ARTICLE 10

The English and French versions of the text of this Convention are equally authoritative.

The foregoing is the authentic text of the Convention duly adopted by the General Conference of the International Labour Organisation during its Fortieth Session which was held at Geneva and declared closed the twenty-seventh day of June 1957.

IN FAITH WHEREOF we have appended our signatures this fourth day of July 1957.

The President of the Conference,

HAROLD HOLT.

The Director-General of the International Labour Office,

DAVID A. MORSE.

The text of the Convention as here presented is a true copy of the text authenticated by the signatures of the President of the International Labour Conference and of the Director-General of the International Labour Office. Certified true and complete copy.

For the Director-General of the International Labour Office:

FRANCIS WOLF,

Legal Adviser of the International Labour Office.

[Ex. L, 88th Cong., 1st sess.]

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TRANSMITTING THE SUPPLEMENTARY CONVENTION ON THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY, THE SLAVE TRADE, and INSTITUTIONS AND PRACTICES SIMILAR TO SLAVERY, SIGNED AT GENEVA SEPTEMBER 7, 1956

To the Senate of the United States:

THE WHITE HOUSE, July 22, 1963.

With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to accession, I transmit herewith the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, which was signed at Geneva on September 7, 1956, in behalf of certain governments, but not the Government of the United States of America.

I transmit also, for the information of the Senate, the report of the Secretary of State with respect to the convention.

JOHN F. KENNEDY. (Enclosures: (1) Report of the Secretary of State, (2) certified copy of the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, signed at Geneva September 7, 1956.)

THE PRESIDENT,
The White House:

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

July 18, 1963.

I have the honor to lay before the President, with a view to its transmission to the Senate for the advice and consent of that body to accession, if the President approve thereof, a certified copy of the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, which was signed at Geneva on September 7, 1956, by the respective plenipotentiaries of certain governments and which entered into force on April 30, 1957, in accordance with article 13 thereof.

At the present time the following countries are parties to the convention: Albania, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Cambodia, Canada, Ceylon, the Republic of China, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Federation of Malaya, Finland, Federal Republic of Germany, Ghana, Haiti, Hungary, India, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Rumania, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Sweden, Syria, Tanganyika, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Union of Soviet Socialist Republic, United Arab Republic, United Kingdom, and Yugoslavia.

The convention was formulated at the United Nations Conference of Plenipotentiaries convened by the Economic and Social Council by resolution adopted on April 30, 1956. The Conference met at the European Office of the United Nations in Geneva from August 13 to September 4, 1956. Fifty-one governments were represented at the Conference by plenipotentiaries and eight were represented by observers. The International Labor Organization was represented at the Conference. Twelve nongovernmental organizations in consultative relationship with the Economic and Social Council were represented with the right to submit written or oral statements. The United States was represented at the Conference but its representative did not sign the convention.

In 1945, the United Nations General Assembly requested the Economic and Social Council to study the question of slavery. A committee was appointed which met in several sessions and considered the problem. It considered that although slavery of the classical kind was lessening, there was need for further action to eliminate forms of servitude, not called slavery but leading to a similar result, which still affect large numbers of people. Among these types of servitude are debt bondage, serfdom, the physical transfer of women without their consent, and abuses arising from adoption of children at an early age. The committee urged that these servitudes should equally be the concern of the international community and recommended that a supplementary convention be prepared and adopted covering these practices. The Council considered the committee's report and in 1953 asked the Secretary General to consult governments on the desirability of such a supplementary convention.

During the debate in October 1953 in the General Assembly's Legal Committee, when the enactment of a protocol transferring to the United Nations the functions undertaken by the League of Nations under the 1926 convention to suppress the slave trade and slavery (46 Stat. 2183; Treaty Series 778) was under discussion, the feeling was expressed by a number of governments that the 1926 convention was inadequate.

By 1955 the Economic and Social Council had before it a report of available information on slavery which contained sufficient evidence that practices akin to slavery existed in various areas of the world. Thereupon the Council established a 10-member committee to prepare a draft convention. In February 1956 the committee uanimously adopted a draft convention to supplement the 1926 slavery convention. The draft convention was considered at the United Nations Plenipotentiary Conference, was adopted on September 4, 1956, and was opened for signature on September 7, 1956.

The purpose of the convention is to supplement the 1926 slavery convention, to which the United States is a party, by dealing with conditions akin to slavery. The convention contains, in addition to the preamble, 15 articles grouped under 6 sections.

