Global Estimates of Modern Slavery

Forced Labourand Forced Marriage

September 2022

September 2022

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery

Forced Labourand Forced Marriage

Copyright © International Labour Organization (ILO), Walk Free, and International
Organization for Migration (IOM) 2022
First published 2022

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Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage
International Labour Organization (ILO), Walk Free, and International Organization for
Migration (IOM), Geneva, 2022
ISBN: 978-92-2-037483-2 (web PDF)
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Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Tableof contents
Executive summary1Introduction11
Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

17

1.1

Modern slavery

19

1.2

Forced labour

22		 1.2.1

Overview and trends

22

		 1.2.2 Forced labour exploitation

30

		 1.2.3 Forced commercial sexual exploitation

45

		 1.2.4 Forced labour of children

46

		 1.2.5 State-imposed forced labour

50

1.3

Forced marriage		 1.3.1

Overview and trends

		 1.3.2 Circumstances surrounding forced marriages

59
59
69

Part 2. Ending modern slavery: the path to 2030

77

2.1.

Forced labour

79

2.2

Forced marriage

99

Annex. Methodology

109

Endnotes119

Photo: ILO / Marcel Crozet.

Executive
summaryGlobal Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Modern slavery is the very antithesis of social justice and sustainable development. The 2021 Global Estimates indicate there are 50 million people in situations of modern slavery on any given day, either forced to work against theirwill or in a marriage that they were forced into. This number translates to nearly
one of every 150 people in the world. The estimates also indicate that situationsof modern slavery are by no means transient – entrapment in forced labour canlast years, while in most cases forced marriage is a life sentence. And sadly, thesituation is not improving. The 2021 Global Estimates show that millions moremen, women, and children have been forced to work or marry in the period since
the previous estimates were released in 2017.
Through the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the global
community has committed to ending modern slavery among children by 2025,
and universally by 2030 (Target 8.7). This report underscores the scale of thechallenge facing the global community in the short period remaining to meetthese ambitious targets.

1

Compounding crises – the COVID-19 pandemic, armed conflicts, and climatechange – in recent years have led to unprecedented disruption to employment
and education, increases in extreme poverty and forced and unsafe migration, and an upsurge in reports of gender-based violence, together serving toheighten the risk of all forms of modern slavery. As is usually the case, it is those
who are already in situations of greatest vulnerability – including the poor andsocially excluded, workers in the informal economy, irregular or otherwise unprotected migrant workers, and people subject to discrimination – who are mostaffected.
It is urgent that the global community gathers the will and resources to overcome these obstacles and get progress towards ending modern slavery back on
track. Promises and statements of good intent are not enough. 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 ofother actors have critical roles to play. Technical cooperation and assistancefrom UN agencies, other multilateral and bilateral organizations, international
non-governmental organizations, and other groups will also be important toprogress. Social dialogue provides an essential framework for building lasting,consensus-based solutions to the challenge of modern slavery.
The global and regional estimates presented in this report were developed by
the International Labour Organization (ILO), Walk Free, and the International
Organization for Migration (IOM). The estimates are based on a jointly developed methodology summarised in the Annex and described in detail in themethodology report produced along with this 2021 Global Estimates report. As
was the case for the 2016 global estimates, the 2021 calculations are derived
from multiple data sources, as no single source was sufficiently reliable. 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, as well as the Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative (CTDC)
anonymised case dataset on victims of trafficking collected by IOM and its partners in the process of providing protection and assistance services to traffickedpersons.

Executive summary

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Overview of key findings
Modern slavery, as defined for the purpose of the global estimates, is comprisedof two principal components – forced labour and forced marriage. Both refer tosituations of exploitation that a person cannot refuse or cannot leave because of
threats, violence, deception, abuse of power or other forms of coercion.
The scourge of modern slavery has by no means been relegated to history. The 2021 Global Estimates indicate that 49.6 million people are in modern
slavery on any given day, either forced to work against their will or in a marriagethat they were forced into. Forced labour accounts for 27.6 million of those inmodern slavery and forced marriage for 22 million.

Forced labour
Forced labour, as set out in the ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No.29),1
refers to “all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menaceof any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.”
There are 27.6 million people in situations of forced labour on any givenday. This absolute number translates to 3.5 people in forced labour for every
thousand people in the world. Women and girls make up 11.8 million of the total
in forced labour. More than 3.3 million of all those in forced labour are children.
Forced labour has grown in recent years. A simple comparison with the 2016global estimates indicates an increase of 2.7 million in the number people inforced labour between 2016 and 2021, which translates to a rise in the prevalenceof forced labour from 3.4 to 3.5 per thousand people in the world. The increasein the number of people in forced labour was driven entirely by forced labourin the private economy, both in forced commercial sexual exploitation and inforced labour in other sectors.
The initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic were accompanied by widespread reports of forced labour linked to the crisis. Disruptions to income
because of the pandemic led to greater indebtedness among workers and with itreports of a rise in debt bondage among some workers lacking access to formal
credit channels. The crisis also resulted in a deterioration of working conditions
for many workers, in some cases leading to forced labour. Yet little is known
about how forced labour risks have evolved since the initial months of the crisis,
as strict economy-wide workplace shutdowns were phased out in most countries
and the world economy began its fragile recovery. There are many reasons forconcern in this regard. The World Bank indicates that extreme poverty – one important metric of forced labour risk – remains far higher than the pre-pandemic
trajectory2 and the ILO reports that the jobs recovery has stalled in much of theworld. 3

Executive summary2

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

No region of the world is spared from forced labour. Asia and the Pacific ishost to more than half of the global total (15.1 million), followed by Europe andCentral Asia (4.1 million), Africa (3.8 million), the Americas (3.6 million), and theArab States (0.9 million). But this regional ranking changes considerably whenforced labour is expressed as a proportion of the population. By this measure,forced labour is highest in the Arab States (5.3 per thousand people), followedby Europe and Central Asia (4.4 per thousand), the Americas and Asia and thePacific (both at 3.5 per thousand), and Africa (2.9 per thousand).
Forced labour is a concern regardless of a country’s wealth. More than halfof all forced labour occurs in either upper-middle income or high-income countries. When population is taken into account, forced labour is highest in low
income countries (6.3 per thousand people) followed by high income countries(4.4 per thousand).
Most forced labour occurs in the private economy. Eighty-six per cent offorced labour cases are imposed by private actors – 63 per cent in the private
economy in sectors other than commercial sexual exploitation and 23 per centin forced commercial sexual exploitation. State-imposed forced labour accounts
for the remaining 14 per cent of people in forced labour.

3

Forced labour touches virtually all parts of the private economy. The fivesectors accounting for the majority of total adult forced labour (87 per cent) areservices (excluding domestic work), manufacturing, construction, agriculture(excluding fishing), and domestic work. Other sectors form smaller shares but
nonetheless still account for hundreds of thousands of people. These include
adult workers who are forced to dig for minerals or perform other mining andquarrying work, fishers who are trapped in forced labour aboard fishing vessels,
people forced to beg on the street, and people forced into illicit activities.
The composition of forced labour differs from that of the broader labour
force in a number of ways. The share of migrants in the group of people inforced labour is much higher than the share of migrants in the overall labour
force. There are also relatively more men among workers in forced labour compared to the labour force generally. People in forced labour are more likely to be
in manufacturing, and much more likely to be in construction, than workers in
the overall labour force. They are less likely to be in the services and agriculture
sectors than workers in the overall labour force.
People in forced labour exploitation are subjected to multiple forms of
coercion to compel them to work against their will. The systematic and deliberate withholding of wages, used by abusive employers to compel workers tostay in a job out of fear of losing accrued earnings, is the most common form of
coercion, experienced by 36 per cent of those in forced labour. This is followed
by abuse of vulnerability through threat of dismissal, which was experienced by
one in five of those in forced labour. More severe forms of coercion, including
forced confinement, physical and sexual violence, and the deprivation of basic
needs, are less common but by no means negligible.

Executive summary

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Forced labour in the private economy has an important gender dimension.
Women in forced labour are much more likely than their male counterparts to
be in domestic work, while men in forced labour are much more likely to be in
the construction sector. Women are more likely to be coerced through wage
non-payment and abuse of vulnerability, and men through threats of violence
and financial penalties. Women are also more likely than men to be subjected tophysical and sexual violence and threats against family members.
Migrant workers face a higher risk of forced labour than other workers.
The forced labour prevalence of adult migrant workers is more than three times
higher than that of adult non-migrant workers. This figure makes clear thatwhen migrant workers are not protected by law or are unable to exercise theirrights, migration is irregular or poorly governed, or where recruitment practices
are unfair or unethical, migration can lead to situations of vulnerability to forced
labour.
An estimated 6.3 million people are in situations of forced commercial
sexual exploitation at any point in time. Gender is a key determining factor:
nearly four out of every five people trapped in these situations are girls or
women.
The tragedy of children subjected to forced labour demands special
urgency. A total of 3.3 million children are in situations of forced labour, accounting for about 12 per cent of all those in forced labour. And because of data
constraints, these numbers, already alarming, may well be just the tip of theiceberg. The forced labour of children constitutes one component of child labour,4 which the international community – through Target 8.7 of the Sustainable
Development Goals – has committed to ending by 2025.
The forced labour of children occurs across wide array of economic sectors and industries. Over half of all children in forced labour are in commercial
sexual exploitation.5 Domestic work, agriculture, and manufacturing are among
the many other sectors where children in forced labour are found. Qualitative
reports indicate that children can be subjected to severe forms of coercion andabuse, including abduction, drugging, being held in captivity, deception, andmanipulation of debt. Some of the worst abuses occur in situations of armed
conflict.
The 2021 Global Estimates indicate that 3.9 million people are in state-imposed forced labour at any point in time. Males make up more than three of
every four of those in forced labour imposed by state authorities, while 8 percent of those in state-imposed forced labour are children. Over half (55 per cent)of all cases involve some form of abuse of compulsory prison labour, 27 per centinvolve the abuse of conscription and 17 per cent involve forced labour for economic development or for work beyond normal civic obligations.

Executive summary

4

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Forced marriage
Forced marriage is a complex and highly gendered practice. Although men andboys are also forced to marry, it predominantly affects women and girls. Forced
marriages occur in every region of the world and cut across ethnic, cultural,and religious lines. The many drivers of forced marriage are closely linked tolongstanding patriarchal attitudes and practices and are highly context specific.
The number of men, women, and children living in forced marriages has
risen globally. An estimated 22 million people were living in situations of forced
marriage on any given day in 2021. This is a 6.6 million increase in the number ofpeople living in a forced marriage between 2016 and 2021, which translates to arise in prevalence from 2.1 to 2.8 per thousand people.
Forced marriages take place in every region in the world. Nearly two-thirdsof all forced marriages, an estimated 14.2 million people, are in Asia and thePacific. This is followed by 14.5 per cent in Africa (3.2 million) and 10.4 per centin Europe and Central Asia (2.3 million). When we account for the populationin each region, prevalence of forced marriage is highest in the Arab States (4.8
per thousand population), followed by Asia and the Pacific (3.3 per thousand
population).

5Over two-thirds of those forced to marry are female. This equates to an
estimated 14.9 million women and girls. While women and girls account for the
majority of people living in a forced marriage, men and boys are also subjected
to forced marriage.
Three in every five people in a forced marriage are in lower-middle income
countries; however, wealthier nations are not immune, with 26 per cent offorced marriages in high or upper-middle income countries.
Family members were responsible for the vast majority of forced marriages. Most persons who reported on the circumstances of forced marriage
were forced to marry by their parents (73 per cent) or other relatives (16 percent).
Half of those living in forced marriages were coerced using emotional
threats or verbal abuse. This includes the use of emotional blackmail – for example, parents threatening self-harm or asserting that the family’s reputation
will be ruined – and threats of estrangement from family members, among otherthings. Physical or sexual violence and threats of violence were the next mostused form of coercion to force a marriage (19 per cent).
Once forced to marry, there is greater risk of sexual exploitation, violence,and domestic servitude and other forms of forced labour both inside andoutside the home. Females are more likely than males to report being forced
to perform work by their spouse or the spouse’s family.
COVID-19 has exacerbated the underlying drivers of all forms of modern
slavery, including forced marriage, which often is linked to economic
hardship. Widespread socio-economic instability due to the pandemic led toincreased global unemployment, increased indebtedness, and an increase in
extreme global poverty for the first time in two decades. As the data only partially reflect the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the estimates presented inthis report are likely to understate the full magnitude of the pandemic’s impact.

