Heiner Fechner, who is a postdoctoral researcher in the CRC project A03 "Worlds of Labour", has been appointed "National Rapporteur" on the topic of modern slavery. Fechner is to prepare the national report for Germany for the International Academy for Comparative Law (IACL).
According to estimates by the ILO and the Walk Free Foundation (2017), around 40 million people worldwide are currently victims of modern slavery, which also includes forced labour including forced prostitution and forced marriages - more than during the peak of the colonial slave economy in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The appointment by the IACL's "General Rapporteur" on modern slavery, Prof. Dr. Adelle Blackett (Uni McGill, Montreal), was prompted by Fechner's research on colonial labour law and exclusion ("legal segmentation") within the CRC 1342.
Exclusionary and coercive elements of German colonial labour law, including its reception and further development by the Nazi regime, will also be a focus of the study to be presented at the IACL Congress in Paraguay in autumn 2022. A comparison of the development of German law with 26 other states is on the agenda for that event.
The analysis of the historical roots of modern slavery is to be made fruitful for a critical discussion of the current legal situation and reform proposals. The publication of the analyses and proposals is expected in 2023.
Contact:
Dr. Heiner Fechner
CRC 1342: Global Dynamics of Social Policy
Mary-Somerville-Straße 7
28359 Bremen
Phone: +49-421-218-57070
E-Mail: hfechner@uni-bremen.de
