UN Special Rapporteur To Evaluate Labour Conditions During His First Visit To Sri Lanka

25-11-2021

Sarah Thanawala

Sri Lanka and Human Rights Researcher, 

Global Human Rights Defence.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, Tomoya Obokata, is stated to make his first visit to Sri Lanka from 26 November 2021 to 3 December 2021 (Colombo Gazette, 2021). The Special Rapporteur will make his evaluation in respect of Sri Lanka’s commitments to achieve target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (Colombo Gazette, 2021). Particularly, the labour conditions in various economic sectors, such as the garment industry, the tea plantations, tourism, and domestic work will be examined (Colombo Gazette, 2021). Notably, as per the Human Rights Council Resolution 42/10, the Special Rapporteur is mandated to promote the application of international law on slavery, request information, recommend measures and remedies, and focus on other aspects of contemporary forms of slavery (OHCHR). The Special Rapporteur’s visit is paramount and called for, especially considering the recent worsening of working conditions at garment plants on account of the Covid-19 crisis (World Socialist Web Site, 2020). A comprehensive report of the visit will be presented at the 51st Session of the Human Rights Council in September 2022 (Colombo Gazette, 2021). 

Sources and further reading:

Colombo Gazette (2021, November 24). UN expert to visit Sri Lanka to assess contemporary forms of slavery. https://colombogazette.com/2021/11/24/un-expert-to-visit-sri-lanka-to-assess-contemporary-forms-of-slavery/ 

OHCHR. Overview of the mandate. https://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/slavery/srslavery/pages/overviewmandate.aspx , accessed on 25 November 2021. 

World Socialist Web Site (2020, May 16). Worsening conditions at Hirdaramani garment plants in Sri Lanka. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/16/sril-m16.html