Executive summary

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Ending modern slavery: the path to 2030
Nothing can justify the persistence of modern slavery in today’s world. We canand must do better. It is not a question of not knowing what to do. There is a substantial and growing body of policy and programming experience in addressing
modern slavery, offering critical guidance for the future. The overall rise inmodern slavery also masks numerous contexts that have registered significant
reductions, offering additional key insights into the policy choices needed forprogress. International legal instruments provide the normative framework for
efforts against modern slavery.6
Some of the key policy priorities for addressing forced labour and forced marriage in the lead up to the 2030 target date for ending modern slavery are discussed below.

Forced labour▪

Respect for the freedoms of workers to associate and to bargain collectively is indispensable to a world free from forced labour. These fundamental labour rights enable workers to exert a collective voice to defend theirshared interests and to bargain collectively for secure and decent work, thus
creating workplaces that are inimical to forced labour and workers who areresilient to its risks. These rights are essential prerequisites for social dialogue, which in turn is critical to building lasting, consensus-based solutions
to the challenge of forced labour. Currently, workers in much of the world,
and the vast majority of workers in the informal economy – migrants as wellas nationals – lack a representative and collective voice.

▪

Extend social protection, including floors, to all workers and their families, to mitigate the socio-economic vulnerability that underpins much offorced labour, and to provide workers with the basic income security to beable to say no to jobs that are abusive and to quit jobs that have become so.
Extending social protection coverage in the informal economy is a priority.
It is important that social protection also provides inclusive, equitable andnon-discriminatory coverage to migrants.

▪

Promote fair and ethical recruitment, to protect workers from abusiveand fraudulent practices during the recruitment and placement process, including the charging of extortionate fees and related costs by unscrupulous
recruitment agencies and labour intermediaries. The global estimates indicate that a large share of forced labour cases can be traced to abuses occurring during the recruitment phase of their employment.

▪

Strengthen the reach and capacity of public labour inspectorates, sothey are able to detect and act on labour violations before they deteriorate
into forced labour, able to raise awareness of forced labour risks and thecompliance obligations of employers, and able to promptly detect and referactual forced labour cases. Extending the reach of labour inspectorates into
the informal economy is a priority.

Executive summary

6

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage▪

Ensure protection for people freed from forced labour, through immediate assistance, rehabilitation, and long-term sustainable solutions, so they
can successfully recover and avoid re-victimization. Special consideration
should be given to children, migrants, and those trafficked for forced labour.
Despite progress, still only a small fraction of those subjected to forced
labour and trafficking for forced labour are identified and referred to comprehensive protection services.

▪

Ensure access to remedy for people freed from forced labour, to help recompense them for the consequences of their subjection to forced labour andto help in their recovery. Remedies include compensation for material damages (e.g., as medical costs, unpaid wages, legal fees, and loss of earnings
and earning potential) or for moral damages (e.g., pain and emotional distress). Currently, only a very small share of those subjected to forced labourand human trafficking are provided with compensation or other forms ofremedy.

▪

Ensure adequate enforcement, to bring perpetrators to justice and deter
would-be offenders from contemplating the crime of forced labour. Statistics
indicate that the number of cases of forced labour and human trafficking
reported for legal investigation remains low and, due to limited capacities
for adequate investigation and prosecution of these crimes, the rate of conviction is minimal.

▪

Address migrants’ vulnerability to forced labour and trafficking forforced labour. Although most migration is voluntary and has a largely positive impact on individuals and societies, the global estimates indicate thatwhen migrants are not protected by law or are unable to exercise their rights
they can be at increased risk of forced labour and human trafficking. National
policy and legal frameworks that promote respect for the rights of all migrants at all stages of the migration process, regardless of their migration
status, are urgently needed.

▪

Address children trapped in forced labour. Far more investment is neededin identification and protection measures for children in forced labour, including, but not limited to, those in commercial sexual exploitation and thosein forced labour linked to armed conflict. Better information on the numbersof children involved, and on the nature and drivers of the forced labour they
are trapped in, is urgently needed to inform responses.

▪

Mitigate the heightened risk of forced labour and trafficking for forced
labour in situations of crisis. Much of forced labour and human trafficking
occurs in situations of crisis linked to armed conflicts, disasters, and disease.
There is a need to mainstream prevention and protection measures acrossall phases of crisis responses, from pre-crisis preparedness to humanitarian
action following crisis outbreak and on to post-crisis reconstruction andrecovery. Measures to sustain livelihoods during crises are especially important in preventing workers from falling into forced labour and trafficking
as they struggle to support themselves and their families.

7

Executive summary

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage▪

Combat forced labour and trafficking for forced labour in business
operations and supply chains. Attention should focus on identifying,prioritizing, and acting on “hotspots” where the risk of forced labour andother human rights abuses is highest in terms of both severity and scale.
Particularly important in this context are the informal micro- and small enterprises operating at the lower links of supply chains in high-risk sectors andlocations.

▪

End state-imposed forced labour, which accounts for one in seven of allforced labour cases. The fact that state-imposed forced labour is the direct
product of deliberate laws and practices on the part of states makes abundantly clear what is needed for change – namely, the political commitment
and follow-up to reform these same laws and practices.

▪

Partnership and international cooperation. The challenge of forced
labour is too big, and its myriad root causes too complex, for national governments or other stakeholders to address on their own. Alliance 8.7 plays animportant role in facilitating cooperation and experience exchange on forced
labour and human trafficking across the array of governmental and non-governmental organizations that make up its wide membership. International
support to financing and resource mobilization is one of the key ingredientsof broader cooperation and partnership against forced labour.

Forced marriage▪

As women and girls are disproportionately affected, legislative andpolicy responses should have a gendered lens, including gender-sensitive
laws, policies, programmes, and budgets, including gender-responsive social
protection mechanisms. It is important that these initiatives are inclusive,
equitable, and provide non-discriminatory access to migrants.

▪

Ensure adequate civil and criminal protections in national legislation.
This should include raising the legal age of marriage to 18 without exceptions
in order to protect children, criminalizing the act of marrying someone whodoes not consent, regardless of age, and civil protections that protect the individual from marriage without having to penalise the perpetrators, who areoften family members. Legislative action should be part of a broader holistic
response that tackles underlying drivers of forced marriage, and includes
prevention and support measures such as safe accommodation, emergency
funds, and psychosocial support.

▪

Address underlying socio-cultural norms and structures that contributeto forced marriage. Legislation is not in itself sufficient to end forced marriage and needs to be combined with wider preventative approaches addressing underlying discrimination and gender inequality, as well as relatedsocio-cultural norms. Central to changing these attitudes is context-specificresearch on vulnerabilities and community-based education, training, andempowerment activities.

Executive summary

8

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

9▪

Invest in building the agency of women and girls. Ensuring that womenand girls have the opportunity and ability to complete school, earn a livelihood, and inherit assets plays a significant role in reducing vulnerability toforced marriage. To support this, institutions and employers should offer
employment opportunities for women and girls while providing training
for “soft-skills” beyond formal education, such as pre-employment and onthe-job skills building and training programmes.

▪

Protect the rights of those vulnerable to forced marriage and trafficking for forced marriage during times of crisis. This requires coordination among humanitarian agencies to create pathways for people to safely
leave conflict areas and to provide livelihood and education opportunities,
ensure food security, establish free civil registration services (including births
and marriages), and build the capacity of local service providers.

▪

Address the vulnerability of migrants, particularly children. This includes improving capacity to identify the most vulnerable, as well as ensuring
equal access to safe, dignified return and sustainable reintegration such associal protection and services, justice, psychosocial assistance, education,
vocational training, employment opportunities, and decent work, regardlessof their migration status. Legal identity is a core enabler of sustainable development and safe and regular migration; access to legal identity registration
procedures is particularly important for migrants at risk of forced marriage.

Reliable information and statistics on forced labour, forced marriage, andhuman trafficking are critical to promoting awareness and understanding of
the problem, and to informing policy responses. It is hoped that the findings presented in the report will encourage further research and data collection efforts
focused on the national and local dimensions of all forms of modern slavery.

Executive summary

Photo: Guillermo Arias/AFP via Getty Images

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Introduction
Years of labour to repay a $20 debt. When he was only 16, Ran, now in hiseighties, took a $20 loan from a landowner. To repay his debt, he ploughed thelandowner’s field for years until his government freed him. For years, the fruitof his labour belonged to someone else. He couldn’t leave, he couldn’t rest, he
couldn’t stop. He was in bonded labour.
When she was also just 16, Bianca was taken from the village where she grew
up. From there, she was trafficked and sold five times before arriving in a nearby
country, where she was kept behind bars and made to work as a prostitute.
When she became pregnant, she managed to escape to a shelter, where herbaby, Anne-Marie, was born.

11

Ida’s story starts less dramatically but ends just as sadly. After signing a contract
with a recruitment agency in her home country, she travelled abroad where she
was promised a job as a domestic worker. When she got there, her employers
confiscated her passport. She was made to work very long days, had to sleepon the floor and eat leftovers. For three years, she was kept a prisoner and only
managed to escape by jumping out of a window. After weeks in hospital, she was
finally sent home, limping, penniless, and scarred for life.
When she was just 12, Jasmine was married off to a man who offered to wed her
in lieu of the debt her father owed him. Jasmine’s husband was an alcoholic andforced her into commercial sexual exploitation to pay for his addiction. In addition to forced marriage and sexual exploitation, she endured physical violence
and abuse at the hands of her husband.
Lyn met her boyfriend on a social media platform. They talked for many months
before arranging to meet near her hometown. Once they met in person, he
asked her to come meet his “uncle” in another town. When they arrived at theirdestination, her boyfriend and his “uncle” sold her into marriage to anotherman. Lyn never saw her boyfriend again.
Stories of modern slavery like those of Ran, Bianca, Jasmine, Ida, and Lyn are
unfortunately not rare.
Today, 50 million people around the world are in some form of slavery – whether
it is considered “contemporary” or is a centuries-old practice, and whether it
occurs in the world of work, as in the case of forced labour, or outside, as in thecase of forced marriage. And the challenge of modern slavery appears to be
growing. Millions of additional people – women, men, girls and boys – have fallen
victim to forced labour and forced marriage in recent years.
This report, the 2021 Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced
Marriage, assesses the situation of modern slavery in the world today and the
key policy priorities for ending it among children by 2025 and universally by2030, in accordance with the target dates set by the international community inthe 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Introduction

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the risk of modern slavery andmade the road to the 2025 and 2030 target dates an even more difficult one. For
Ran, Ida, Bianca, Jasmine, Lyn, and many millions of others, the decisions thatnational governments and the international community make as the world seeks
to build forward better in the wake of the pandemic and regain momentum inthe fight against modern slavery will be fundamental. For them, what is at stakeis no less than their ability to live out their lives in freedom.
The global estimates presented in this report were developed by the International
Labour Organization (ILO), Walk Free, and the International Organization for
Migration (IOM). The estimates are based on a jointly developed methodology
summarised in the Annex and described in detail in a separate report on themethodology underpinning the 2021 Global Estimates.7 As was the case for the2016 global estimates, the calculations are derived from multiple data sources asno single source was sufficiently comprehensive. The principal sources are datafrom nationally representative household surveys – 68 forced labour surveys
and 75 forced marriage surveys – jointly conducted by ILO and Walk Free, as wellas the Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative (CTDC) anonymised data on victims of trafficking collected by IOM and its partners in the process of providing
protection and assistance services to victims of trafficking.8
The methodology underlying the 2021 Global Estimates is the product of an
ongoing process of refinement made possible by an improved understandingof forced labour and forced marriage and of how best to measure them.9 The
methodological refinements in measurement, combined with a more balanced
geographical coverage in data, mean that the 2021 Global Estimates are themost complete and comprehensive to date. While the refinements to the methodology do not affect the overall comparability of the 2016 and 2021 Global
Estimates results, they do mean that caution should be exercised in comparing
the disaggregated results yielded by the 2016 and 2021 Global Estimates exercises.10 The global estimates are based on cases of forced labour and forced
marriage occurring during the five-year reference period from 2017 to 2021
(hereafter referred to as “2021”).11
The report is structured in two parts. Part 1 provides the most complete possible
profile of modern slavery in today’s world. It presents the key results of the 2021
Global Estimates exercise for forced labour and forced marriage, including thedefining features of each, and the number and characteristics of the people
affected. Part 2 discusses key policy priorities for accelerated progress towards
ending forced labour and forced mar­riage.

