard Orden de Malta Sur, No.2.B Santa Elena, Antiguo Cuscatian, La Libertad) to share her preliminary observations. Access to the press conference is strictly limited to journalists.

Following the visit, the independent expert will present a report containing her conclusions and recommendations to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2016.

ENDS

Ms. Urmila Bhoola (South Africa) assumed her mandate as Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences on 2 June 2014. Ms. Bhoola is a human rights lawyer working in the Asia Pacific region on international human rights, gender equality and labour law. She has 20 years of experience as a labour and human rights lawyer in South Africa and served as a Judge of the South African Labour Court for five years. Learn more, log on to: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Slavery/SRSlavery/Pages/SRSlaveryIndex.aspx

The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

UN Human Rights, country page – El Salvador: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/LACRegion/Pages/SVIndex.aspx

For more information and media requests, please contact Ms. Eleanor Robb
In San Salvador (during the visit): +41 797 520481 / erobb@ohchr.org
In Geneva (before and after the visit): +41 22 917 9800 / erobb@ohchr.org
or write to srslavery@ohchr.org

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