Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery

The United Nations adopted the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery on September 7, 1956. It builds upon the Slavery Convention of 1926. This Convention came into force on April 30, 1957. It currently has 36 signatories, and 124 Parties have ratified it. (Signatories are qualified to ratify, accept or approve a treaty. Ratification is an ‘international act’ whereby a State indicates its consent to be bound to a treaty.) India signed the Convention on September 7, 1956, and ratified it on June 23, 1960. In its Preamble, the Convention reiterates Article 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that “No one can be held in slavery and servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.” It acknowledges the continuing existence of practices similar to slavery and aims to “intensify national as well as international efforts towards the abolition of slavery, the slave trade and institutions and practices similar to slavery.” The 15 articles of the Convention are arranged across six sections. Articles 1-2 (Section I) cover various institutions and practices that are similar to slavery and fall under the purview of this convention...