Introduction

12

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Panel 1.

A note on terminology
Modern slavery covers a set of specific legal concepts
including forced labour, concepts linked to forced
labour (i.e., debt bondage, slavery and slavery likepractices and human trafficking) and forced marriage. Although modern slavery is not defined in law,
it is used as an umbrella term that focuses attention on commonalities across these legal concepts.

Essentially, it refers to situations of exploitation thata person cannot refuse or leave because of threats,
violence, coercion, deception, and/or abuse of power.
To make this set of complex legal concepts measurable, the global estimates focus on two key forms ofmodern slavery: forced labour and forced marriage.

Modern slavery

13

Forced labour

Privately-imposed
forced labour

Forced marriage

State-imposed
forced labour

Forced labour
exploitation

Forced commercial sexual
exploitation of adults
and commerical sexual
exploitation of children

Introduction

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Panel 1.

Forced labour

Typology of forced labour

Forced labour, as set out in the ILO Forced Labour
Convention, 1930 (No.29), refers to “all work or service which is exacted from any person under the
menace of any penalty and for which the said person
has not offered himself voluntarily.” Forced labour
does not depend on the type or sector of work, but
only on whether the work was imposed on a person
against their will through the use of coercion.

The typology depicted above, which was developed
for the global estimates of forced labour, is based on
three main categories of forced labour defined asfollows:

Forced labour is defined, for purposes of measurement, as work that is undertaken both under the
threat of any penalty and is involuntary. The threatof any penalty refers to the means of coercion used to
impose work on someone against that person’s will.
Workers can be directly subjected to coercion, or subjected to verbal threats relating to specific elementsof coercion, or can be witness to coercion imposed onother co-workers in relation to involuntary work. The
coercion may take place during the worker’s recruitment process to force him or her to accept the job
or, once the person is working, to force him or her todo tasks that were not part of what was agreed to at
the time of recruitment or to prevent him or her fromleaving the job. Involuntary work refers to any work
taking place without the free and informed consent
of the worker. There must be both a lack of free andinformed consent and coercion for work to be statistically regarded as forced labour.12
Forced labour of children is defined, for purposes ofmeasurement, as work performed by a child during
a specified reference period falling under one of thefollowing categories: (i) work performed for a third
party, under threat or menace of any penalty applied
by a third party (other than the child’ own parents)
either on the child directly or the child’s parents; or(ii) work performed with or for the child’s parents,
under threat or menace of any penalty applied by athird party (other than the child’s parents) either on
the child directly or the child’s parents; or (iii) work
performed with or for the child’s parents where
one or both parents are themselves in a situation offorced labour; or (iv) work performed in any one of
the following worst forms of child labour: (a) all formsof slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as thesale and trafficking of children, debt bondage, andserfdom, [as well as forced or compulsory labour], including forced or compulsory recruitment of children
for use in armed conflict; (b) the use, procuring, oroffering of a child for prostitution, for the productionof pornography, or for pornographic performances;(c) the use, procuring, or offering of a child for illicit
activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in relevant international
treaties.13

Introduction

Privately-imposed forced labour refers to forced
labour in the private economy imposed by private
individuals, groups, or companies in any branch of
economic of activity. It may include activities such as
begging for a third party that go beyond the scopeof the production of goods and services covered in
the general production boundary of the System of
National Accounts. For the purpose of the global estimates, privately-imposed forced labour is divided
into two sub-types:▪

Forced labour exploitation refers to forced
labour in the private economy imposed by private
individuals, groups, or companies in any branchof economic of activity with the exception of commercial sexual exploitation.

▪

Forced commercial sexual exploitation refers
to forced labour imposed by private agents forcommercial sexual exploitation and all forms ofcommercial sexual exploitation of children,
including the use, procuring, or offering of children for the production of child sexual abuse materials.

State-imposed forced labour refers to forced
labour imposed by State authorities, regardless of the
branch of economic activity in which it takes place. It
includes labour exacted by the State as a means ofpolitical coercion or education or as a punishment
for expressing political views; as a punishment forparticipating in strikes; as a method of mobilizing
labour for the purpose of economic development; asa means of labour discipline; and as a means of racial,social, national, or religious discrimination. While itis recognized that States have the power to impose
compulsory work on citizens, the scope of theseprerogatives is limited to specific circumstances, forexample, compulsory military service for work ofpurely military character; normal civic obligationsof citizens of a fully self-governing country and assimilated minor communal services; work or service
under supervision and control of public authorities asa consequence of a conviction in a court of law; workor service in cases of emergency such as war, fire,
flood, famine, earthquake, etc.

14

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Panel 1.

Forced marriage

Other related concepts

Forced marriage refers to situations where a person
has been forced to marry without giving their consent. A forced marriage might occur under physical,
emotional, or financial duress as a result of deception by family members, the spouse, or others, or by
the use of force or threats or severe pressure. Thesemarriages are prohibited by several international
conventions,14 including those that prohibit slavery
and slavery-like practices, including servile marriage.
Other forms of exploitation can also occur within thecontext of a forced marriage, such as human trafficking and forced labour.15

The other main concepts of modern slavery areslavery, institutions and practices similar to slavery,
and trafficking in persons (often referred to as
human trafficking). These are not included explicitly
in the global estimates but are closely linked to them.

Importantly, the practice of arranged marriage ispresent in many cultures and is distinguished fromforced marriage by the presence of consent of bothparties to the marriage. However, where consent ispresent, coercion can still manifest in various forms,
including exchange or trade-off marriages, servile
marriages, and levirate16 marriages.

15

As set out in the joint general recommendation of the
UN’s Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW) and the Committee on the
Rights of the Child (CRC), child marriage – where atleast one of the parties is under 18 years of age – isconsidered a form of forced marriage, given that one
and/or both parties cannot express full, free, and informed consent due to their age.17 However, in many
countries 16 and 17-year-olds who wish to marry arelegally able to do so following a judicial ruling or parental consent.
For the current estimates, the measurement offorced marriage is limited to marriages of both adults
and children that respondents to the survey reported
as having been forced and without consent. As aresult, the estimates do not include every instanceof child marriage, as child marriage is not currently
measured adequately at the scale or specificity required for a global estimate.
Further, while an individual can experience forced
labour and also be forced to marry, for the purposeof presenting a fuller picture of each of these humanrights violations, forced labour and forced marriage
are calculated and presented separately.

Introduction

Slavery was first defined in a Convention adopted by
the League of Nations in 1926 as “the status or conditions of a person over whom any or all of the powers
attaching to the right of ownership are exercised.” Itthus refers to control of one person or persons overothers and is also considered a serious criminal offence.
The concept of slavery-like practices was first addressed in international law in 1956 by means of a
United Nations instrument, supplementing the earlier Slavery Convention, covering a range of institutions and practices similar to slavery, including debt
bondage, serfdom, and forced marriage.18 While theinstrument places some emphasis on criminalisation, it is also accepted that the eradication of theseslavery-like practices can be achieved only over timethrough the necessary legislative and other programmatic measures.
While the concept of trafficking in persons was addressed in a number of earlier instruments, themost recent and widely accepted definition is that
contained in the United Nations Convention against
Transnational Organized Crime Supplementar y
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking
in Persons Especially Women and Children (Palermo
Protocol), adopted in 2000. The definition specifies
that the crime of trafficking is a process constitutedby three distinct elements:
1. An act involving recruitment, transportation,transfer, harbouring, or receipt of persons;
2. By means of threat, deception, force, or otherforms of coercion;
3. For the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation
may take various forms, including sexual exploitation, forced labour, forced begging, organ
removal, and slavery and slavery-like practices.
When an act is perpetrated by one of the means to
get a victim into an exploitative situation, actual exploitation need not happen for a trafficking crime tohave taken place (in other words, intent is sufficient).
For children (below the age of 18 years), means are
not needed at all for an event to qualify as trafficking
in persons.

Photo: James Morgan.

Part 1.

Scale andmanifestationsof modern slavery

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Table 1.

Modern slavery: summary results
Number and prevalence of persons in modern slavery,by category, sex, age, and income grouping

Privatelyimposed
forced labour
excluding
FCSE

Income grouping(e)

Age

Sex

17

Forcedcommercial
sexualexploitation(FCSE)

No.(a)

‰(b)

No.

World

17,325

2.2

Male

11,303

Female‰TOTAL
PRIVATELYIMPOSEDFORCEDLABOUR

Stateimposed
forcedlabour‰TOTAL
FORCEDLABOUR(c)FORCEDMARRIAGE

TOTAL
MODERNSLAVERY(d)

No.

No.

No.

‰

2.8 49,570

6.4

No.

‰

No.

‰

6,332

0.8 23,657

3.0

3,920

0.5 27,577

2.9

1,403

0.4

12,7063.2

3,072

0.8 15,779

4

7,060

1.8 22,839

5.8

6,022

1.6

4,929

1.3

10,9512.8

848

0.2 11,798

3.1

14,933

3.9 26,731

6.9

Adults

16,017

2.9

4,644

0.9

20,661

3.8

3,603

0.7 24,263

4.5

13,0202.4 37,283

6.9

Children

13,08

0.6

1,688

0.7

2,997

1.3

317

0.1

3,314

1.4

8,973

3.8 12,287

5.2High income

4,065

3.3

1,208

1

5,274

4.3

110

0.1

5,384

4.4

1,865

1.5

7,249

5.9

Upper-middle
income

4,490

1.5

2,451

0.8

6,941

2.4

2,025

0.7

8,965

3.1

3,737

1.3 12,702

4.4

Lower-middle
income

6,467

2.2

2,122

0.7

8,590

2.9

326

0.1

8,916

3

1,4131

4.8 23,047

7.8

Low income

2,301

3.4

551

0.8

2,852

4.2

1,459

2.1

4,311

6.3

2,261

3.3

9.6

3.5 21,993

‰

6,572

Notes: (a) Number is expressed in thousands; (b) “‰” denotes cases per 1,000 population; (c) “Total forced labour” comprises privately-imposed forced labour and State-imposed forced labour; (d) “Total modern slavery” comprises privately-imposed forced labour and State-imposed forced labour and forced marriage; and (e) “Income grouping” refers to the income
grouping of the country where the forced labour occurs.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Table 2.

Modern slavery: summary results
Number and prevalence of persons in modern slavery, by region

FORCED LABOUR(c)FORCED MARRIAGE

MODERN SLAVERY(d)No.(a)

‰(b)

No.

‰

No.

‰

World

27,577

3.5

21,993

2.8

49,570

6.4

Africa

3,819

2.9

3,189

2.4

7,008

5.2

Americas

3,593

3.5

1,496

1.5

5,089

5

Arab States

886

5.3

814

4.8

1,700

10.1

Asia and the Pacific

15,142

3.5

14,207

3.3

29,3496.8

Europe and Central Asia

4,137

4.4

2,287

2.5

6,424

6.9

Notes: (a) Number is expressed in thousands; (b) “‰” denotes cases per 1,000 population; (c) “Total forced labour” comprises privately-imposed forced labour and State-imposed forced labour; and (d) “Total modern slavery” comprises all
categories of forced labour and forced marriage.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

18

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

1.1
Modern slavery
Modern slavery, as defined for the purpose of the global estimates, comprises
two principal components – forced labour and forced marriage (Panel 1). Bothrefer to situations of exploitation that a person cannot refuse or cannot leave
because of threats, violence, coercion, deception, or abuse of power.
The scourge of modern slavery has by no means been relegated to history.
The 2021 Global Estimates indicate that there are 50 million people in modern
slavery on any given day, either forced to work against their will or in a marriage that they are forced into. This translates into a prevalence of 6.4 people inmodern slavery for every thousand people in the world. More than 12 million of
the total in modern slavery are children. Women and girls comprise over half
(54 per cent) of those in modern slavery. The Asia and the Pacific region has thehighest number of people in modern slavery and the Arab States the highest
prevalence. But no region, rich or poor, is spared.

Photo: ILO / Marcel Crozet.

19Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Figure 1.

