This is probably the shocking news of the day! The International Labor Organisation (ILO) released the report yesterday!
To be perfectly clear: Forced labor or forced marriage of children should be prevented and prosecuted. However, even with children there are grey areas. E.g. not every child labor is forced labor.
As far as adults are concerned, the situation is more difficult.
As far as adults are concerned, the situation is more difficult.
The ILO and UN cooperated with a nonprofit organisation (Walk Free, an international human rights group) that is focused or specialized in the subject of modern slavery. Not sure this is good for objectivity!
I did not have the time to go into the details for this new report. However, I have strong hunch that the report comes with serious flaws. Especially, the claim of a "significant increase" from 2016-2021 is dubious!
One glaring omission: The ILO and UN appears not to have bothered to ask or interview those individuals affected by forced labor or forced marriage. I bet, from the perspective of the so called victims, they may have a different opinion.
Another issue the report seems not to address is the duration of the forced labor situations. I bet in a large number of cases the forced labor is of relatively short duration and the laborer moves on to a better life. This is no excuse or a euphemism, but a fact.
The ILO also claims that over 50% of all forced labor occurs in upper-middle income and high income countries. This is highly doubtful and it indicates possible ideological or political motivations! Actually, the principal data sources for this report are "nationally representative household surveys"??? What!!! For how many countries are such surveys available and how reliable are they! If you guessed primarily upper middle income and high income countries, you might be on to something!
"Fifty million people were living in modern slavery in 2021, according to the latest Global Estimates of Modern Slavery . Of these people, 28 million were in forced labour and 22 million were trapped in forced marriage.
The number of people in modern slavery has risen significantly in the last five years. 10 million more people were in modern slavery in 2021 compared to 2016 global estimates. Women and children remain disproportionately vulnerable.
Modern slavery occurs in almost every country in the world, and cuts across ethnic, cultural and religious lines. More than half (52 per cent) of all forced labour and a quarter of all forced marriages can be found in upper-middle income or high-income countries.
Forced labour
Most cases of forced labour (86 per cent) are found in the private sector. Forced labour in sectors other than commercial sexual exploitation accounts for 63 per cent of all forced labour, while forced commercial sexual exploitation represents 23 per cent of all forced labour. Almost four out of five of those in forced commercial sexual exploitation are women or girls.
State-imposed forced labour accounts for 14 per cent of people in forced labour.
Almost one in eight of all those in forced labour are children (3.3 million). More than half of these are in commercial sexual exploitation.
Forced marriage
An estimated 22 million people were living in forced marriage on any given day in 2021. This indicates an increase of 6.6 million since the 2016 global estimates.
The true incidence of forced marriage, particularly involving children aged 16 and younger, is likely far greater than current estimates can capture; these are based on a narrow definition and do not include all child marriages. Child marriages are considered to be forced because a child cannot legally give consent to marry.
Forced marriage is closely linked to long-established patriarchal attitudes and practices and is highly context specific. The overwhelming majority of forced marriages (more than 85 per cent) was driven by family pressure. Although two-thirds (65 per cent) of forced marriages are found in Asia and the Pacific, when regional population size is considered, the prevalence is highest in the Arab States, with 4.8 people out of every 1,000 in the region in forced marriage.
Migrants particularly vulnerable to forced labour
Migrant workers are more than three times more likely to be in forced labour than non-migrant adult workers. While labour migration has a largely positive effect on individuals, households, communities and societies, this finding demonstrates how migrants are particularly vulnerable to forced labour and trafficking, whether because of irregular or poorly governed migration, or unfair and unethical recruitment practices. ..."From the Executive Summary:
"Modern slavery is the very antithesis of social justice and sustainable development. ...
The estimates also indicate that situations of modern slavery are by no means transient – entrapment in forced labour can last years, while in most cases forced marriage is a life sentence. ...
Compounding crises – the COVID-19 pandemic, armed conflicts, and climate change ...
While the principal responsibility for change lies with national governments, a whole of society approach is needed – the social partners, participants in the social and solidarity economy, businesses, investors, survivor groups, civil society, and an array of
other actors have critical roles to play. ...The principal sources are data from nationally representative household surveys – 68 forced labour surveys and 75 forced marriage surveys – jointly conducted by ILO and Walk Free ..."
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