Contemporary Trends and Features of the Manifestation of Slavery in the Context of Globalization and Digitalization

Komila Rashidova

doi:10.59022/IRSHAD-ujldp.2

Authors

Komila Rashidova University of Public Safety of the Republic of Uzbekistan Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59022/IRSHAD-ujldp.2

Keywords:

Contemporary Slavery, Modern Slavery, Human Trafficking, Forced Labour, Globalization, Digitalization, Debt bondage

Abstract

Contemporary slavery persists despite its universal legal prohibition, and its forms are changing under the pressure of globalization and digitalization. This article examines how these processes transform the recruitment, control, and organization of exploitation, and how international law classifies the resulting practices. Using qualitative doctrinal and document analysis of treaties, case law, official reports, and scholarship, the study distinguishes slavery in the strict legal sense from servitude, forced labour, debt bondage, trafficking in persons, and forced criminality. The results identify six interrelated trends: concealment of ownership-like control behind formal consent, transnational and supply chain exploitation, digital recruitment and control, remote exploitation, persistent structural vulnerability, and the growing need for precise classification. The article concludes that technology changes the means of exploitation without creating a new legal category, and it recommends precise classification, victim non-punishment, platform accountability, and stronger cooperation on electronic evidence.

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