There are 49.6 million people in modern slavery
on any given day
World

World

49.6m

6.4‰

Male

Male

22.8m

5.8‰

FemaleFemale

26.7m

6.9‰

AdultsAdults

37.3m

6.9‰

ChildrenChildren

12.3m

5.2‰

AfricaAfrica7.0m

5.2‰

Americas

Americas

5.1m

5.0‰

Arab States

Arab States

1.7m

10.1‰

Asia and the PacificAsia and the Pacific
6.8‰

29.3m
Europe and Central Asia
6.4m

Europe and Central Asia
6.9‰

High income

High income
5.9‰

7.2m
Upper-middle income

Upper-middle income
4.4‰

12.7m
Lower-middle income

Lower-middle income

23.0m

7.8‰

Low income

Low income

6.6m

9.6‰

Number of people (millions)in modern slavery, by sex, age, region
and income grouping, 2021

Prevalence (per thousand population)of modern slavery, by sex, age, region
and income grouping, 2021

Note: “‰” denotes cases per thousand population.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

20

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

The situation appears to be worsening, driven in part by the social and economic shock waves emanating from the ongoing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.
A simple comparison with the previous global estimates indicates a 9.3 million
rise in the number of people in modern slavery in the period between 2016 and2021. Both categories of modern slavery – forced labour and forced marriage –contributed to the overall rise in modern slavery over this period.
Much, of course, lies behind these aggregate figures. The estimates for forced
labour and forced marriage are discussed in more detail in the subsequent sectionsof the report.

Figure 2.

The number of people in modern slavery
has risen in recent years
49.6
million21
40.3
million22.0
million15.4
million24.9
million27.6
million

Total
Forced marriage
Forced labour

2016

2021

Number of people in modern slavery, by category, 2016 and 2021

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

1.2
Forced labour
Forced labour, as set out in the ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No.29),19
refers to “all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menaceof any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.” Forced labour does not depend on the type or sector of work, but only on
whether the work was imposed on a person against their will through the use ofcoercion. There must be both a lack of free and informed consent and coercion
for a job to be considered forced labour.

1.2.1 Overview and trends
According to the 2021 Global Estimates, there are 27.6 million people in situations of forced labour on any given day, 3.5 people for every thousand people
in the world. Women and girls make up 11.8 million of this total. More than 3.3
million of all those in forced labour are children.
Forced labour has grown in recent years. There was a 2.7 million increase in
the number people in forced labour between 2016 and 2021, which translates toa rise in the prevalence of forced labour from 3.4 to 3.5 per thousand people. It
should be noted that part of the data collection for the 2021 estimates took placeprior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic (see Annex), and therefore theresults only partially reflect the effects of pandemic. The estimates therefore
likely understate the full magnitude of the increase in forced labour.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

22

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Figure 3.

Forced labour increased since 2016
in both absolute and relative terms
27.6 million

24.9 million

3.4‰

3.5‰

Number23

Prevalence
2016

2021

Number and prevalence of people in forced labour, 2016 and 2021

Note: “‰” denotes cases per thousand population.

Forced labour affects all regions. The detailed breakdown of results by region
makes clear that no part of the world is spared from the presence of forced
labour. Asia and the Pacific is host to by far the largest number of people inforced labour, 15.1 million, which is more than half of the global total and morethan three times that of the region with the next highest number, Europe andCentral Asia. But these numbers are driven by the size of the population in eachregion, and the regional rankings change considerably when forced labour isexpressed as a proportion of the population. By this measure, forced labour
is highest in the Arab States, at 5.3 per thousand people, compared to 4.4 per
thousand in Europe and Central Asia, 3.5 per thousand in both the Americas andAsia and the Pacific regions, and 2.9 per thousand in Africa.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Figure 4.

The Asia and the Pacific region has
the highest number of people in forced labour
and the Arab States the highest prevalence

4.1 million
15%

3.8 million
14%
Africa
3.6 million
13%

Americas0.9 million
3%

Arab States
Asia and the Pacific
Europe and Central Asia

15.1 million
55%

Forced labour by region: percentage distribution

5.3‰

4.4‰

3.5‰

3.5‰

2.9‰

Arab States

Europe andCentral Asia

Americas

Asia and thePacific

AfricaForced labour by region: prevalence per thousand population

Note: “‰” denotes cases per thousand population.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

24

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Most forced labour occurs in the private economy. The 2021 Global Estimatesdraw a distinction between forced labour imposed by private agents and state-imposed forced labour. Additionally, within privately-imposed forced labour, they
distinguish between forced labour in sectors other than commercial sexual exploitation, referred to hereinafter as “forced labour exploitation,” and forced labour incommercial sexual exploitation. As reported in Figure 5, 86 per cent of all forced
labour is imposed by private agents – 63 per cent in forced labour exploitation and23 per cent in forced commercial sexual exploitation. State-imposed forced labour
accounts for the remaining 14 per cent of people in forced labour.

Figure 5.

Eighty-six per cent of forced labour
is imposed by private actors

25

3.9 million
14%
Forced labour
exploitation
Forced commercial
sexual exploitation

6.3 million
23%
17.3 million
63%State-imposed
forced labour

Number and percentage distribution of people in forced labour, by category

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

The overall rise in forced labour between 2016 and 2021 was the resultof a rise in the number of people in privately-imposed forced labour. The
number in forced labour exploitation went up by 1.3 million and the number inforced commercial sexual exploitation rose by an even larger number – 1.5 million– over the 2016 to 2021 period.

Figure 6.

The rise in forced labour between 2016 and 2021
was driven entirely by privately-imposed
forced labour

3.4‰

3.5‰

27.6 million

26

24.9 million
3.9m
4.1m

2.2‰

2.2‰

6.3m
4.8m

Total forced
labour
16.0m

17.3m

0.7‰

0.8‰

State imposed
forced labour
Forced commercial
sexual exploitation

2016

2021

0.5‰

0.5‰

2016

2021

Forced labour
exploitation

Number and prevalence of people in forced labour, by sub-category, 2016 and 2021

Note: “‰” denotes cases per thousand population.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Panel 2.

Forced labour and the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, and the economic shockwaves, job destruction, and rise in poverty accompanying it, have left millions of workers worldwide
in situations of heightened vulnerability and theirfundamental principles and rights at work at greaterrisk. 20, 21 Hardest hit have been those already belonging to the most vulnerable and least protected
segments of society when the pandemic struck.

27

The initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic wereaccompanied by widespread reports of forced labour
linked to the crisis. Disruptions to income due tothe pandemic led to greater indebtedness among
workers, and with it reports of a rise in debt bondage
among some workers lacking access to formal credit
channels. 22 In worst cases, the effects extended tochildren, as desperate families resorted to negative
coping mechanisms by providing their children’slabour to obtain loans or to service existing ones
from predatory lenders. 23
Yet it is likely that not all immediate effects were unidirectional, as the general collapse in labour demandin the initial weeks of the crisis may also have led to
the release of workers who were in forced labour insome locations and sectors. The crisis also resulted
in a deterioration of working conditions for many
workers, in some cases leading to forced labour.
There were reports in a number of sectors of workers
being confined to their workplaces and forced to work
excessive hours to compensate for labour shortfalls
when the flow of migrant workers was interrupted, 24
and of workers forced to work unpaid overtime orforced to continue working despite the risk of contagion in order to meet production targets. 25, 26 Sharp
spikes in demand for personal protective equipment,in particular, were linked to reports of forced labourin numerous countries. 27
Healthcare staff and social workers in some countries
were required to work without effective PPE, thereby
endangering their health and their lives. Some governments, in classifying health workers as essential,
criminalised those who went on strike to demand
pay raises and adequate protective equipment to dotheir jobs. Additionally, around 400,000 seafarers
were trapped aboard vessels that became whatmany called their “floating prisons.” The restrictions
adopted by many countries to contain the spreadof COVID-19 meant that seafarers were unable toPart 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

leave their ships for shore leave when they arrived
at ports. 28
Other reports indicate that the closing of migration
pathways drove some prospective migrant workers
to use irregular routes and, at times, to engage
smugglers to circumvent restrictions and earn an
income for their family abroad, increasing their vulnerability to trafficking.29 Other migrants, after losing
their jobs, had to rely on irregular routes in order toreturn home, placing them at similar risk.
There were also reports of domestic workers, the majority female, forced to work extra hours without thecompensation of overtime. 30 Human rights organizations reported increased incidents of physical andsexual violence against domestic workers, as well asof homelessness and legal limbo among some wholost their live-in jobs but are unable to return to theirhome countries. More broadly, COVID-19 created a“shadow pandemic” of violence against women, 31
which some studies have linked to an increased riskof trafficking. 32
At the same time, the COVID-19 crisis constrained theability of state and non-state actors to identify andfollow up on forced labour cases, as resources andattention were diverted to the pandemic response
and lockdowns and mobility restrictions impeded
the ability of frontline actors to reach those in need.
Referral pathways faced disruptions, leading to slowdowns in case identification, referral, and protection
processes for cases of forced labour and human trafficking. Migrants in situations of vulnerability wereamong the groups particularly affected by protection
gaps.
Most of the above discussion is based on information from the initial months of the crisis. Very little
information – qualitative or quantitative – is available
on the forced labour effects of the crisis as it has
evolved since this time, as strict economy-wide workplace shutdowns were phased out in most countries
and the world economy began its fragile recovery.
The critical unanswered question is whether theseforced labour effects were a temporary responseto the severe shock at the outset of the pandemic,
or whether they have persisted into the subsequent
phases of the crisis.

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Panel 2.

There are many reasons for concern. Levels of extreme poverty – one important metric of forced
labour risk – remain far higher than the pre-pandemic
trajectory. The World Bank estimates an additional 75
million to 95 million people living in extreme poverty
in 2022, compared to pre-pandemic projections, due
to the combined effects of the pandemic, rising inflation, and the economic repercussions of the war in
Ukraine. 33 At the same time, the ILO indicates that thejobs recovery has stalled in much of the world. Hours
worked in the first quarter of 2022 were 3.6 per centand 5.7 per cent lower than pre-pandemic levels in
low-income and lower-middle income countries, respectively. 34 In both income groupings, the jobs situation has worsened since the last quarter of 2021.

Yet the question of the long-term forced labour effects of the pandemic is not one whose answer isbeyond the reach of governments or the international community, even in the face of the continuing
difficult economic and labour market headwinds. As
always, policy choices will be critical. The final sectionof this report reviews some of the key policy priorities
for ensuring that increases in forced labour do not
become a lasting legacy of the crisis.

Forced labour is a concern in countries of all income levels, including therichest. The breakdown of forced labour by national income grouping (of thecountry where the forced labour occurs) makes clear that forced labour is as
much of a problem in rich countries as it is in poor ones. Indeed, more thanhalf of all forced labour occurs in either upper-middle income or high-income
countries.
The results showing a significant presence of forced labour in higher-income
countries are supported by a range of other reports documenting the presence of forced labour in these countries35 in sectors including agriculture, 36 domestic work, 37 construction, 38 fishing, 39 and the commercial sexual exploitationindustry, 40 with many cases involving migrants in situations of vulnerability.41
Additionally, richer countries can be connected to forced labour through global
supply chains, even if the actual forced labour occurs elsewhere. Reports suggest that forced labour can occur in particular in raw materials production in
the lower tiers of supply chains of consumer goods bound for markets in the
Global North.42

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

28

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Figure 7.

More than half of all forced labour occurs in either
upper-middle income or high-income countries

20%
16%

Low income
Lower-middle
Upper-middle

32%

High income

32%

29

Forced labour, by national income grouping in country of abuse:
percentage distribution

3.5‰

6.3‰

3.0‰

3.1‰

4.4‰

World

Low income

Lower-middle

Upper-middle

High income

Forced labour, by national income grouping in country of abuse:
prevalence per thousand population

Note: “‰” denotes cases per thousand population.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

1.2.2 Forced labour exploitation
This sub-section reports the global estimates results for privately-imposed
forced labour in sectors other than commercial sexual exploitation, referred
to for the purposes of the report as “forced labour exploitation.” The forced
commercial sexual exploitation of adults and the commercial sexual exploitation of children are estimated separately using a different methodology and are
discussed in Section 1.2.3.
The 2021 Global Estimates indicate that 17.3 million people are in forced labour
exploitation on any given day, of which children make up 1.3 million. Among
adults, those trapped in this category of forced labour remained there for an
extended period of time – 15.4 months on average.

