Tracking the Implementation Gap
is needed most. 24 Heather Smith-Cannoy further observes that although
‘governments are quite willing to sign their names on the dotted line and send
human rights treaties through the domestic ratification process, this readiness to
commit has not yet translated into improved respect for human rights’. 25
Importantly, the mechanisms of enforcement and compliance are significantly
distinct in the context of human rights compared with, for instance, international
investment law. 26 States themselves have less incentive to enforce compliance
with human rights law where violations have no tangible connection to their own
interests or citizens (as is often the case).
The fundamental and jus cogens nature of the prohibition against slavery speaks
to an increased impetus for domestic action implementing states’ international
commitments. Yet, only half of all states have enacted domestic criminal
prohibition. In fact, across the five extreme forms of human exploitation
considered, there is no statistically significant correlation between international
obligations and domestic action. In other words, signing up to an international
treaty on the subject does not make a state (statistically) more likely to enact
domestic legislation giving effect to its obligations under that treaty (see Figure
4). 27 This does not imply that treaty ratification does not influence particular states
in enacting and reforming domestic provisions prohibiting exploitation. Rather, it
demands closer consideration of each state, to consider the factors contributing to,
and inhibiting domestic legislative action.
Slavery
Servitude
Practices similar to slavery
Forced Labour
Human trafficking
0%
All States
10%
20%
30%
40%
States without obligations
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
States with obligations
Figure 4. Proportion of states with domestic provisions by treaty obligations.
24
25
26
27
Emilie Hafner-Burton and Kiyoteru Tsutsui, ‘Justice Lost! The Failure of International
Human Rights Law to Matter Where Needed Most’ (2007) 44(4) Journal of Peace Research
407.
Heather Smith-Cannoy, Insincere Commitments: Human Rights Treaties, Abusive States, and
Citizen Activism (Georgetown University Press 2012) 1.
Oona Hathaway, ‘Do Human Rights Treaties Make a Difference?’ (2002) 111(8) The Yale
Law Journal 1935, 1938.
Schwarz and Allain (n 6) 13.
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