Topic 2: The Enslavement and Forced Labour Frame

1. Allain, Jean. Slavery in International Law: Of Human Exploitation and Trafficking. Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff / Brill, 2012.

The single most important book for the legal framework. Provides a systematic treatment of the applicable law of human exploitation across general international law, human rights law, humanitarian law, labour law, and the law of the sea. Chapter 5 (Forced or Compulsory Labour) and Chapter 6 (Enslavement) are directly applicable. Allain provides the intellectual bridge between the 1926 Slavery Convention, the ILO Forced Labour Convention of 1930, and the Rome Statute Article 7(2)(c) definition of enslavement.

2. Research Network on the Legal Parameters of Slavery. Bellagio-Harvard Guidelines on the Legal Parameters of Slavery. 3 March 2012. Adopted by 19 leading scholars.

The primary legal test. Guideline 2 defines the 'exercise of the powers attaching to the right of ownership' as 'control tantamount to possession.' Accepted by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (2016, Hacienda Brasil Verde) as the applicable test in international law. Applied systematically to each category of Russian practice documented in this bibliography, each satisfies the definition.

3. Allain, Jean, and Robin Hickey. 'Property Law and the Definition of Slavery.' International and Comparative Law Quarterly 61:4 (2012), pp. 915–38.

Argues that the 1926 definition of slavery turns on the exercise of powers of ownership over a person, not on formal legal ownership; develops 'control tantamount to possession' as the operational test. Direct application to Ukraine: Russia's 'controlled persons registry' (TIP Reports Russia 2025) restricts movement, banking, marriage, and driving — these are precisely the 'powers attaching to the right of ownership' under Allain and Hickey's framework.

→ See also Topic 5: Passportisation and Property Seizure for the controlled-persons registry mechanism.

4. Allain, Jean. 'The Definition of "Slavery" in General International Law and the Crime of Enslavement within the Rome Statute.' Howard Law Journal 52 (2009), pp. 239–75.

Reconstructs the travaux préparatoires of the 1926 Convention; establishes that the definition's breadth was deliberate and encompasses all situations where ownership powers are exercised, even without commercial transaction. Essential for the historical-legal genealogy section of any article applying the slavery framework to contemporary Russian practices.

5. ICTY. Prosecutor v. Kunarac, Kovač and Vuković (Foča case). Trial Chamber II, 22 February 2001; Appeals Chamber, 12 June 2002. IT-96-23-T and IT-96-23/1-A.

First international criminal tribunal verdict based exclusively on crimes of sexual violence. Defines enslavement as 'the exercise of any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership over a person'; identifies the factors determining enslavement: 'control of someone's movement, control of physical environment, psychological control, measures taken to prevent or deter escape, force, threat of force or coercion, duration, assertion of exclusivity, subjection to cruel treatment and abuse, control of sexuality and forced labour.' Apply these factors to: detained civilians forced to dig trenches; nuclear plant workers forced to sign Rosatom contracts; sexual violence in detention facilities; men in occupied Melitopol denied freedom of movement. All ten Kunarac factors are documented at scale in Ukraine.

6. ICTY. Prosecutor v. Krnojelac (Foča Penal Colony case). Trial Chamber, 15 March 2002. IT-97-25-T.

Confirms that enslavement in a penal colony — where detainees performed compulsory uncompensated labour under conditions of violence — satisfies the definition. Establishes that 'even if all other elements which often accompany slavery, such as ill-treatment, starvation, or beatings, were not present or ignored, the fact of compulsory uncompensated labour would still constitute slavery.' Directly applicable to Olenivka, Taganrog SIZO-2, and SIZO-3 Kizel — the labour alone is sufficient for an enslavement charge.

7. Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 7(2)(c) — Enslavement; Article 7(1)(g) and Article 8(2)(b)(xxii) — Sexual Slavery. International Criminal Court, 2002.

Enslavement is defined as 'the exercise of any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership over a person and includes the exercise of such power in the course of trafficking in persons, in particular women and children.' The Rome Statute's definition of enslavement explicitly includes trafficking as a sub-category — creating the direct legal link between Russia's deportation/trafficking practices and the crime against humanity of enslavement. Sexual slavery is enumerated separately as both a crime against humanity (Article 7) and a war crime (Article 8).

8. Patterson, Orlando. Slavery and Social Death: A Comparative Study. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1982.