Economic sectors
Forced labour touches virtually all parts of the private economy. As illustrated in Figure 8, the global estimates identified significant numbers of adults
in forced labour exploitation across a wide array of economic sectors. Amongcases of adult forced labour exploitation where the type of work was known,43
the five sectors accounting for the majority of total forced labour (87 per cent)are services (excluding domestic work),44 manufacturing,45 construction,46 agriculture (excluding fishing),47 and domestic work.48
Services (excluding domestic work). The largest share of
total adult forced labour exploitation – almost one-third of
the total and 5.5 million people in absolute terms – is in theservices sector. This figure excludes domestic work, which
is looked at separately in the global estimates. The services
sector comprises a wide range of economic activities, including trade, transport, hospitality, and non-market socialand other services.
Manufacturing. The manufacturing sector accounts fornearly one-fifth of all forced labour exploitation of adults,
about 3 million people. Manufacturing involves the transformation of raw materials from agriculture, forestry, fishing,and mining or quarrying, as well as the transformation ofother manufacturing products into new products. Most
forced labour cases occur in production in the lower tiers ofdomestic or global supply chains.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

I don’t have legal working
permit, so they can tell
the police.
— 26-year-old woman
working in accommodationand food services

I was forced to do excessive
work due to debt, had to do
overtime to clear the debt.
— 50-year-old manin the textile industry

30

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Figure 8.

The services sector accounts for the largest shareof forced labour exploitation

31

100%

100%

100%

32.0%
5.5m

32.6%
3.7m

30.8%
1.9m

18.7%
3.2m

18.7%
2.1m

18.6%
1.1m

5.7%
0.3m
16.3%
2.8m

21.6%
2.4m

1.4%, 0.2m
11.1%
1.9m

Total

Manufacturing
Construction

12.3%
2.1m
8.2%
1.4m

11.3%
0.7m

Services excluding
domestic work

12.8%
1.4m
4.0%
0.5m
2.1%, 0.2m
8.2%
0.9m
Male

16.6%
1.0m

Agriculture
Domestic work

16.7%
1.0m

Mining andquarrying
Other(b)FemaleNumber and percentage distribution of adults in forced labour exploitation,by branch of economic activity and sex(a)Notes: (a) 2.8 per cent of respondents did not indicate a type of forced labour. (b) “Other” includes begging and involvementin illicit activities.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Construction. Sixteen per cent of all adults in forced labour
exploitation, 2.6 million people, are in the construction industry. Many cases involve migrant workers whose situations of forced labour stem from extortionate recruitment
fees and other fraudulent recruitment practices of unscrupulous labour intermediaries.
Agriculture. Thirteen per cent of all adult forced labour
exploitation, involving 2.1 million people, occurs in agriculture. Cases of agricultural forced labour vary widely. Many
involve the farming of agricultural commodities that form
the lowest links of agri-food supply chains, or other formsof commercial agriculture such as the harvesting of fruit andvegetables bound for sale in domestic or export markets.
Particularly at risk are seasonal migrant workers recruited
through informal labour intermediaries. Other cases of agricultural forced labour involve people who were born into
a life of slavery in animal herding or field work because of
their social class or inherited debt.
Domestic work. More than 1.4 million adults in forced
labour exploitation, 8 per cent of the total, are in domestic
work. Domestic workers, the majority of whom are female,are especially vulnerable to forced labour because of theirisolation, deep power imbalances with their employers, andtheir limited access to complaints mechanisms and opportunities to organize. In many contexts they are not coveredby labour and social security laws, heightening their vulnerability.49 Restrictive visa arrangements that often tie migrant
domestic workers to one employer can also increase theirsusceptibility to abuse, as can irregular immigration status,
including lack of a visa.

We either work or [they] will
prevent you from working
anywhere else.
— 25-year-old maleconstruction worker

Forced to work on the farm
until the work is finished so
I can have a break. And forced
to finish the work even after
the time and without paying
additional wages.
— 56-year-old maleagricultural worker

I worked without pay, I worked
alone from 5am to 11pm
from Monday to Friday.
— 20-year-old female
agricultural worker

Forced me to clean or else shewill kill me.
— 25-year-old female migrant domestic worker

His boss told him if he quits
the job, he will blow alarmthat he is illegal immigrant.

Other sectors. Other sectors form smaller shares of total
adult forced labour exploitation but nonetheless still ac— Male migrant domestic worker,
age unknown
count for hundreds of thousands of adults in forced labour.
There are nearly a quarter-million adult workers who areforced to dig for minerals or perform other mining and quarrying work, and 128,000 fishers who are trapped in forced
labour aboard fishing vessels, often at deep sea, a workplace characterised byextreme isolation, hazardousness, and gaps in regulatory oversight (see Panel 3).
Other adults in forced labour include 208,000 who are forced to beg on thestreet and 32,000 forced into illicit activities.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

32

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Panel 3.

Forced labour and human trafficking in fishing
There is a strong and persistent minority of fishers
for whom working conditions at sea continue to be
far from decent work. Their working hours can belong, their pay very low, and their work hazardous
and arduous. On board vessels in remote locationsof the sea for months or even years at a time, they
are extremely vulnerable to labour abuses. Poor
connectivity at sea can make it all but impossible toraise complaints. Fishers themselves describe illness,
physical injury, and psychological and sexual abuseas among the extreme violations they face. Not surprisingly, capture fisheries have one of the highest
occupational fatality rates of any industry. 50
While there has been progress in some regions andcountries, recent reports from a variety of sources
confirm that forced labour and trafficking in persons persist in the fishing industry globally. 51 Forced
labour risks are especially pronounced in, but by nomeans limited to, illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

33

Migrant fishers in particular are vulnerable to being
deceived and coerced by unscrupulous labour recruiters and forced to work on board vessels under
the threat or by means of debt bondage. Many arecharged high recruitment fees and related costs, suchas for document preparation (including obtaining
fraudulent training certificates) and for lodging andtravel during visa and document processing in theircountries of origin. Some migrant workers are also
required to pay a “runaway guarantee” or a deposit
before their employment, a sum which they forfeit ifthey attempt to terminate the employment early. In
some cases, migrant fishers are told that they are required to pay a lump sum before they can terminate
their contract, and the fishers are often not aware of
the exact amount.52 On board, the retention of wages
is one of the common means through which they arecoerced into remaining in their jobs.
There are many underlying root causes of forced
labour in the fishing industry. These include unequal power relations between crew and skipper, theremote nature of work at sea, the lack of oversightand accountability, and complicated legal jurisdictions for the enforcement of labour and human rights
among flag States, port States, coastal states, andthe states of origin of fishers. 53 The collapse of fishstocks is also a contributing factor. This has resulted
in increased effort per unit of catch, rising input costs(such as fuel for longer periods at sea), and lower financial returns, cost pressures that are often passed
on to fishers through exploitative work conditions
and reduced earnings. 54
Jurisdictional issues stem in important part fromthe highly transnational nature of work in fishing.
Migrant fishers are typically recruited from theirPart 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

country of origin and taken to a port in a transit
country to embark onto a fishing vessel, which may
be registered to a wholly different countr y andowned by an entity located elsewhere. The fishingvessels, particularly those engaged in distant water
fishing, operate in the waters of one or more othercoastal countries or on high seas and land their catchat ports that are often far from the fisher’s country oforigin. In addition, while flag States have primary jurisdiction over a fishing vessel while it is at high seas,
the use of flags of a country other than the countryof ship ownership means that some flag States areunwilling to enforce laws and regulations in their jurisdictions.
The 2021 Global Estimates indicate a total of 128,000
fishers in forced labour worldwide. However, because
measuring forced labour aboard fishing vessels poses
several unique challenges, this figure likely significantly understates the full extent of the problem.
The isolation of the workplace makes it difficult toreach the fishers affected, while the extreme vulnerability that comes with work at sea, as well as therisk of repercussions, can lead to reluctance on thepart of fishers to report and discuss abuses. At thesame time, spouses and other relatives reached bysurvey enumerators may have only limited information about the situation of their family member at sea.
New, bespoke survey instruments are needed forgenerating reliable estimates of forced labour at sea.
The ILO, IOM, and the United Nations Office on Drugs
and Crime (UNODC) are collaborating in the Blue
Fairness and Integrity Research Compact Project todevelop survey tools that will be made available tothe international community to estimate the prevalence of trafficking for forced labour in the fishingindustry. The Blue Fairness Project forms part of thebroader Blue Justice Initiative, a multi-partner effort
supported by Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry
and Fisheries to build global capacity to combat
transnational organized crime in fisheries.
ILO is also working in collaboration with research
partners to test the tools in various contexts. Under
the umbrella of the 8.7 Accelerator Lab, an ILO initiative to accelerate progress towards the eradicationof forced labour and child labour, the ILO plans to
conduct prevalence surveys on forced labour in thefishing industry. The 8.7 Accelerator Lab is a multidonor funded programme supported by the governments of Norway (Norwegian Development Agency),
Germany (Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation
and Development), and Canada (Global Affairs department). These and other related research efforts
will help in generating new, robust evidence on theprevalence and the characteristics of forced labour inthe fishing industry and will inform the next round of
the global estimates.

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Women and men differ in terms of both the extent and nature of theirinvolvement in forced labour exploitation. Overall, the number of men inforced labour exploitation (11.3 million) is nearly twice that of women (6.0 million). Men and women also differ somewhat in terms of the sectors where they
are found. Domestic work makes up 17 per cent of the forced labour exploitation of women but only 4 per cent of the forced labour exploitation of men.
At the same time, construction work accounts for 22 per cent of men’s forced
labour exploitation compared to 6 per cent of women’s. Men in forced labour are
also much more likely than women to be in mining and quarrying, although this
sector accounts for a relatively small share of total forced labour for both sexes.
The other sectors account for roughly similar shares of the total of women andmen in forced labour. Not captured in these numbers, however, is the importantgender segmentation that often occurs in the division of labour within sectors.55

34

Photo: Veejay Villafranca/Getty Images.

The composition of forced labour exploitation differs from that of thebroader labour force in a number of ways. First, as discussed below, theshare of migrants in the group of people in forced labour is much higher than
the share of migrants in the overall labour force. There are also relatively moremen among workers in forced labour compared to the labour force generally.
There are additional differences in terms of how people in forced labour and theoverall labour force are divided across sectors. People in forced labour are more
likely to be in manufacturing, and much more likely to be in construction, thanworkers in the overall labour force. They are less likely to be in the services andagriculture sectors compared to workers in the overall labour force. The mining
and quarrying sector accounts for equal shares of those in forced labour and of
those making up the overall labour force.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Figure 9.

The composition of forced labour exploitationdiffers from that of the broader labour force
in a number of ways

Services

Agriculture

Manufacturing

35

Construction

Mining and quarrying

50.9%
40.2%
27.4%
12.3%
13.1%
18.7%
7.2%
16.3%
1.4%

Labour force(a)1.4%Forced labour exploitation(b)Percentage distribution of adults in the global labour force and adults
in forced labour exploitation, by sector

Notes: (a) Labour force refers to employed persons of working age. Data for employed persons of working age fromInternational Labour Organization, “Employment by sex and economic activity — ILO modelled estimates,” ILOSTAT,
Accessed 20-10-2021; (b) 11.1 per cent of adults in forced labour exploitation work in sectors other than those shown.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Forced labour and migration
Migrant workers who are not protected by law or are unable to exercise
their rights face a higher risk of forced labour than other workers. The
2021 Global Estimates indicate that 15 per cent of all adults in forced labour exploitation are migrants (i.e., are subjected to forced labour in a country different
from that of their birth). By comparison, in 2019 international migrant workers
accounted for roughly 5 per cent of the total global labour force. 56 Migrants
are therefore disproportionately represented in the group of workers in forced
labour. Other localised studies suggest that migrants account for a much larger
share of total people in forced labour in specific sectors and locations.57
The prevalence of forced labour exploitation (expressed as a share of total workers)
also makes clear that migrant workers are more likely to be in forced labour thannon-migrant workers. Nearly 14 out of every thousand adult migrant workers arein forced labour in the private economy, a prevalence rate that is more than threetimes higher than that of non-migrant workers (4.1 out of every thousand).

Figure 10.

