Title: Suriname Rechtsinstituut

URL: https://www.sris.sr/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Slavery-Convention.pdf

Content:
Verdrag inzake de slavernij, Genève, 25-09-1926
SLAVERY CONVENTION.
Albania, Germany, Austria, Belgium, the British Empire, Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia, the
Union of South Africa, the Dominion of New Zealand, and India, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Cuba,
Denmark, Spain, Estonia, Abyssinia, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Liberia, Lithuania,
Norway, Panama, the Netherlands, Persia, Poland, Portugal, Roumania, the Kingdom of the Serbs,
Croats and Slovenes, Sweden, Czechoslovakia and Uruguay,
Whereas the signatories of the General Act of the Brussels Conference of 1889-90 declared that they
were equally animated by the firm intention of putting an end to the traffic in African slaves;
Whereas the signatories of the Convention of Saint Germain-en-Laye of 1919 to revise the General
Act of Berlin of 1885 and the General Act and Declaration of Brussels of 1890 affirmed their intention
of securing the complete suppression of slavery in all its forms and of the slave trade by land and sea;
Taking into consideration the report of the Temporary Slavery Commission appointed by the Council
of the League of Nations on June 12th, 1924;
Desiring to complete and extend the work accomplished under the Brussels Act and to find a means
of giving practical effect throughout the world to such intentions as were expressed in regard to slave
trade and slavery by the signatories of the Convention of Saint Germain-en-Laye, and recognising
that it is necessary to conclude to that end more detailed arrangements than are contained in that
Convention;
Considering, moreover, that it is necessary to prevent forced labour from developing into conditions
analogous to slavery;
Have decided to conclude a Convention and have accordingly appointed as their Plenipotentiaries:
*
*
*

*

*

*

*
*
*
*

The President of the Supreme Council of Albania:
Dr. D. DINO, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to His Majesty the King of Italy.
The President of the German Reich:
Dr. Carl VON SCHUBERT, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The President of the Federal Austrian Republic:
M. Emerich VON PFLÜGL, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary; Representative
of the Federal Government accredited to the League of Nations.
His Majesty the King of the Belgians:
M. L. DE BROUCKÈRE, Member of the Senate, First Delegate of Belgium to the Seventh
Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the League of Nations.
His Majesty the King of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British
Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India:
The Right Honourable Viscount CECIL OF CHELWOOD, K.C., Chancellor of the Duchy of
Lancaster.
For the Dominion of Canada:
The Right Honourable Sir George E. FOSTER, G.C.M.G., P.C., L.L.D., Senator, Member of
the King's Privy Council for Canada.
For the Commonwealth of Australia:
The Honourable J.G. LATHAM, C.M.G., K.C., M.P., Attorney-General of the Commonwealth.
For the Union of South Africa:
Mr. Jacobus Stephanus SMIT, High Commissioner of the Union in London.
For the Dominion of New Zealand:
The Honourable Sir James PARR, K.C.M.G., High Commissioner in London.
And for India:
Sir William Henry Hoare VINCENT, G.C.I.E., K.C.S.I., Member of the council of the Secretary
of State for India, former Member of the Executive Council of the Governor-General of India.

