Although climate change is among the main ecological crisis the world is grappling with today, relevant discourses on the subject often focus exclusively on the existential threats it presents ignoring other associated risks, including how it exacerbates modern slavery vulnerabilities. Despite already constituting a major human rights challenge, climate change promises to further exacerbate the modern slavery conundrum in Africa. Thus, in this paper, two interconnected questions are engaged with. Firstly, the climate crisis is interrogated vis-à-vis the way it induces modern slavery vulnerabilities in Africa and undermines human rights. The second aspect assesses the utility of the human rights framework in climate change action and its potential to protect modern slavery victims. While African countries are obligated to implement mitigation and adaptation strategies within their jurisdictions, to effectively address the modern slavery challenge, the paper suggests a stronger focus on global climate action via international cooperation and debt-for-nature swap.

中文翻译：

---

气候变化与非洲现代奴隶制难题：重新构想人权法的相关性

尽管气候变化是当今世界正在应对的主要生态危机之一，但有关该主题的相关讨论往往只关注其带来的生存威胁，而忽视其他相关风险，包括它如何加剧现代奴隶制的脆弱性。尽管气候变化已经构成了一项重大的人权挑战，但它有望进一步加剧非洲的现代奴隶制难题。因此，在本文中，涉及两个相互关联的问题。首先，气候危机引发了非洲现代奴隶制的脆弱性并损害了人权。第二个方面评估了人权框架在气候变化行动中的效用及其保护现代奴隶制受害者的潜力。虽然非洲国家有义务在其管辖范围内实施缓解和适应战略，以有效应对现代奴隶制挑战，但该文件建议通过国际合作和债务换自然来更加关注全球气候行动。