Scarpa, Silvia
Loading...
Institutional profile
Silvia Scarpa is Chair of the Department of Political Science and International Affairs and Associate Professor of International Relations at John Cabot University. She is also a Visiting Research Fellow in International Law and Modern Slavery at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL). Professor Scarpa teaches courses on contemporary slavery and human trafficking, international law, international organizations, European Union law, human rights, and international migration.
4 results
Publication Search Results
Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
Publication An introduction to international human rights standards for law enforcement authorities(2012) Scarpa, SilviaPublication Trafficking in Human Beings. Modern Slavery(Oxford University Press, 2008) Scarpa, SilviaPublication Contemporary forms of slavery(European Parliament, 2018) Scarpa, SilviaThis briefing aims to clarify the concept of contemporary forms of slavery and analyse the legal obligations of States, as well as recent international developments at global and EU levels. It highlights the inconsistent application of the concept by global governance actors and discusses the inclusion of various exploitative practices within this conceptual framework. It also examines the prevalence of contemporary forms of slavery and assesses the policy framework for EU external action. The briefing then recommends possible action by the EU, including: promotion of a more consistent definition and use of the concept of contemporary forms of slavery and further clarifications on the relationship with the human trafficking and forced labour frameworks; a role for the EU as catalyst in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and Targets in the field of all contemporary forms of slavery; support for standardising methods of data collection globally. Finally, the paper invites the EU to assess the possibility of drafting a new treaty on contemporary forms of slavery, as a way to fill some existing loopholes at the international level.Publication Conceptual unclarity, human dignity and contemporary forms of slavery: An appraisal and some proposals(2019) Scarpa, SilviaThe aim of this article is twofold: first, it analyses the international concept of human dignity and assesses the role it might play in the field of contemporary forms of slavery; second, it formulates some proposals for redirecting the debate on the relevant international legal definitions in this field. The article argues that the operationalization of the concept of dignity as a general principle of law relevant to the suppression of contemporary forms of slavery might serve certain legal purposes that are examined in this study. However, a number of additional actions would be needed in order to clear the muddy waters in the field of ‘contemporary forms of slavery’. As recently recognized by the present author in a Report requested by the Sub-Committee on Human Rights of the European Parliament, the concept of ‘contemporary forms of slavery’ – as well as similar concepts, such as modern forms of slavery, modern slavery, and contemporary slavery – is frequently used as a non-legal umbrella term, covering multiple exploitative practices ‘while avoiding a careful scrutiny on whether or not they fit the legal concept of slavery as defined by the outdated 1926 Slavery Convention or those of some others exploitative practices defined under international treaty law’. Such actions include, first, assessing the existence under international customary law of a minimum core of practices constituting ‘contemporary forms of slavery’, second, redirecting the focus on the interpretation of the peremptory (jus cogens) norm prohibiting slavery, which so far has not received adequate attention by international law scholars who have instead dedicated much attention to interpreting the definition of slavery included in the 1926 Slavery Convention, and, third, promoting the adoption of a new treaty on contemporary forms of slavery that would fill in any remaining loopholes.