*

*
*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*
*

*

*
*

*
*

*

His Majesty the King of the Bulgarians:
M.D. MIKOFF, Chargé d'Affaires at Berne, Permanent representative of the Bulgarian
Government accredited to the League of Nations.
The Chief Executive of the Chinese Republic:
M. CHAO-HSIN CHU, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Rome.
The President of the Republic of Colombia:
Dr. Francisco José URRUTIA, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Swiss
Federal Council, Representative of Colombia on the Council of the League of Nations.
The President of the Republic of Cuba:
M. A. DE AGÜERO Y BETHANCOURT, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to
the President of the German Reich and to the President of the Austrian Federal Republic.
His Majesty the King of Denmark and Iceland:
M. Herluf ZAHLE, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the President of the
German Reich.
His Majesty the King of Spain:
M. M. Lopez RORERTS, Marquis DE LA TORREHERMOSA, Envoy Extraordinary and
Minister Plenipotentiary to the Swiss Federal Council.
The President of the Estonian Republic:
General Johan LAIDONER, Member of Parliament, President of the Committee for Foreign
Affairs and National Defence.
Her Majesty the Empress and Queen of the Kings of Abyssinia and His Imperial and Royal
Highness the Prince Regent and Heir to the Throne:
Dedjazmatch GUETATCHOU, Minister of the Interior;
Lidj Makonnen ENDELKATCHOU;
Kentiba GEBROU;
Ato TASFAE, Secretary of the Imperial League of Nations Department at Addis-Abeba.
The President of the Republic of Finland:
M. Rafael W. ERICH, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Swiss Federal
Council, Permanent Delegate of Finland accredited to the League of Nations.
The President of the French Republic:
Count B. CLAUZEL, Minister Plenipotentiary, Head of the French League of Nation
Department.
The President of the Hellenic Republic:
M. D. CACLAMANOS, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to His Britannic
Majesty.
M. V. DENDRAMIS, Chargé d'Affaires at Berne, Permanent Delegate accredited to the
League of Nations.
His Majesty the King of Italy:
Professor Vittorio SCIALOJA, Minister of State, Senator, Representative of Italy on the Council
of the League of Nations.
The President of the Republic of Latvia:
M. Charles DUZMANS, Permanent Representative accredited to the League of Nations.
The President of the Republic of Liberia:
Baron Rodolphe A. LEHMANN, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the
President of the French Republic, Permanent Delegate accredited to the League of Nations.
The President of the Republic of Lithuania:
M. V. SIDZIKAUSKAS, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the President of
the German Reich. Permanent Delegate accredited to the League of Nations.
His Majesty the King of Norway:
Dr. Fridtjof NANSEN, Professor at the University of Oslo.
The President of the Republic of Panama:
Dr. Eusebio A. MORALES, Professor of Law at the Panama National Faculty, Finance
Minister.
Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands:
Jonkheer W. F. VAN LENNEP, Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of the Netherlands at Berne.
His Majesty the Emperor of Persia:
His Highness Prince ARFA, Ambassador, Delegate of Persia accredited to the League of
Nations.
The President of the Polish Republic:
M. Auguste ZALESKI, Minister for Foreign Affairs.

*

*

*

*

*

*

The President of the Republic of Portugal:
Dr. A. DE VASCONCELLOS, Minister Plenipotentiary, in charge of the League of Nations
Department at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
His Majesty the King of Roumania:
M. N. TITULESCO, Professor at the University of Bucharest, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary to His Britannic Majesty, Reprensentative of Roumania on the Council of the
League of Nations.
His Majesty the King of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes:
Dr. M. JOVANOVITCH, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Swiss Federal
Council, Permanent Delegate accredited to the League of Nations.
His Majesty the King of Sweden:
M. Einar HENNINGS, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Swiss Federal
Council.
The President of the Czechoslovak Republic:
M. Ferdinand VEVERKA, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Swiss
Federal Council.
The President of the Republic of Uruguay:
M. B. FERNANDEZ Y MEDINA, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to His
Majesty the King of Spain.

Who, having communicated their full powers, have agreed as follows:
Article 1
For the purpose of the present Convention, the following definitions are agreed upon:
1. Slavery is the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to
the right of ownership are exercised.
2. The slave trade includes all acts involved in the capture, acquisition or disposal of a person
with intent to reduce him to slavery; all acts involved in the acquisition of a slave with a view to
selling or exchanging him; all acts of disposal by sale or exchange of a slave acquired with a
view to being sold or exchanged, and, in general, every act of trade or transport in slaves.
Article 2
The High Contracting Parties undertake, each in respect of the territories placed under its
sovereignty, jurisdiction, protection, suzerainty or tutelage, so far as they have not already taken the
necessary steps:
(a) To prevent and suppress the slave trade;
(b) To bring about, progressively and as soon as possible, the complete abolition of slavery in all
its forms.
Article 3
The High Contracting Parties undertake to adopt all appropriate measures with a view to preventing
and suppressing the embarkation, disembarkation and transport of slaves in their territorial waters
and upon all vessels flying their respective flags.
The High Contracting Parties undertake to negotiate as soon as possible a general Convention with
regard to the slave trade which will give them rights and impose upon them duties of the same nature
as those provided for in the Convention of June 17th, 1925, relative to the International Trade in Arms
(Articles 12, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, and paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 of Section II of Annex II) with the
necessary adaptations, it being understood that this general Convention will not place the ships (even
of small tonnage) of any High Contracting Parties in a position different from that of the other High
Contracting Parties.
It is also understood that, before or after the coming into force of this general Convention, the High
Contracting Parties are entirely free to conclude between themselves, without, however, derogating
from the principles laid down in the preceding paragraph, such special agreements as, by reason of
their peculiar situation, might appear to be suitable in order to bring about as soon as possible the
complete disappearance of the slave trade.