Section I. "Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery," requires States parties to take all practicable and necessary legislative and other measures to bring about progressively and as soon as possible the complete abolition of debt bondage, serfdom, involuntary marriage or transfer of women for consideration in money or in kind, transfer of widows as inherited property, and exploitation of children (art. 1). With a view to ending the abuse through involuntary marriage, States are required to prescribe, where appropriate, suitable minimum ages of marriage and to encourage facilities for consent to marriage and registration of marriages (art. 2).

Section II, "The Slave Trade," provides that the act of conveying or attempting to convey slaves from one country to another by any means of transport shall be a criminal offense under the laws of States parties to the Convention (art. 3), and that any slave who takes refuge on board any vessel of a party to the Convention shall ipso facto be free (art. 4).

Section III ("Slavery and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery") provides that the act of mutilating, branding, or marking a slave or person of servile status, in a country where the abolition or abandonment of slavery or institutions or practices mentioned in article 1 of the convention are not yet complete, shall be a criminal offense (art. 5). The act of enslaving or inducing another person into slavery or attempting these acts, or being an accessory thereto, or being a party to a conspiracy to accomplish such acts shall also be a criminal offense under the laws of states parties to the convention (art. 6).

Section IV ("Definitions") defines the meaning of the terms used in the convention (art. 7).

Section V ("Cooperation Between States Parties and Communication of Information") requires that states undertake to cooperate with each other and the United Nations to give effect to the provisions of the convention and to communicate to the Secretary General of the United Nations copies of any laws, regulations, and administrative measures enacted to put into effect and to implement the provisions thereof (art. 8).

Section VI ("Final Clauses") provides that no reservations may be made (art. 9) and that any dispute between parties relating to interpretation or application not settled by negotiation shall be referred to the International Court of Justice unless the parties agree to another mode of settlement (art. 10). Articles 11-14 state the requirements for ratification or accession, and application to non-self-governing territories (arts. 11 and 12). The convention enters into force on the date two states become parties, and subsequently enters into force with respect to each state or territory upon deposit of an instrument of ratification or accession (art. 13). The duration of the convention is divided into successive 3-year periods, beginning on the date of entry into force, and notice of denunciation by any State is to be addressed to the Secretary General not less than 6 months before the expiration of the current 3-year period, such denunciation to take effect at the expiration of that 3-year period (art. 14).

The substance of this convention lies within the Federal power and no substantial legal questions are involved inasmuch as slavery through such practices is already forbidden in the United States under Federal and State laws. The Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior have expressed the view that the 13th amendment to the Constitution and existing Federal legislaion are sufficient to meet the objectives and requirements of the convention. In addition, laws already existing in the States and territories are regarded as satisfying the requirements of article 2 calling for prescription of minimum age and other marriage standards where appropriate.

It is hoped that the convention will be given early and favorable consideration by the Senate.

Respectfully submitted.

DEAN RUSK. SUPPLEMENTARY CONVENTION ON THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY, THE SLAVE TRADE, AND INSTITUTIONS AND PRACTICES SIMILAR TO SLAVERY

PREAMBLE

The States Parties to the present Convention

Considering that freedom is the birthright of every human being;

Mindful that the peoples of the United Nations reaffirmed in the Charter their faith in the dignity and worth of the human person;

Considering that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, states that no one shall be held in slavery or servitude and that slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms;

Recognizing that, since the conclusion of the Slavery Convention signed at Geneva on 25 September 1926, which was designed to secure the abolition of slavery and of the slave trade, further progress has been made towards this end;

Having regard to the Forced Labour Convention of 1930 and to subsequent action by the International Labour Organisation in regard to forced or compulsory labour;

Being aware, however, that slavery, the slave trade and institutions and practices similar to slavery have not yet been eliminated in all parts of the world;

Having decided, therefore, that the Convention of 1926, which remains operative, should not be augmented by the conclusion of a supplementary convention designed to intensify national as well as international efforts towards the abolition of slavery, the slave trade and institutions and practices similar to slavery;

Have agreed as follows:

75-719-67-2

SECTION I

INSTITUTIONS AND PRACTICES SIMILAR TO SLAVERY

ARTICLE 1

Each of the States Parties to this Convention shall take all practicable and necessary legislative and other measures to bring about progressively and as soon as possible the complete abolition or abandonment of the following institutions and practices, where they still exist and whether or not they are covered by the definition of slavery contained in article 1 of the Slavery Convention signed at Geneva on 25 September 1926:

(a) Debt bondage, that is to say, the status or condition arising from a pledge by a debtor of his personal services or of those of a person under his control as security for a debt, if the value of those services as reasonably assessed is not applied towards the liquidation of the debt or the length and nature of those services are not respectively limited and defined;

