Slavery

[Jonathan Buhacoff]

Proposal:

Prohibit the practice of slavery.

The government shall actively work to identify and disband slavery operations and to free slaves.

Intent:

To protect the liberty of people who were forced or born into slavery.

Discussion:

Slavery is a mode of oppression.

Slavery and imprisonment are the opposite of liberty. However, while imprisonment is used as a lawful consequence for causing harm in violation of rights or law, slavery is never acceptable.

The collection of rights and liberties described in these forums preclude the possibility of slavery in a society that adopts those rights and liberties. However, legislature should still enact laws that specifically prohibit and sets punishments for slavery and human trafficking.

A listing of some of the rights that individually and collectively preclude the tolerance of slavery:

* Right to life
* Right to consent
* Right to dignity
* Right to travel
* Right to property
* Right to petition
* Right to defense
* Right to peaceful assembly
* Right to honest and peaceful communication
* Right to equal opportunity
* Right to fair trial
* Right to justice
* Right to parental control
* Right to education

Because anyone observing or aware of a violation of rights has the obligation to intervene to defend the victim and standing to sue on behalf of the victim, and because violation of rights is a criminal offense, everyone is empowered to abolish slavery and the slave trade.

Note that the prohibition on slavery refers to actual slavery only. It does not prohibit depiction of slavery in entertainment or literature. People have a liberty to choose to produce or read or watch or participate in any such work or activity that includes depictions of slavery, and they have a liberty to choose not to do that. We don’t prohibit the depiction of something simply because it is offensive to some people, because they can choose not to have that in their lives.

Comparison to the United Nations:

Article 3 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.”

Article 4 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.”

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