More than 12 million are trapped in forced labor worldwide. ILO releases major new study on forced labor

International Labor Organization

(Geneva May 11, 2005) At least 12.3 million people are trapped in forced labor around the world, the International Labor Office (ILO) said in a new study released today. ILO Director-General Juan Somavia called forced labor "a social evil which has no place in the modern world."

The new report, entitled A Global Alliance Against Forced Labor,"  says that nearly 10 million people are exploited through forced labor in the private economy, rather than imposed directly by states. Of these, the study estimates a minimum of 2.4 million to be victims of human trafficking.

The report also provides the first global estimate of the profits generated by the exploitation of trafficked women, children and men - US$ 32 billion each year, or an average of US$ 13,000 from every single trafficked forced laborer.

"Forced labor represents the underside of globalization and denies people their basic rights and dignity", Mr. Somavia said. "To achieve a fair globalization and decent work for all, it is imperative to eradicate forced labor."

The report is the most comprehensive analysis ever undertaken by an intergovernmental organization of the facts and underlying causes of contemporary forced labor. It was prepared under the Follow Up to the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work adopted by the ILO in 1998 and will be discussed at the Organization's annual International Labor Conference in June.

The new study confirms that forced labor is a major global problem which is present in all regions and in all types of economy. Of the overall total, some 9.5 million forced laborers are in Asia, which is the region with the highest number; 1.3 million in Latin America and the Caribbean; 660,000 in sub-Saharan Africa; 260,000 in the Middle East and North Africa; 360,000 in industrialized countries; and 210,000 in transition countries.

Forced economic exploitation in such sectors as agriculture, construction, brick-making and informal sweatshop manufacturing is more or less evenly divided between the sexes. However, forced commercial sexual exploitation entraps almost entirely women and girls. In addition, children aged less than 18 years bear a heavy burden, comprising 40 to 50 per cent of all forced labor victims.

Approximately one-fifth of all forced laborers globally are trafficked but the proportion varies widely from region to region, the report says. In Asia, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa, the proportion of trafficked persons is less than 20 per cent of all forced labor, while in industrialized and transition countries and in the Middle East and North Africa, trafficking accounts for more than 75 per cent of the total.

Most forced labor today is still exacted in developing countries where older forms of forced labor are sometimes transmuting into newer ones, notably in a range of informal sector activities, the report says. Debt bondage frequently affects minorities - including indigenous peoples - that have long experienced discrimination on the labor market, and locks them in a vicious cycle of poverty from which they find it ever more difficult to escape. Many victims are working in remote geographical areas, where labor inspection presents a particular challenge.

The report sheds new light on the emerging forms of forced labor affecting migrant workers, in particular irregular migrants in rich and poor destination countries alike. It also examines the labor market conditions under which forced labor is most likely to occur, such as where there are inadequate controls over recruitment agencies and subcontracting systems, or weak labor inspection.

The appearance of new forms of coercion in today's globalized economy also raises some difficult policy questions. The report examines the strong pressures to deregulate labor markets as part of the overall drive to reduce labor costs and thereby increase competitiveness.

"Forced labor is the very antithesis of decent work, the goal of the ILO", says Mr. Somavia. "There is critical need for devising effective strategies against forced labor today. This requires a blend of law enforcement and ways of tackling the structural roots of forced labor, whether outmoded agrarian systems or poorly functioning labor markets".

The report makes the case that forced labor can be abolished, but only if governments and national institutions pursue active polices, vigorous enforcement and show strong commitment to eradicating such treatment of human beings. It also presents the positive experience in selected countries that, with ILO assistance, are now tackling forced labor by adopting strong legislation and enforcement mechanisms, implementing policies and programs to tackle the underlying causes, and helping victims rebuild their lives.

"Although the numbers are large, they are not so large as to make abolishing forced labor impossible", Mr. Somavia says. "Thus, the ILO calls for a global alliance against forced labor involving governments, employers' and workers' organizations, development agencies and international financial institutions concerned with poverty reduction, and civil society including research and academic institutions. With political will and global commitment over the next decade, we believe forced labor can be relegated to history."
 

The International Labor Organization is the UN specialized agency which seeks the promotion of social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights. It was founded in 1919 and is the only surviving major creation of the Treaty of Versailles which brought the League of Nations into being. It became the first specialized agency of the UN in 1946. The ILO formulates international labor standards in the form of Conventions and Recommendations setting minimum standards of basic labor rights: freedom of association, the right to organize, collective bargaining, abolition of forced labor, equality of opportunity and treatment, and other standards regulating conditions across the entire spectrum of work related issues. The study.
A Global Alliance Against Forced Labor,  is available as a 90 page PDF file at the ILO website.

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