(b) Serfdom, that is to say, the condition or status of a tenant who is by law, custom or agreement bound to live and labour on land belonging to another person and to render some determinate service to such other person, whether for reward or not, and is not free to change his status;

(c) Any institution or practice whereby :

(i) A woman, without the right to refuse, is promised or given in marriage on payment of a consideration in money or in kind to her parents, guardian, family or any other person or group; or

(ii) The husband of a woman, his family, or his clan, has the right to transfer her to another person for value received or otherwise; or

(iii) A woman on the death of her husband is liable to be inherited by another person;

(d) Any institution or practice whereby a child or young person under the age of 18 years is delivered by either or both of his natural parents or by his guardian to another person, whether for reward or not, with a view to the exploitation of the child or young person or of his labour.

ARTICLE 2

With a view to bringing to an end the institutions and practices mentioned in article 1(c) of this Convention, the States Parties undertake to prescribe, where appropriate, suitable minimum ages of marriage, to encourage the use of facilities whereby the consent of both parties to a marriage may be freely expressed in the presence of a competent civil or religious authority, and to encourage the registration of marriages.

SECTION II

THE SLAVE TRADE

ARTICLE 3

1. The act of conveying or attempting to convey slaves from one country to another by whatever means of transport, or of being accessory thereto, shall be a criminal offence under the laws of the States Parties to this Convention and persons convicted thereof shall be liable to very severe penalties.

2. (a) The States Parties shall take all effective measures to prevent ships and aircraft authorized to fly their flags from conveying slaves and to punish persons guilty of such acts or of using national flags for that purpose.

(b) The States Parties shall take all effective measures to ensure that their ports, airfields and coasts are not used for the conveyance of slaves.

3. The State Parties to this Convention shall exchange information in order to ensure the practical co-ordination of the measures taken by them in combating the slave trade and shall inform each other of every case of the slave trade, and of every attempt to commit this criminal offence, which comes to their notice.

ARTICLE 4

Any slave who takes refuge on board any vessel of a State Party to this Convention shall ipso facto be free.

SECTION III

SLAVERY AND INSTITUTIONS AND PRACTICES SIMILAR TO SLAVERY

ARTICLE 5

In a country where the abolition or abandonment of slavery, or of the institutions or practices mentioned in article 1 of this Convention, is not yet complete, the act of mutilating, branding or otherwise marking a slave or a person of servile status in order to indicate his status, or as a punishment, or for any other reason, or of being accessory thereto, shall be a criminal offence under the laws of the States Parties to this Convention and persons convicted thereof shall be liable to punishment.

ARTICLE 6

1. The act of enslaving another person or of inducing another person to give himself or a person dependent upon him into slavery, or of attempting these acts, or being accessory thereto, or being a party to a conspiracy to accomplish any such acts, shall be a criminal offence under the laws of the States Parties to this Convention and persons convicted thereof shall be liable to punishment. 2. Subject to the provisions of the introductory paragraph of article 1 of this Convention, the provisions of paragraph 1 of the present article shall also apply to the act of inducing another person to place himself or a person dependent upon him into the servile status resulting from any of the institutions or practices mentioned in article 1, to any attempt to perform such acts, to bring accessory thereto, and to being a party to a conspiracy to accomplish any such

acts.

SECTION IV

DEFINITIONS

ARTICLE 7

For the purposes of the present Convention:

(a) "Slavery" means, as defined in the Slavery Convention of 1926, the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised, and "slave" means a person in such condition or status;

(b) "A person of servile status" means a person in the condition or status resulting from any of the institutions or practices mentioned in article 1 of this Convention;

(c) "Slave trade" means and includes all acts involved in the capture, acquisition or disposal of a person with intent to reduce him to slavery; all acts involved in the acqusition of a slave with a view to selling or exchanging him; all acts of disposal by sale or exchange of a person acquired with a view to being sold or exchanged; and, in general, every act of trade or transport in slaves by whatever means of conveyance.

SECTION V

CO-OPERATION BETWEEN STATES PARTIES AND COMMUNICATION OF INFORMATION

ARTICLE 8

1. The States Parties to this Convention undertake to co-operate with each other and with the United Nations to give effect to the foregoing provisions. 2. The Parties undertake to communicate to the Secretary-General of the United Nations copies of any laws, regulations and administrative measures enacted or put into effect to implement the provisions of this Convention.

3. The Secretary-General shall communicate the information received under paragraph 2 of this article to the other Parties and to the Economic and Social Council as part of the documentation for any discussion which the Council might undertake with a view to making further recommendations for the abolition of slavery, the slave trade or the institutions and practices which are the subject of this Convention.