The prevalence of forced labour exploitation
is much higher for migrant workers thanfor other workers

Total

Male

Female

4.1‰
13.8‰
4.5‰
16.0‰
3.6‰

Non-migrant

10.6‰

Migrant

Prevalence (per thousand workers(a)) of adults in forced labour exploitation,
by migrant status and sex

Notes: (a) “‰” denotes cases per thousand workers. (b) As prevalence in this chart is expressed as a share of total workers
rather than total population, it is not comparable with the prevalence figures reported elsewhere in this report.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

36

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

While 2021 Global Estimates did not aim to estimate the prevalence of trafficking
for forced labour, it is likely that for many migrants subjected to forced labour
there was criminal involvement of traffickers at earlier stages of their journey –such as at the time of recruitment and facilitation of travel – with intent to exploit
them once they reached their destination.
While migration has a largely positive impact at individual, household, community and societal levels, the global estimates make clear that under some circumstances – for example, when migration is irregular or poorly governed, or whenrecruitment practices are unfair or unethical, or when migrants are unprotectedin law and practice – migration can create situations of vulnerability to forced
labour, trafficking in persons, and other human rights abuses.
When the need to move is sufficiently acute, or regular migration channels arelimited, individuals or families may resort to dangerous migration routes andmeans of travel, including irregular border crossings.58 Many fall into the handsof smugglers who engage in abusive practices or unscrupulous recruitment intermediaries who exact from them recruitment fees and related costs, exacerbating the cycle of debt and risk of abuse.59
Once they reach their destination, migrants may remain vulnerable to forced
labour and human trafficking due to language and cultural barriers, lack of reliable information and support networks, challenges of economic and social integration, lack of access to basic services and social security, or restrictions on
their ability to change employer or organize and bargain collectively.

37

In addition, migrant workers are often employed in sectors such as domestic
work or agriculture, which may not be covered by the labour code and where
there may be other restrictions, for example on the right to organize. High levels
of informality in such sectors further limit their access to workplace protections
or grievance mechanisms. Unscrupulous employers, landlords, and service providers may take advantage of their limited knowledge of local conditions andreduced bargaining power. This can be particularly challenging for women migrant workers, for whom regular migration channels might be restricted by law
or practice.
Several countries have introduced reforms aimed at closing gaps in the legal
protections of migrant workers. Qatar,60 for example, has adopted a range of legislative reforms and other measures aimed at ensuring the rights and freedomsof migrant workers (see separate text box). In United Arab Emirates,61 a law has
been passed to ensure the right of migrant domestic workers to, among otherthings, terminate their work contracts unilaterally.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Panel 4.

Reform of the sponsorship system: the case of Qatar
Over two million migrants work in Qatar, and they
make up 95 per cent of the workforce in the private
sector. Since 2010, when Qatar was awarded the rightto host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, there have been
widespread reports of severe labour rights violations
against migrant workers, including forced labour.
In 2014, international workers’ organizations lodged
a formal complaint with the ILO Governing Body,
where they alleged Qatar was not complying withcore international labour standards. Central to thecomplaint was the fact that the kafala, or sponsorshipsystem, was enabling an environment that could leadto exploitation and even forced labour. Moreover,concerns were raised about insufficient access to justice and complaint mechanisms for migrant workers,
inadequate labour inspection system, and weak enforcement of labour legislation.
An ad-hoc Committee of the ILO Committee on the
Application of Standards (CAS) found the allegations to be credible, and the ILO Governing Body
sent a high-level tripartite mission to Qatar in 2016
to assess the validity of these allegations. The outcome of the mission prompted the Governing Body
and the Committee of Experts on the Application ofConventions and Recommendations (CEACR) to further urge the Government to address these issues.
After a period of negotiations and some legislative reforms, in 2017 the Governing Body decided
to endorse a programme of work between the
Government of Qatar and the ILO to enact major
labour reforms, and to close the complaint procedure.
In April 2018, the ILO opened an office in Doha. Since
then, there has been significant progress that has
positively impacted the living and working conditions for hundreds of thousands of migrant workers

in Qatar. Notably, the most problematic elementsof the sponsorship system have been dismantled.
Workers can now leave the country and change jobs
without their employer’s consent. This has helped toredress the power imbalance between workers andemployers. In addition, there have been significant
legislative and policy developments in areas of minimum wage, occupational safety and health, andsocial dialogue at the enterprise level.
Despite the milestones reached, there are gaps in
implementation. Among the top remaining priorities, there is the need to address the retaliation bysome unscrupulous employers against workers whowish to change jobs. There continue to be many
complaints related to non-payment of wages andbenefits. And while new systems have been introduced to facilitate access to justice, the process canbe time-consuming and unpredictable. Lastly, a large
number of domestic workers are not yet fully benefiting from the labour reforms, particularly when it
comes to their rights on working time and the rightto a day off per week.
The ILO’s cooperation with the Government of Qatar
has demonstrated the effectiveness of the ILO’s supervisory system, which helps to ensure that countries implement the international labour standards
they ratify. It also showed that the combination ofthis unique system, the ILO’s technical cooperation
expertise, and a country’s political commitment, canproduce results quickly, and in full partnership with
the Government, and workers’ and employers’ organizations.
There is a universal recognition that the work is notcomplete, and a commitment to continue the cooperation beyond the World Cup.

Source: Monitoring compliance with international labour standards: The key role of the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions
and Recommendations, International Labour Office, Geneva, ILO, 2019, p. 51. Progress report on the technical cooperation programme between the
Government of Qatar and the ILO, International Labour Office, 2021.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

38

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Involuntariness and coercion
Forced labour involves work situations featuring two key, interrelated conditions. The first is a lack of free and informed consent (i.e., involuntariness) intaking the job or accepting the working conditions. The second is the applicationof some form of coercion, such as a penalty or threat of a penalty, to prevent an
individual from leaving a situation or to otherwise compel work. The absenceof free and informed consent and presence of coercion can occur at any stageof the employment process – at the time of recruitment to compel a person totake a job against their will, during employment to compel a worker to work
and/or live under conditions to which they do not agree, or to compel a person
to remain in the job when they wish to leave. As discussed above, international
labour standards stipulate that both involuntariness and coercion must bepresent in a work situation for it to constitute forced labour.
The 2021 Global Estimates provide insights into the most common manifestations of involuntariness and coercion faced by people in forced labour.
Conditions leading to the absence of free and informed consent

39

The 2021 Global Estimates indicate that the absence of free and informed consent
can arise from a number of overlapping factors. It is most commonly linked toworkers being confronted with work circumstances different from and inferior
to those agreed at the outset of employment. In 51 per cent of cases of adultforced labour exploitation, workers are working involuntarily because of longer
hours or more overtime than agreed, and in 43 per cent of cases because theymust perform different job tasks from those specified during recruitment. In 30
per cent of cases, they are working involuntarily because the nature of their job
is different from what they agreed to, and in 25 per cent of cases because they
because they work for someone other than the agreed employer.
Other common factors giving rise to absence of free and informed consent
relate to job conditions and living conditions associated with the job. Forty-sevenper cent are working involuntarily because of very low or no wages, 27 per centbecause of hazardous work conditions, and 23 per cent because of degrading
living conditions at the work site imposed by the employer, recruiter, or otherthird party.
Involuntary work also arises from restrictions in the ability to change employer(28 per cent) and because of debt owed to employers, recruiters, or related parties (19 per cent). In a smaller share of cases, lack free and informed of consent
stems from having to work alongside a family member who is in forced labour(14 per cent) or because the job is a condition for land and housing (10 per cent).
The latter relates in particular to sharecropping agreements that require, forexample, a wife and/or children to perform domestic work in order for the family
to have land and housing. Finally, in 1 per cent of cases, the absence of free andinformed consent is linked to situations of traditional slavery.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Figure 11.

Involuntariness in work can arise
from an array work conditions

Excessive overtime, on-call workor more hours than initially agreed to

51.3%

Very low or no wages

47.8%

Type of work different
from initially agreed

43.4%

Job is of different nature fromthat specified during recruitment

29.6%

No freedom to leaveor change employer

27.8%

Hazardous conditions

27.4%

Employer different
from initially agreed

24.5%

Degrading living conditions

22.8%

Debt owed to employer,
recruiter or related party

18.5%

Working alongside a family member
in a situation of forced labour

13.7%

Job is a requirement for land and housing(e.g., in a sharecropping agreement)

10.2%

Situation of traditional slavery

0.9%

40

Total
FemaleMale

Percentage of adults in forced labour exploitation experiencing conditions
leading to involuntariness(a) by sex

Note: (a) Percentages add to more than 100 because people can be subject to more than one condition leading to involuntariness.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Types of coercion
Coercion is what compels workers to work without free and informed consent. The
global estimates indicate that coercion can take many forms. The systematic anddeliberate withholding of wages is the most common, used by abusive employers
to compel workers to stay in a job out of fear of losing accrued earnings. Morethan one-third (36 per cent) of adults in forced labour in the private economy are
subjected to this form of coercion.
Coercion through the abuse of vulnerability affects about one in five adults inforced labour. This form of coercion involves employers exploiting workers’ vulnerability – for example, their lack of alternative livelihood opportunities – tocompel them under threat of dismissal to perform work they would otherwise
refuse 62 or to compel them to work excessive hours in order to secure a minimum wage.63
A similar share of adults in forced labour, about one-fifth, are coerced throughthreats levelled against them directly. On rarer occasions, threats also extend
to family members. Around one in ten of those in forced labour are coerced into
remaining in their job through the imposition of a financial penalty for leaving
prior to an agreed or imposed departure date.

41

Other forms of coercion affect smaller, but by no means negligible, numbersof adults in forced labour exploitation. About 5 per cent are coerced throughthe manipulation of debt – for example, by compelling people to perform work
they would otherwise refuse under threat of increasing the debt they owe to theemployer. A similar share is coerced through the use of isolation – for example,
being kept in a remote location or being isolated from contact with families orsources of assistance by confiscating mobile phones and cutting off other meansof communication.
Migrant workers who are in irregular situations, unfairly recruited, or in contexts
of poor migration governance can face coercion in the form of confiscation of theiridentity documents, which prevents them from leaving a job for fear of losing
them. Migrants in irregular situations are also coerced through threats of being
reported to authorities or deported. Other adults in forced labour are subjected
to more extreme forms of coercion, including sexual and physical violence, forced
confinement, and deprivation of food, drink, or sleep.
These forms of coercion are not mutually exclusive. Indeed, most of those inforced labour are subjected to multiple forms simultaneously.
The global estimates indicate some differences in types of coercion faced by
women and men in forced labour exploitation. Looking at the four most common
forms of coercion, women in forced labour are more likely to be coerced throughwage non-payment and abuse of vulnerability through threat of dismissal, andmen in forced labour through threats of violence and financial penalties. Amongthe other forms of coercion, women are more likely to be subjected to physicaland sexual violence and threats against family members, and men to confiscation of identity documents, threat of deportation, and forced confinement.

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Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Figure 12.

Non-payment of wages and threats of dismissal
stand out as the most common forms of coercion
faced by workers

Non-payment of wages

36.3%

Abuse of vulnerability

20.8%

Some form of direct threat

19.3%

Financial penalty

9.6%

Debt manipulation

5.1%

Isolation

4.5%

42

Physical violence

3.7%

Confiscation and retentionof identify documents

3.1%

Threat of deportation

2.5%

Forced confinement

2.2%

Deprivation of food,water or sleep

1.9%

Some form of threat
against a family member

1.3%

Sexual violence

0.5%

Total
FemaleMale

Percentage of adults in forced labour exploitation, by forms of coercion(a) and sex

Note: (a) Percentages add to more than 100 because people can be subject to more than one form coercion.

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Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Debt bondage
Debt bondage results when people are coerced to work against their will to
repay a debt with an employer or recruiter, or when debt is manipulated tocompel people to perform work tasks or accept work conditions that they would
otherwise refuse. Such debts can last years or even generations.64 They can be
manipulated in ways that make their settlement impossible.
The factors leading to debt bondage vary. Sudden shocks, such as job loss, canoblige workers without savings or access to formal credit markets to turn to predatory lenders offering loans under conditions tantamount to debt bondage. Others,
already indebted, can be forced to offer their labour or that of a family member
to service their debts when they are unable to do so through other means. Stillothers fall into debt bondage through exorbitant fees, withheld wages, and othercoercive practices of predatory recruiters or employers.65 Migrants in particular
are susceptible to having to take on large debts to pay exorbitant costs related
to recruitment and migration to secure work in countries of destination. Rarer
but persistent traditional forms of debt bondage include people born into debt
bondage through debts purportedly accumulated by their forebears.

