‘Slavery is not a crime in almost half the countries in the world, a study of global laws said on Wednesday, urging nations to close legal loopholes that allow abusers to escape punishment.
Many states lack laws which directly criminalise and punish exerting ownership or control over another person, according to the Antislavery in Domestic Legislation database, launched at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
‘Slavery is far from being illegal everywhere and we hope our research will move the conversation beyond this popular myth,’ said Katarina Schwarz, a researcher at the University of Nottingham’s Rights Lab, which led work on the slavery database.
‘It will surprise many people to learn that in all of these countries there are no criminal laws in place to prosecute, convict and punish people for subjecting people to the most extreme forms of exploitation.’
Read more: Slavery is not a crime in nearly half the countries in the world, study finds
