Slavery

My Lords, I rise to support the noble Baroness, Lady Cox, and to assure her of the support of these Benches. Liverpool—whose 800th anniversary we celebrate next year in 2007, which is the same year as the bicentennial of the abolition of the slave trade—amassed much wealth through the trade in slaves and the culture of slavery. So I stand in ambivalent manner to make this speech today. One of the ships that sailed from Liverpool with human cargo was ironically and tragically named ““The Blessing””. How could a ship, which cursed the lives of so many, have borne such a name? How could decent men and women of only two centuries past have tolerated such a stain on their character? Did they not know of the abuse? Did they not possess any fellow human feeling? Did they not have the imagination to place themselves in the shoes, if they had them, of the slaves? We look back in this generation with incredulity on this so-called civilised era, but what will they say of us in 200 years’ time? What will they ask with equal disbelief about the stands we have taken or failed to take? Will they say, ““Did they not have the global media to tell them that according to the ILO179 million people are caught up in forced labour?””. Will they say, ““Did they not have the intelligence to know that 218 million children between the ages of five and 17 were engaged in some form of slave labour?””. Will they say of us, ““Did they not know that 2.4 million are victims of sexual trafficking?””. These statistics should shame our conscience, stir our compassion and fire our demand for justice. Although much of this happens in other parts of the world, victims of forced labour and sexual trafficking are also found in Europe, and even here in Britain. Furthermore, as Madeleine Bunting reported in the Guardian yesterday, there are an estimated half a million irregular migrants forced into cheap labour and servicing our own economy. The Government must know from this debate that these realities are simply unacceptable to this House and to all people of conscience. It is to the Government’s credit that they have brought in legislation to criminalise trafficking and to sign up to the Palermo protocol of 2000 to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking. But, in calling for papers for the eradication of contemporary slavery, we on these Benches urge, with the noble Lord,Lord Roberts of Llandudno, the Government to ratify the 2005 Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, which includes measures to protect and support victims of trafficking. The trade in slaves was abolished in the British Empire in 1807. Slavery itself was abolished in 1833. Tragically, it continues to affect millions of people around the world today. When the Bill to abolish the slave trade came before Parliament 200 years ago,it was thwarted many times by your Lordships’ predecessors. It was argued that such liberation of the slaves would bring economic disaster and even ruin the Empire. Perhaps we in our generation might atone for the sins of our fathers and send out a clear message that slavery ruins human life, and that if it goes unchallenged and unchecked it will diminish the humanity of us all.