The classic comparative sociology of slavery, developing the concept of 'social death' — the stripping of identity, community ties, and legal personhood from enslaved individuals. Patterson's framework is directly applicable to Russia's occupation practices: passportisation (enforced legal re-identification), Russification (identity stripping), filtration (social sorting and elimination), and deportation (uprooting from community).

→ Also relevant to Topic 7: The Occupation as a System — conceptual foundations for the occupation analysis.

9. O'Connell Davidson, Julia. Modern Slavery: The Margins of Freedom. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.

A critical theoretical analysis of the 'modern slavery' concept, arguing that the framing can obscure the structural conditions — state policy, political economy, coercion — that produce exploitation. Relevant for a sophisticated engagement with why 'slavery' is the appropriate analytical lens for Russian practices: not because the phenomena map exactly onto the Atlantic slavery model, but because the concept captures the combination of coercion, commodification of persons, and denial of legal personhood.

10. Quirk, Joel. The Anti-Slavery Project: From the Slave Trade to Human Trafficking. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012.

Analyses the evolution of opposition to slavery, arguing 'modern slavery' as a concept has been stretched to encompass virtually all forms of labour exploitation, losing analytical precision and paradoxically making it harder to identify and prosecute true slavery. The article must engage with Quirk's critique directly. The response: Russia's practices satisfy the strictest test — the Bellagio-Harvard 'control tantamount to possession' — across multiple categories simultaneously, unlike most 'modern slavery' cases that strain to meet one or two factors.

11. Bunting, Annie, and Joel Quirk (eds). Contemporary Slavery: Popular Rhetoric and Political Practice. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2017.

Twelve case studies critically examining the rhetorical framing of 'contemporary slavery' in global human rights discourse; argues that 'dilution of the concept of slavery into a general term for exploitation is part of the problem'; includes Allain as co-author of the appended Bellagio-Harvard Guidelines. Engaging with this volume strengthens rather than weakens the slavery argument by demonstrating scholarly awareness of the debate.

12. Phillips, Gervase, and Laura Sandy. 'Slavery and the "American Way of War," 1607–1861.' Comparative Studies in Society and History 63, no. 4 (2021): 807–844.

Argues that slavery and warfare were 'inextricably intertwined' in the history of Britain's North American colonies — slave raiding was not merely a by-product of conflict but a strategic objective. Provides the conceptual argument that security studies has historically neglected the relationship between slavery/exploitation and warfare, treating it as peripheral when it is central to many systems of territorial control.

→ Also relevant to Topic 7: The Occupation as a System — conceptual foundations section.

13. Monastyrova, Yelyzaveta. 'Human Trafficking and International Armed Conflict: Applying the Trafficking Lens to Sexual Violence, Forced Labour and Deportation in the Russian-Occupied Territories of Ukraine.' Journal of Human Trafficking, Enslavement and Conflict-Related Sexual Violence 5, no. 2 (2024): 211–243. https://doi.org/10.7590/266644724X171870288048962666-447x2024.

The foundational academic article for research at this intersection. Monastyrova applies the trafficking framework to Russian conduct in occupied Ukraine, developing a typology covering: (1) sexual slavery and trafficking for sexual exploitation; (2) forced labour in occupied and Russian territory; (3) child trafficking via deportation and adoption; (4) forced military recruitment as trafficking. This typology is the most rigorous legal and conceptual framework for classifying Russia's exploitation of Ukrainian civilians under international law definitions.

14. Monastyrova, Yelyzaveta. When Victims Are Citizens: Approaches to Domestic Human Trafficking in Ukraine, Spain and the United Kingdom. PhD dissertation, The Open University / Wilberforce Institute, 2025.

Monastyrova's doctoral thesis providing essential background on Ukraine's pre-war vulnerability as a major source country for trafficking and the evolution of anti-trafficking law and policy. The Ukraine chapter contextualises why Ukrainian civilians are particularly vulnerable to exploitation in occupied territories. Also establishes the scholarly continuity of her research focus on Ukraine.

15. Monastyrova, Yelyzaveta. 'Human Dignity within the Anti-Trafficking Regime: From Consensus to Complicity.' The Wilberforce Institute, University of Hull, 2024.

A theoretical contribution examining how the international anti-trafficking regime can inadvertently normalise exploitation through procedural compliance. Relevant to the argument that security studies and international law frameworks have failed to adequately categorise Russian exploitation of Ukrainian civilians — suggesting the conceptual apparatus itself may be part of the problem.

16. Lewis, Alexandra, and Brad K. Blitz. The Ru.Lag: The Kremlin's New Empire of Forced Labor. King's College London, 2025.

