Millions 'live in modern slavery'

[chilli13]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4534393.stm

 

Some 12.3 million people are enslaved worldwide, according to a major report.

 

The International Labour Organization says 2.4 million of them are victims of trafficking, and their labour generates profits of over $30bn.

 

The ILO says that while the figures may be lower than recent estimates, they reflect reported cases which may rise as societies face the problem.

 

The report calls for a global alliance to improve laws and raise awareness of what it calls a "hidden" issue.

 

Global problem

 

The report, entitled A Global Alliance Against Forced Labour, is the ILO's second major investigation into slavery this century.

 

The organisation says forced labour is a global problem, in all regions and types of economy.

 

Rag picker in Kenya

Many of the victims of forced labour are children

The largest numbers are in poor Asian countries and Latin America, but there are more than 350,000 cases in the industrialised world.

 

Four-fifths of forced labour is exacted by private agents and most victims are women and children, the ILO says.

 

The report has uncovered a significant amount of the kinds of forced labour which have been known about for a long time.

 

An example is bonded labour - where children are forced to do the same jobs as their parents, without hope of release.

 

Modern slavery is growing in some conflict zones, with the seizure of children as soldiers or sex slaves.

 

But the report sees the biggest deterioration in the newly globalised economy, in sectors such as the sex industry, agriculture, construction and domestic service.

 

Local knowledge

 

The ILO calls for better laws and stronger law enforcement to break "a pattern of impunity" in "privately-imposed forced labour".

 

 

HAVE YOUR SAY

Slavery is not just a crime... It is a business

Jessica, Houghton, US

 

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The reports also urges societies to address the roots of the problem by working with local communities in the poorest countries.

 

The ILO suggests that wealthier countries could tackle the issue by looking at their labour and migration policies.

 

BBC developing world correspondent David Loyn says there are some positive signs of change.

 

Increased concern about organised crime has led to a new international protocol against people-trafficking.

 

Last year, trade unionists from a range of countries met in Cameroon to discuss issues including slavery and abduction, forced domestic labour and the sex trade.

 

The problem could be resolved in these smaller-scale non-governmental meetings, our correspondent says, because local individuals with business knowledge are more likely to uncover the practice than formal investigators.

 

But, he adds, it will take a lot to change the culture of forced labour, as it operates best in informal areas outside the view of the normal economy.

[Nervous_Dog]

I would have thought the number higher?

[Central Scrutinizer]

"The largest numbers are in poor Asian countries and Latin America, but there are more than 350,000 cases in the industrialised world."

 

Odd, they seem to have forgotten to mention exactly which industrialized nations and the numbers in each, and which multi-national companies these slaves were doing slave labor for, and if anyone was arrested or punished for this slavery.

 

"forced labour is a global problem, in all regions and types of economy."

 

Nice generalization. I'm sure there's a lot of this in say, Canada? U.S.A.? England? It happens surely (sweat shops, where usually immigrants are taking advantage of their own countrymen, also recent or illegal immigrants), but I would think it hardly as pervasive as in say Saudi Arabia? India? Other middle eastern countries? SEA? Africa?

 

"The ILO calls for better laws and stronger law enforcement to break "a pattern of impunity" in "privately-imposed forced labour"."

 

It would be nice if the ILO would come up with a plan and a budget to help stop this, and figure out where the funding will come from to do so, and help write the laws for enforcing this and figuring a way to hire uncorrupt police to enforce these laws in each and every country. It's usually the rich and powerful that are profiting from this sort of "slavery", and happens "mostly" in third world countries where the rich and powerful are usually immune to ever facing prosecution for reaping the profits from this.

 

"But the report sees the biggest deterioration in the newly globalised economy, in sectors such as the sex industry, agriculture, construction and domestic service."

 

Yep, the newly industrialized countries are doing exactly the same things the "earliest industrialized" countries did for centuries to gain their own wealth and influence at the expense of the weak and poor.

 

"The ILO suggests that wealthier countries could tackle the issue by looking at their labour and migration policies."

 

Which means the rich countries should open their doors to the world's poor and give them jobs and let them migrate to other countries, right? Isn't this being done already to a large extent?

 

"Last year, trade unionists from a range of countries met in Cameroon to discuss issues including slavery and abduction, forced domestic labour and the sex trade."

 

Yes, and next year the meetings will be held in Rangoon, another bastion of freedom with little problems in these areas as well, most likely.

 

"The problem could be resolved in these smaller-scale non-governmental meetings, our correspondent says, because local individuals with business knowledge are more likely to uncover the practice than formal investigators."

 

Great idea! I read of these people doing this almost weekly in the newspapers here. Usually as a report and article on their death or disappearance. Might be better to just inform the "correspondents" and "formal investigators" ... anonymously.

 

 

Cent (feeling a bit cynical today)

 

p.s. Not directed at you IB13, just the general nature of these types of reports.

[Hugh_Hoy]

I'd like to add a few million more to that number. We've got a few million here in the U.S. who prefer to sit on their asses and do nothing while collecting government "entitlements"; I'm sure the U.K. and European countries collectively have a few who ought to be forced to earn their room and board.

 

Hugh (also feeling a bit cynical today )