50 million people worldwide are trapped in forced labour or forced marriage and other crises. The United Nations’ International Labour Organisation (ILO) says that over recent years, the figure has swelled by a fifth. It further added that half of them had been forced to work against their will and the rest were forced into marriage. This means that nearly one in every 150 people in the world is caught up in modern forms of slavery.
READ MORE: Forced labour is happening in China, UN expert
What is modern slavery?
The ILO says that forced labour and forced marriage are considered modern slavery as it involves people who cannot refuse or cannot leave due to threats, deception, violence or other forms of coercion.
The Covid-19 pandemic worsened people who were already struggling economically, causing debt levels to swell for many workers. It also contributed to armed conflicts and climate change, leaving people in extreme poverty – and desperate.
The UN has set a goal to eradicate all forms of modern slavery by 2030.
ILO’s Director General, Guy Ryder is calling for improvements in recruitment practices and labour inspections, “I think, by and large, that we simply relaxed our efforts. We’ve taken our eye off the ball when it comes to forced labour…”
Not just in poor countries
In an interview with Reuters, Ryder said that modern slavery is present in nearly every country. More than half of cases of forced labour, and a quarter of forced marriages are in upper-middle-income or high-income countries.
The ILO reports that women and children are the most vulnerable, with children accounting for 1 out of 5 people in forced labour. Half of these are stuck in commercial sexual exploitation. It further reports that migrant workers are three times more likely to be affected.
Ryder says that trade measures such as boycotting products and imports made with forced labour could help in the fight against modern slavery.
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International cases of forced labour
A key finding in the report is that 14% of those in forced labour perform jobs imposed by state authorities. This has raised concerns about, for example, the abuse of compulsory prison labour in many countries – including the United States.
The ILO report referred to the situation in China. An August report by the UN pointed to concerns about accusations of modern slavery in the country. The said that China was committing “serious human rights violations”, further highlighting the detention of Uighurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang.
China has robustly denied the accusations, and ratified two conventions against forced labour.
The report further pointed to the grave concerns raised by the UN about “credible accounts of forced labout under exceptionally harsh conditions” in North Korea – as reported by Al Jazeera.
