Episode 3 - Modern Slavery

There are 40.3 million people enslaved worldwide, right now...What are states doing about this?

Slavery is considered amongst the most grave crimes in international law, yet modern slavery is a $150 billion industry. How is it that irrespective of States banning slavery, these practices continue to take place with such monetary success?

In this episode, we talk to Professor Philippa Webb about the role of the state, outdated perceptions, and the beneficiaries of modern slavery practices.

Professor Philippa Webb is a Professor of Public International Law at the Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London. She came to academia after a career in legal practice at an international law firm, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court and United Nations Headquarters. She has worked and studied in Australia, Japan, France, The Netherlands, the United States, and  the United Kingdom. Her areas of research interest and expertise are international dispute settlement, state responsibility, human rights, the law on the use of force, and all aspects of the law on immunities.

Reading List:

Philippa Webb & Rosana Garciandia, ‘State Responsibility for Modern Slavery: Uncovering and Bridging the Gap’ (2019) Vol. 68 International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 539-571.