43

One-fifth of people in forced labour exploitation are in situations of debt
bondage. While the global estimates point to the occurrence of debt bondage
across all sectors, its relative importance varies considerably from one to another. Debt bondage is most prominent in mining, agriculture, and construction,
where 43 per cent, 31 per cent, and 27 per cent, respectively, of all forced labourcases involve debt bondage. Debt bondage is present in about one in five casesof forced labour in services and domestic work and in 14 per cent of forced
labour cases in manufacturing. Other studies point to bonded labour in specificindustries including brickmaking, tobacco, fishing, illegal logging and timber
extraction, carpet weaving, and textile and garment manufacturing, among others.66 Marginalised communities, ethnic and religious minorities, and indigenous
peoples are among the groups at particular risk.67

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Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Figure 13.

One-fifth of all people in forced labour exploitation
is in situations of debt bondage

World

20.9%

Male

19.7%

Female22.0%

Mining and quarrying

43.1%

Agriculture

31.0%

Construction

27.4%

Services excluding domestic work

19.4%

Domestic work

19.3%

Other

14.5%

Manufacturing

14.0%

Percentage adults in forced labour exploitation who are in situationsof debt bondage,(a) by sex and sector

Notes: (a) Debt bondage for the purpose of the global estimates refers to two specific situations: (1) when a person is
coerced work against their will to repay a debt with employer or recruiter (e.g., “you must take this job to repay the money
you owe me, or else I will hurt your family”); or (2) when debt is manipulated to compel a person to perform work tasks or
accept work conditions that he or she would otherwise refuse (e.g., “if you do not work all night to finish the order, I will
double the amount of money that you owe me”).

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

44

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

1.2.3 Forced commercial sexual exploitation
This sub-section refers to persons in forced labour imposed by private actors forcommercial sexual exploitation. This category of forced labour includes adults’
forced involvement in commercial sexual exploitation, in production of sexual
abuse materials, and in new forms of Internet-based commercial sexual exploitation. It also includes all forms of commercial sexual exploitation involving children.68
The 2021 Global Estimates indicate a total of 6.3 million people are in situations of forced commercial sexual exploitation on any given day. This
number includes 1.7 million children in commercial sexual exploitation, about aquarter of the total. Gender is a critical determining factor – nearly four out of
every five of those trapped in forced commercial exploitation are girls or women.
Information from other sources underscores the close link between forced commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking. According to UNODC, half of all identified trafficking cases reported to the organization in 2018 involved trafficking
for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation.69 The CTDC also reports large
shares of identified cases involving trafficking for sexual exploitation, with somegeographic variation.70

45

The trafficking mechanisms can be complex. UNODC, for example, reports multiple cases of collaboration between criminal groups specializing in recruitment
and brokering women for commercial sexual exploitation in a source country
and other criminal networks specializing in their “reselling” and abuse in destination countries.71 Traffickers commonly use false promises of other job opportunities abroad – for example, in domestic service – as a ploy to recruit women into
situations of forced commercial sexual exploitation.72 Increasingly, social media
and websites are used to recruit people via fake job advertisements.73
According to CTDC, victims trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation
report psychological abuse as the most frequent means by which traffickers control them, followed by restrictions on their freedom of movement and threats
being made against them or their loved ones.74
The numerous large-scale crises currently unfolding worldwide, and the population displacements and heightened vulnerability associated with them, arecreating fertile ground for human traffickers. In Ukraine, for example, international organizations are raising the alarm about the risk of human trafficking
and commercial sexual exploitation among the millions of women and children
fleeing the conflict there.75 Similar concerns have been raised in a number ofother conflict-related crises, including in Central African Republic, Colombia,
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, Somalia, South
Sudan, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, and Yemen.76

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Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

1.2.4 Forced labour of children
The 2021 estimates indicate that a total of 3.3 million children are in situations offorced labour on any given day, accounting for about 12 per cent of all those inforced labour. And owing to data constraints, these numbers, already alarming,
may well be just the tip of the iceberg. The forced labour of children constitutes one
component of child labour,77 which the international community – through Target
8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals – has committed to ending by 2025.
There are concerns that the risk of forced labour among children has been madeworse by the COVID-19 pandemic. An estimated 10.4 million children, for example, have lost at least one parent to the pandemic, out of which 7 million havebecome orphans, leaving them vulnerable to abuse in contexts in which childsupport systems are inadequate.78
A total of 1.7 million children are in commercial sexual exploitation, constituting
over half of all children in forced labour. A further 1.3 million, accounting for 39
per cent of the total, are in forced labour exploitation. The remaining 0.32 million
children in forced labour, 10 per cent of the total, are subjected to state-imposed
forced labour.

Figure 14.
46

One half of all children in forced labour
are in commercial sexual exploitation

1.31 million
39%
Forced labour
exploitation
State-imposed
forced labour

1.69 million
51%

Commercial sexual
exploitation
0.32 million
10%

Percentage distribution and number of children in forced labour, by category

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Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Figure 15.

The forced labour of children occurs acrossa wide range of economic sectors and industries

47

Word cloud of commonly occurring words(a)Note: (a) This word cloud was generated using data collected by the ILO through a series of regional mappings of information on the forced labour of children in Asia, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The mappings relied on a variety
of secondary sources and indicated (where available) the economic sector or activity in which children were engaged.

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Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

A review undertaken for this report of information from a wide range of supplementary sources79 makes clear that the forced labour of children occurs acrossa wide array of economic sectors and industries (Figure 15). Some of the formsof forced labour of children are discussed briefly below.
Commercial sexual exploitation of children. There are tragic accounts frommany parts of the world of children in situations of commercial sexual exploitation, including in travel and tourism and the production of child sexual abusematerials. Some of the severe forms of coercion and abuse these children are
subjected to include abduction, drugging, being held in captivity, deception, manipulation of debt, and the confiscation of identity documents.
Many are trafficked into such situations, ending up far from their homes andfamilies. The commercial sexual exploitation of children appears to be mostprevalent against marginalised children struck by poverty, social exclusion, anddiscrimination, children on the move (particularly unaccompanied or separated
children), children with disabilities, children living in residential care, and children left behind by their parents.80 Situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis
can leave children especially vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation.81
The online commercial sexual exploitation of children, involving the dissemination of acts of sexual abuse over the Internet, is also a growing concern
worldwide. 82 The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Sale and Sexual
Exploitation of Children has indicated that COVID-19 has greatly amplified therisk of online child commercial sexual exploitation.83 The Internet is also creating
new channels for the trafficking of children and for connecting trafficking victims with their abusers.84
Forced labour of children in domestic work. The number of child domestic
workers subjected to forced labour is difficult to estimate as this work occurs
behind closed doors in private homes. What begins as a case of child labour may
evolve into forced labour when children are required to work long hours, or are
subjected to physical, psychological, or sexual abuse, with no means of escaping
their employer.
In parts of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and South Asia, there are entrenched systems of domestic bondage involving children, such as the criadazgo
in Paraguay,85 padrinazgo in Peru,86 vidomegon in Benin,87 confiage in Togo,88 andkamlari in Nepal.89 Girls or members of minority ethnic groups are often particularly affected. There is an important two-way link between the forced domestic
work of children and child trafficking. Forced domestic work can be the resultof trafficking while, at the same time, children who escape this form of forced
labour also become more vulnerable to trafficking.90
Children in situations of debt bondage. Debt bondage of children persists
in many parts of the world. It can be linked to traditional practices, such as the
wahaya practice in Niger involving domestic work and sexual exploitation,91 andthe Haliya and Kamaiya practices in Nepal involving agricultural bonded labour.92
In countries such as Mali and Mauritania,93 despite some progress, hereditaryslavery practices affecting entire families persist in some areas. These practices
see children starting lives in slavery in activities such as cattle herding, field workand domestic work.

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Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced MarriageChildren are also found in debt bondage in many contexts because their parents
are in such situations. In South Asia, where endemic levels of debt bondage
persist among brick kiln workers,94 children work alongside their indentured
parents.95 Irregular migration also poses a risk of debt bondage for children.
There are reports of child migrants in an irregular situation migrating from Asia
or Africa to Europe and falling into debt bondage to repay their travel costs tosmugglers.96
Child trafficking for forced labour. UNODC statistics indicate that children
account for one in every three detected victims of trafficking worldwide, rising
to one in two in low-income countries. Most, but not all, of these children aretrafficked for the purpose of forced labour.97 Identified cases of child trafficking
for forced labour reported by the Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative (CTDC)
indicate a lower but still very large share of one in five worldwide.98
The CTDC data indicate that children are most commonly trafficked into domestic
work (21 per cent), followed by begging (10 per cent), the hospitality sector (7per cent), street and small scale informal retail (6 per cent), illicit activities (6 percent), and agriculture (5 per cent). 99 Other reports point to child trafficking forforced labour in agriculture100 and mining and quarrying,101 among others.

49Children affected include girls in rural and remote parts of Africa who are trafficked to urban areas for forced labour in domestic work,102 scheduled casteand tribal children in South Asia who are trafficked to distant cities to work in
manufacturing, and indigenous and migrant children in Latin America who aretrafficked to work as domestic servants, to work for organized criminal groups,
or to be used as soldiers in armed conflicts.103
Studies in West Africa, Latin America, and South Asia highlight how the practiceof families sending children outside the home for employment can increase therisk of child trafficking.104 Crisis situations can also create opportunities for childtraffickers. In Bangladesh, the IOM reports an organized network for trafficking
Rohingya children out of refugee camps for domestic work.105 There are growing
concerns of child traffickers preying on children attempting to flee the conflictin Ukraine.106
Forced begging and illicit activities. Nearly one in ten identified cases of childtrafficking for forced labour reported by IOM’s CTDC are trafficked for begging
and one in 20 for illicit activities.107 There are reports of children’s involvement inforced begging and forced engagement in illicit activities in many regions of theworld. In parts of the Sahel in Africa, the UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking
in Persons reports the continuing practice of children being required to beg
by religious teachers with whom they are sent to live, ostensibly for spiritual
guidance.108, 109 Other reports indicate other forms of forced begging involving
children in Eastern Europe,110 Southeast Asia,111 and Latin America and the
Caribbean.112
Other reported illicit activities involving children include the production andsmuggling of narcotics in Southeast Asia,113 theft in Europe,114 and the sale andtransport of stolen goods in North America.115 Children can be coerced into workin illicit activities through threats of violence,116 exploitation of economic vulnerability,117 and promises of status.118

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Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced MarriageChildren in armed conflict. The recruitment and use of child soldiers, mostly byarmed groups but also sometimes by government forces, is a persistent problem
in approximately 20 countries and several conflict zones. The UN Security
Council reported around 10,000 children recruited and abducted each year in
the past five years,119 some as young as 8 or 9-years-old.120 Affected countries
include Afghanistan,121 Democratic Republic of the Congo,122 Mali,123 Myanmar,124
Nigeria,125 Somalia,126 South Sudan,127 Sudan,128 Syrian Arab Republic,129 andYemen.130
In addition to taking direct part in fighting, children can also be forced into otherroles in armed conflict situations that involve abhorrent abuses of their humanrights. Reports from a variety of war contexts document children being used as
human shields,131 in intelligence gathering,132 in mine clearance, as bodyguards,
in planting improvised explosive devices, and as perpetrators of acts of terror.133
Girls may be forced into sexual slavery or forced marriages. Many children are
abducted.134 In addition, they may be forced to perform extremely hazardous
child labour in the production of conflict minerals.135
Direct exposure to extreme violence is a common thread across all children associated with armed conflict, whether they are witnesses, forced combatants,
or forced participants in some other role. The psychosocial and physical consequences can last a lifetime.136

1.2.5 State-imposed forced labour
State-imposed forced labour is used in the global estimates to describe various
forms of forced labour that are imposed by state authorities, agents acting on
behalf of state authorities, and organizations with authority similar to the state.
It is prohibited by ILO Convention Nos. 29 and 105, subject to certain exceptions.
State-imposed forced labour has a number of overarching characteristics: 1)
there is a mobilisation of labour using state apparatuses including the army, thepolice, the judiciary, and the prison system; 2) these state apparatuses act either
in accordance with national law that is in non-conformity with ILO Conventions
or remain unchallenged in imposing forced labour in contravention of national
and international law; 3) there is no path to remediation because the forced
labour is imposed by the state itself.
An estimated 3.9 million people were in state-imposed forced labour at
any point in time in 2021. More than three of every four (78 per cent) of thosein forced labour imposed by state authorities are male. Eight per cent of thosein state-imposed forced labour are children.
Underlying these aggregate figures are a number of different categories ofstate-imposed forced labour. Over half (56 per cent of all cases) involve someform of abuse of compulsory prison labour: the abuse of compulsory prison
labour for private interests, either in work performed by prisoners in privately-managed prisons or in work performed by prisoners inside or outside publicprisons for private interests; forced labour imposed on people in pre-trial oradministrative detention; or cases connected to the imposition of labour on
persons imprisoned for non-violent political offences, for labour discipline, fornon-violent participation in strikes, or as a means of discrimination.