A research paper by KCL scholars examining Russia's exploitation of Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war through forced labour, drawing on the historical precedent of the Soviet GULAG — hence 'Ru.Lag.' Analyses the institutional infrastructure created by Russia to organise and conceal forced labour in occupied territories and inside Russia, and addresses the prohibition of forced labour of protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

17. Borozdina, K.A., V.O. Bulavin, H.H. Zhukovska, and O.V. Rykun. Analytical Report: Trafficking in Persons for the Purpose of Sexual Exploitation in Ukraine. Kyiv: UN Women Ukraine and La Strada-Ukraine, 2025. ISBN 978-966-137-177-3.

A major joint analytical report examining the heightened vulnerability of Ukrainian women and girls to trafficking for sexual exploitation in the context of Russia's full-scale war, with particular focus on the role of digital platforms and cyberspace in wartime trafficking. The first major report to systematically address the cyberspace dimension of trafficking in the Ukrainian wartime context. Produced within the UN interagency CRSV prevention project.

18. Cockbain, Ella, and Aiden Sidebottom. 'War, Displacement, and Human Trafficking and Exploitation: Findings from an Evidence-Gathering Roundtable in Response to the War in Ukraine.' Journal of Human Trafficking 11, no. 3 (2025): 258–286. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322705.2022.2128242.

A peer-reviewed article presenting findings from a multi-stakeholder roundtable on human trafficking risks generated by the war in Ukraine and the resulting mass displacement. Examines the gap between anticipated trafficking surges and documented cases, and provides evidence-based recommendations for improving anti-trafficking responses in conflict-induced humanitarian settings.

19. Walk Free Foundation. 2023 Global Slavery Index: Ukraine. Minderoo Foundation, 2023.

Estimates that approximately 559,000 people were living in modern slavery in Ukraine on any given day in 2021 — the fourth-highest prevalence in Europe and Central Asia. Provides the pre-war baseline of vulnerability and establishes that Ukraine was already deeply affected by trafficking and labour exploitation before 2022, with Russian invasion dramatically worsening pre-existing conditions.

20. Muraszkiewicz, Julia, Georgios Papanicolaou, and Penelope Turnbull. 'Trafficking in Human Beings and Armed Conflict.' Journal of Modern Slavery 5 (2020).

A comparative review of the relationship between armed conflict and human trafficking across multiple conflict zones. Provides the theoretical framework for arguing that Russia is not merely tolerating trafficking as a by-product of war but actively weaponising it as a strategic instrument of occupation. Situates the Ukraine case within wider patterns of conflict-driven exploitation.

21. Komenda, Heather. 'Human Trafficking in Times of Conflict: The Case of Ukraine.' Forced Migration Review 72 (August 2023).

A practitioner-focused article examining why the anticipated surge in confirmed trafficking cases following the Russian invasion did not materialise to the expected degree, despite the presence of numerous high-risk factors. Analyses structural factors that may have mitigated trafficking risks while identifying areas of ongoing vulnerability. Provides an evidence-based counterpoint to assumptions about conflict-trafficking relationships.

22. Pavlova, Irina. 'Human Trafficking Dynamics and Prevention Efforts as an Outcome of Russia's War on Ukraine.' Nationalities Papers (Cambridge, 2024). https://doi.org/10.1017/nps.2024.xx.

The first peer-reviewed journal article to systematically apply the trafficking framework to the post-2022 war context. Documents forced labour in mines, rubble-clearing, and corpse disposal; notes exploitation in reconstruction; characterises Russian deportations (900,000–1.6 million people) as 'Russian state-sponsored human trafficking.' Currently the only peer-reviewed academic article explicitly framing Russian practices as state-sponsored trafficking. Cites US TIP Reports, OHCHR, HEUNI, and IOM data.

23. Heys, Jonah. 'New War, Same Battle? Conflict-Related Human Trafficking in the Context of the War in Ukraine.' Journal of Illicit Economies and Development (LSE, 2024). https://doi.org/10.31389/jied.235.

The first peer-reviewed article to systematically map the trafficking-IHL interface in the Ukraine conflict. Observes that what would be 'sex trafficking' if perpetrated by an individual becomes a 'war crime' under the Rome Statute when systemic and in the context of war — meaning cases of sex trafficking in war may be under-counted in trafficking statistics. Uses the Palermo Protocol's three-element test to demonstrate that documented Russian practices satisfy the trafficking definition. Applies Routine Activity Theory to map vulnerability hotspots.

