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Forced Labour
SO 251 · Series · 1955-1969
Part of UNOG Registry First Period, 1946-1973

In 1953 the UN-ILO Ad Hoc Committee on Forced Labour submitted to ECOSOC a fact finding document on forced labour which was followed up in 1955 by a second report. In 06.1955 the ILO set up an independent Ad Hoc Committee on Forced Labour to analyze material dealing with the use and extent of forced labour throughout the world. ECOSOC resolution 607 (XXI) in 1956 supported the work of the ILO on forced labour, essentially affirming that the main responsibility for dealing with the question would be vested in the ILO.

In 1956 at the International Labour Conference it was decided to draw up an International Convention on Forced Labour and in 1957 adopted the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention.

Slavery and Servitude
SO 252 · Series · 1956-1974
Part of UNOG Registry First Period, 1946-1973

The United Nations has been concerned with the question of slavery since 1949, when the General Assembly requested ECOSOC to study the problem. In the same year, ECOSOC arranged for the appointment of the Ad Hoc Committee, who reported its findings on the nature and extent of slavery and other institutions resembling slavery in 05.1951. ECOSOC subsequently requested the Secretary-General to obtain additional information on the question and report back in 1953. In 1954, ECOSOC appointed Mr. Hans Engen (Norway) as Rapporteur to prepare a concise summary of all available information on slavery and servitude. The report of the Rapporteur was presented to the Council in 1955.

At the request of the ECOSOC in resolution 960 (XXXVI) the Secretary-General appointed Mr. Mohamed Awad as Special Rapporteur on Slavery to bring up to date the Engen Report by collating existing information on slavery by governments,

The United Nations also arranged in 1953 for the drawing up of a Protocol amending the Slavery Convention of 1926 and for the preparation of a supplementary Convention on the abolition of slavery, the slave trade and institutions and practices similar to slavery. This Supplementary Convention was finalized in 09.1956.

The records relate to the work of the Division on matters related to slavery from 1956 to 1974 and include the collection of material form the Special Rapporteur, allegations of slavery and servitude, and correspondence related to the acceptance by States of the international legal instruments aimed at abolishing slavery and related practices.

SO 260 · Series · 1956-1974
Part of UNOG Registry First Period, 1946-1973

The records of this series address questions related to stateless persons and refugees and victims of war. They include correspondence regarding the international instruments concerned with refugees and stateless or displaced persons, namely the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

The records of this sub-series attest to the work of the Secretariat in advocating for victims of war on the one hand and in the drafting of international instruments addressing human rights issues in armed conflict on the other. The work of the Ad Hoc Commission on the Protection of Prisoners of War is well documented in the series, as are questions related to the application of the Geneva Conventions of 1949.

The largest group of files consists of correspondence and documentation with regard to the plight of the survivors of so-called scientific experimentation in the Nazi concentration camps, a continuation of earlier documentation contained in the SOA sub-fonds.

Commission on Human Rights
SO 212 · Series · 1956-1974
Part of UNOG Registry First Period, 1946-1973

Acting in accordance with the responsibility placed upon it by the Charter of the United Nations, the Economic and Social Council created the Commission on Human Rights on 16 February 1946. The work of the Commission was to be directed towards submitting proposals, recommendations and reports regarding any matter of concerning human rights. The Commission initially consisted of nine members appointed in their individual capacity. Among these were Eleanor Roosevelt, who was elected Chairman, René Cassin, Vice-chairman, and K.C. Neogy of India, Rapporteur.

In 1966, ECOSOC invited the Commission to consider as a matter of importance and urgency the question of the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms and to submit to the Council its recommendations on measures to halt these violations. The terms of reference of the Commission were thus widened by ECOSOC resolutions 1235 and 1503, which authorized the Commission to take action, under certain conditions, concerning information relevant to gross violations of human rights, contained in communications listed pursuant to ECOSOC resolution 728 F.

The Commission currently has 54 Member States, with membership distributed among the various political and geographic blocs. The Commission's work consists of standard-setting, promotional activities, monitoring and enforcing.

This series consists of records created by the Division of Human Rights relating to the work of the Commission from 1956 to 1969 and covering Sessions 13 through 26.

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