Article 4
The High Contracting Parties shall give to one another every assistance with the object of securing
the abolition of slavery and the slave trade.
Article 5
The High Contracting Parties recognise that recourse to compulsory or forced labour may have grave
consequences and undertake, each in respect of the territories placed under its sovereignty,
jurisdiction, protection, suzerainty or tutelage, to take all necessary measures to prevent compulsory
or forced labour from developing into conditions analogous to slavery.
It is agreed that:
(1) Subject to the transitional provisions laid down in paragraph (2) below, compulsory or forced
labour may only be exacted for public purposes.
(2) In territories in which compulsory or forced labour for other than public purposes still survives,
the High Contracting Parties shall endeavour progressively and as soon as possible to put an
end to the practice. So long as such forced or compulsory labour exists, this labour shall
invariably be of an exceptional character, shall always receive adequate remuneration, and
shall not involve the removal of the labourers from their usual place of residence.
(3) In all cases, the responsibility for any recourse to compulsory or forced labour shall rest with
the competent central authorities of the territory concerned.
Article 6
Those of the High Contracting Parties whose laws do not at present make adequate provision for the
punishment of infractions of laws and regulations enacted with a view to giving effect to the purposes
of the present Convention undertake to adopt the necessary measures in order that severe penalties
may be imposed in respect of such infractions.
Article 7
The High Contracting Parties undertake to communicate to each other and to the Secretary-General
of the United Nations any laws and regulations which they may enact with a view to the application of
the provisions of the present Convention.
Article 8
The High Contracting Parties agree that disputes arising between them relating to the interpretation or
application of this Convention shall, if they cannot be settled by direct negotiation, be referred for
decision to the International Court of Justice. In case either or both of the States Parties to such a
dispute should not be parties to the Statute of the International Court of Justice, the dispute shall be
referred, at the choice of the Parties and in accordance with the constitutional procedure of each
State, either to the International Court of Justice or to a court of arbitration constituted in accordance
with the Convention of October 18th, 1907, for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, or to
some other court of arbitration.
Article 9
At the time of signature or of ratification or of accession, any High Contracting Party may declare that
its acceptance of the present Convention does not bind some or all of the territories placed under its
sovereignty, jurisdiction, protection, suzerainty or tutelage in respect of all or any provisions of the
Convention; it may subsequently accede separately on behalf of any one of them or in respect of any
provision to which any one of them is not a party.
Article 10
In the event of a High Contracting Party wishing to denounce the present Convention, the
denunciation shall be notified in writing to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who will at
once communicate a certified true copy of the notification to all the other High Contracting Parties

informing them of the date on which it was received.
The denunciation shall only have effect in regard to the notifying State, and one year after the
notification has reached the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Denunciation may also be made separately in respect of any territory placed under its sovereignty,
jurisdiction, protection, suzerainty or tutelage.
Article 11
The present Convention, which will bear this day's date and of which the French and English texts are
both authentic, will remain open for signature by the States Members of the League of Nations until
April 1st, 1927.
The present Convention shall be open to accession by all States, including States which are not
Members of the United Nations, to which the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall have
communicated a certified copy of the Convention.
Accession shall be effected by the deposit of a formal instrument with the Secretary-General of the
United Nations, who shall give notice thereof to all States Parties to the Convention and to all other
States contemplated in the present article, informing them of the date on which each such instrument
of accession was received in deposit.
Article 12
The present Convention will be ratified and the instruments of ratification shall be deposited in the
office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Secretary-General will inform all the High
Contracting Parties of such deposit.
The Convention will come into operation for each State on the date of the deposit of its ratification or
of its accession.
In faith whereof the Plenipotentiaries have signed the present Convention.
DONE at Geneva the twenty-fifth day of September, one thousand nine hundred and twenty-six, in
one copy, which will be deposited in the archives of the League of Nations. A certified copy shall be
forwarded to each signatory State.