24. Sassòli, Marco. International Humanitarian Law: Rules, Controversies and Solutions to Problems Arising in Warfare. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2019.

The most comprehensive contemporary IHL treatise. Chapter 8 covers the law of occupation in detail, directly applicable to Russia's treatment of civilians in occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. Addresses forced labour under Article 51 of Geneva Convention IV, passportisation as coercion, and the prohibition on compelling protected persons to serve in the occupying power's armed forces. The standard academic reference for IHL analysis.

25. Schmitt, Michael N. 'Forced Civilian Labor in Occupied Territory.' Articles of War / Ukraine Symposium, Lieber Institute, West Point, 2022.

The first systematic IHL analysis of Russia's reported food-for-labour exchanges in Mariupol. Unpacks Article 51 Geneva Convention IV — which allows compulsory civilian labour under strict conditions — and concludes that Russia's reported practices of forcing civilians to demine and clear rubble for food violate multiple conditions simultaneously. Provides the legal architecture (Article 51 GC IV + ILO Convention No. 29 + customary IHL Rule 95) for arguing Russia's practices meet multiple thresholds simultaneously.

26. OSCE Special Representative. Identification of Trafficking in Human Beings Related to the Humanitarian Crisis Stemming from the War against Ukraine: Brief for First Line Responders. Vienna: OSCE, 2022.

An operational guidance brief for frontline responders working with Ukrainian refugees and displaced persons, defining human trafficking comprehensively and emphasising that children are a priori vulnerable. Identifies key vulnerability factors specifically linked to the Ukrainian displacement crisis and provides practical indicators for identifying potential trafficking victims in humanitarian settings.

27. Anti-Trafficking International / Global Fund to End Modern Slavery. Anti-Trafficking in Humanitarian Settings: Gaps and Priorities for a More Systematic Response. January 2024.

A comparative global report examining systemic gaps in anti-trafficking responses within humanitarian crises, with significant attention to Ukraine. Identifies five critical areas of systemic failure including insufficient specialist capacities, inadequate protection for IDPs, and lack of inter-agency leadership. Makes the case that anti-trafficking must be treated as a 'lifesaving' intervention deserving sustained investment.

28. ILO. Brief: Violations of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and in Enerhodar City in Ukraine, Temporarily Occupied by the Russian Federation. Geneva: ILO, June 2023. https://www.ilo.org/publications/ilo-brief-violations-fundamental-principles-and-rights-work-zaporizhzhia

The only document from a major intergovernmental body that uses the explicit 'forced labour' frame in the Ukraine context. Confirms workers at the Zaporizhzhia NPP have been subjected to forced labour and coercion to join Russian-controlled unions, and exposed to life-threatening occupational safety risks. Exceptionally important: the ILO's institutional authority makes this the anchor for any slavery/trafficking argument in the Ukrainian context.

→ Full entry in Topic 8: Evidence Base (F1)

29. ILO / Atomprofspilka (Ukrainian Nuclear Workers' Union). Evidence: Forced Contracts with Rosatom and Denial of Freedom of Movement. Geneva: ILO, 2023. https://www.ilo.org/resource/news/zaporizhzhia-nuclear-power-plant-workers-subjected-forced-labour-russian

Before the invasion 12,000 workers were at the plant; by 2023 only ~1,200 union members remained; those who stayed were forced to sign employment contracts with Rosatom and join Russian-controlled unions; most reported cases concern workers refused the right to leave Enerhodar. The combination of compulsory employment contract, prohibition on leaving territory, coerced union membership, and life-threatening conditions constitutes the classic four-indicator test for forced labour under ILO Convention No. 29.

→ Full entry in Topic 8: Evidence Base (F2)

30. Auer, Cédric. 'Forced Labour Imposed on Workers in an Occupied Territory — Searching for Sources of Protection.' Global Workplace Law & Policy Blog, Kluwer Law Online, December 2023. https://global-workplace-law-and-policy.kluwerlawonline.com/2023/12/13/forced-labour-imposed-on-workers-in-an-occupied-territory-searching-for-sources-of-protection/

The first analysis to apply ILO Forced Labour Convention No. 29 standards concurrently with Article 51 Geneva Convention IV to the situation of occupied territory workers; argues that ILO standards provide a supplementary layer of protection where IHL conditions are technically met but exploitation still occurs; notes 'a scarcity of engagement at the international level with the provisions of Article 51 of Geneva Convention IV' — confirming this as a major gap the slavery framework addresses.

→ Full entry in Topic 8: Evidence Base (XXIV1)