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Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Figure 16.

State-imposed forced labour takes a variety
of different forms

0.7 million
17.3%
Abuse of compulsory
prison labour
Abuse of conscription

1.1 million
26.9%

2.2 million
55.8%

51

Forced labour for economic
development, and abuseof the obligation to perform
work beyond normal civic
obligations or minor
communal services

Percentage distribution and number of people in state-imposed forced labour,by category

The abuse of conscription into military services accounts for 27 per cent of allcases. The remaining 17 per cent of cases involve either the obligation to workfor the purpose of furthering national economic development, people being
forced to work in excess of normal civic obligations, or people being forced toperform communal services exceeding the nature and scope of these activities
as permitted by ILO standards.
The comments from the ILO’s supervisory bodies’ regular system of supervision
make clear state-imposed forced labour persists in all of the world’s regions.
Below, specific manifestations of the different categories of state-imposed
forced labour are illustrated on the basis of information drawn from the ILO’s
supervisory bodies’ regular system of supervision, including the Committee ofExperts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) andthe International Labour Conference’s Tripartite Committee on the Applicationof Standards (CAS), as well as from other UN human rights monitoring bodies.

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Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Abuse of compulsory prison labour
Compulsory labour in prison can be imposed only on prisoners who meet certain
conditions: they must be convicted of a crime in a court of law following due process137 but must not have been convicted of a non-violent political offence,138 forbreaches of labour discipline,139 for non-violent participation in strikes,140 or as ameans of racial, social, national, or religious discrimination.141 Furthermore, thework itself must be supervised by public authorities and must not be for private
individuals, companies, or associations unless a number of additional conditions
are met (explained below).142
Compulsory labour for people convicted of a non-violent political offence
One of the most common violations of the rules on prison labour is the imposition of compulsory work on people detained for non-violent political offences.
The CEACR has been regularly requesting ratifying states to take measures toreview their legislation or the manner in which the legislation is applied in practice with a view to ensuring that the legislation does not allow for or is not used
to impose penalties involving compulsory labour (including compulsory prison
labour, public, or correctional work) on persons who express political views orpeacefully oppose the established political, economic, or social system.
Recent examples of such requests include Burundi,143 Algeria,14 4 Benin,145
Kazakhstan,146 the Russian Federation,147 United Arab Emirates,148 and United
Republic of Tanzania.149 The most recent individual case discussed by the ILO
Committee on the Application of Standards (CAS) concern Azerbaijan (2022),150
Fiji (2022),151 and Zimbabwe (2021).152
In the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has expressed grave concern
about “credible accounts of forced labour under exceptionally harsh conditions
within the ordinary prison system, which may amount to the crime against
humanity of enslavement.”153 The forced labour included construction work,
farming, logging, mining and similar forms of heavy manual labour. The exceptionally harsh work conditions included reports of “extremely long working
hours, starvation rations, overall poor living conditions, denial of medical careand frequent beatings for minor infractions and failing to meet work quotas.”154
The CEACR and other UN human rights monitoring bodies have also expressed
concern over the use of anti-terrorism laws or the guise of national security
concerns as means of imposing prison sentences for the expression of political opinions or the exercise of independent civil society activity including tradeunionists, business’ leaders and other human rights defenders such as lawyers or journalists (e.g., Bangladesh,155 Algeria,156 , the Bolivarian Republic ofVenezuela and Cameroon).157
Imposition of forced labour as a means of racial or religious discrimination
With regard to China, delegates to the International Labour Conference of the
ILO, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Rapporteuron contemporary forms of slavery have raised concerns about forced labour insome parts of China. In a context where employment schemes are used forpoverty alleviation and where such schemes are linked with the prevention ofreligious extremism, the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

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Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

refers to allegations of practices of forced or compulsory labour with respect
to Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim minorities, mainly with respect toplacements in vocational education and training facilities and on leaving such
facilities, and labour placements known as “surplus labour” and labour transfer”
schemes. The report concluded that there were indications that such schemes
were discriminatory in nature or effect and that they seemed to involve elements of coercion.
On 12 August 2022, China ratified the ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930
(No.29) and the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No.105).158 The
latter requires ratifying Member states “ to suppress and not to make use of
any form of forced or compulsory labour: (a) as a means of political coercion or
education or as a punishment for holding or expressing political views or views
ideologically opposed to the established political, social or economic system;(b) as a method of mobilising and using labour for purposes of economic development; (c) as a means of labour discipline; (d) as a punishment for having
participated in strikes; or, (e) as a means of racial, social, national or religious discrimination”. This ratification creates renewed momentum for cooperation with
the Government and social partners to pursue these issues, to combat forced
labour and support human-centred development and decent work.

53

Pakistan is among the other countries where the CEACR has noted the imposition of compulsory labour as a means of racial or religious discrimination.159
In the United States, the CEACR has strongly encouraged the government tostrengthen its efforts to ensure that racial discrimination at the sentencing andother stages of the criminal justice process do not result in the imposition of
racially disproportionate prison sentences involving compulsory labour.160
Forced labour for breaches of labour discipline
Forced labour imposed as a consequence of a breach of labour discipline has
been found to occur in countries including Botswana,161 where national legislation provides for sanctions of imprisonment involving compulsory prison labour
for any wilful breach of a contract of employment by an employee who is acting
either alone or in combination with others, if such breach affects the operation of overly broadly defined essential services. It has also been found in the
Republic of Moldova,162 where criminal legislation provides that the non-performance or improper performance by an official in their duties as the result of anegligent attitude, causing substantial harm to legitimate rights and interests ofpersons or organizations, or to public interests, is punishable by imprisonment(which involves compulsory prison labour).
Several countries have laws imposing sentences of imprisonment on seafarers,
or fines or forceful return to their ships, for breaches of labour discipline suchas refusal to obey orders or absence without authorisation. These laws amountto a compulsion to work under threat of penalties. The ILO allows the imposition of proportional sanctions for actions that would endanger the ship or thelife or health of persons on board. Otherwise, all sanctions involving compulsory labour should be abolished under ILO Convention Nos. 29 and 105 and the
Maritime Labour Convention.
Cases involving seafarers dealt with by the CEACR include South Africa,163 where
national legislation provides for prison sanctions (involving compulsory prison
labour) for breaches of discipline by seafarers, including: wilfully disobeying any

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lawful command or neglecting duty; combining with any of the crew to disobey
lawful commands, neglect duty, impede the navigation of the ship or retard
the progress of the voyage; preventing, hindering, or retarding the loading, unloading, or departure of the ship; desertion; and absence without leave. Other
examples include Grenada164 and United Arab Emirates,165 although both countries have committed to reforms aimed at bringing their laws into conformity
with the forced labour conventions.
Imposition of forced labour for non-violent participation in strikes
Another frequent violation is the imposition of labour on prisoners incarcerated for non-violent participation in strikes (e.g., Côte d’Ivoire,166 Kazakhstan,167
Philippines168) or otherwise promoting workers’ rights. Strike action may be prohibited, and penal sanctions involving forced labour imposed, for workers inessential services in both the public and the private sector as well as in limited
other circumstances (such as those involving minimum operational requirements and minimum safety and health requirements). However, some countries
define “essential services” much more broadly than the supervisory bodies haveconsidered acceptable, and breaches of a strike ban in services that cannot be
considered “essential” should then not be subject to forced labour under C105
(e.g., Bangladesh169 and Guatemala170).
Abuse of prison labour for the benefit of private parties
Prison labour can be used for the benefit of private individuals, companies, ororganizations only if several additional requirements are met. The prisoner must
consent to the work and must not be threatened with a penalty (such as loss ofprivileges) for refusing. The conditions of work offered by the employer must be
proximate to those that would be offered to other workers in the labour market.
Prisoners must receive similar wages as other workers, daily working hours must
conform with labour laws, health and safety measures must be in place in accordance with legislation, and any standard safeguards available to other workers
must be present. Workers must additionally be supervised by the public authorities. Examples of countries where prison labour for private entities meets withthe requirements of the Convention include Canada,171 Chile,172 and Colombia.173
Violations typically involve the assignment of prisoners to work for private interests without asking for their consent and/or without remuneration. In several countries, prisoners freely consenting to work for private enterprises areeither not paid a wage at all or paid only nominal wages. Cases examined by UN
human rights monitoring bodies include Mongolia.174 In other countries, cases
dealt with by the CEACR involve prisoners assigned to work for private interests
with remuneration but without consent (e.g., Australia,175 Austria,176 Germany,177
the Russian Federation,178 and United Kingdom179).
Compulsory labour for persons in administrative detention
Compulsory labour cannot be imposed on people in administrative detention inany circumstances. A common violation is the imposition of compulsory labouron those detained by law enforcement authorities but never meant to be tried because they have committed “minor offences” – those that are not serious enough tobe subject to criminal prosecution but errant enough to qualify for “re-education.”

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Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Other cases involve the imposition of compulsory labour on detainees in administrative detention centres established for drug users, beggars, sex workers,
vagrants, street children, and other marginalised groups, again ostensibly forre-educational or rehabilitative purposes. In Belarus, for example, persons suffering from chronic alcoholism, drug addiction, or substance abuse may be sent
to medical labour centres, where they have an obligation to work.180 Other examples include Mozambique,181 where persons identified as “unproductive” or“anti-social” can be arrested and sent to re-education centres or assigned to productive sectors; and Democratic Republic of the Congo,182 where persons may
be arrested and judged by a court for vagrancy or begging and forced to work.
In the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, OHCHR reports of people being
subjected to hard labour in labour “training camps” (rodongdanryondae) by anadministrative process without trial.183
Compulsory labour for persons in pre-trial detention

55

The imposition of labour on persons in pre-trial detention prior to their conviction also occurs in a number of countries (e.g., Democratic People’s Republicof Korea184). Many countries do not specify in law whether compulsory labour
may be imposed during the pre-trial period, leaving a legal grey area enabling
prison administrations to subject pre-trial detainees to labour. Other countries
provide explicitly in law that compulsory labour may be imposed even before
an independent judge has confirmed the detention (e.g., Democratic Republicof the Congo185). The effects of these legal shortcomings are compounded incontexts in which overburdened judicial systems result in prolonged periods ofpre-trial detention.
Pre-trial detention laws in some countries are used to imprison activists and political dissidents indefinitely, mix them into the prison population at large, andsubject them to compulsory labour as prisoners. Cases examined by the CEACR
include Cambodia,186 where compulsory prison labour may be imposed on NGO
representatives, trade union members, and human rights defenders who are kept
in pre-trial detention for long periods of time; Azerbaijan,187 where compulsory
prison labour may be imposed on journalists, social media activists, and opposition political activists who express dissent or criticism; and the Bolivarian Republicof Venezuela,188 where there is continued criminalization of social movements andimposition of compulsory prison labour on political opponents and dissidents.

Abuse of conscription
This form of state-imposed forced labour occurs where states force conscripts subject to compulsory military service laws to perform work not of a “purely militarycharacter.”189 Abuse of conscription is often carried out under the pretext of contributing to social and economic well-being, reviving transport infrastructure, generating green energy, and other objectives requiring large-scale labour mobilisation.
Abuse of conscription is therefore generally linked with the broader prohibition of
the use of forced labour for the purposes of economic development (see below).190
The ILO recommends that legislation should clearly reflect the principle that
non-military tasks are to be restricted to emergencies or performed exclusively
by volunteers.191 Comments from the CEACR indicate that some countries not
only fail to specify the restriction but, on the contrary, provide explicitly in law
that conscripts can be mobilised for civil and developmental purposes (e.g.,
Mongolia192 and Zambia193).

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The use of labour exacted within the framework of compulsory military service
to build infrastructure or produce certain resources for the state194 has been
noted by the ILO supervisory bodies in Egypt,195 where national legislation provides that young persons who have completed their studies, and who are surplus
to the requirements of the armed forces, may be directed to work in the development of rural and urban societies, in agricultural and consumers’ cooperative associations, and in the production units of factories. It was also noted in Chad,196
where within the framework of compulsory military service, conscripts who are
fit for service are classified into two categories, one of which remains at the disposal of the military authorities for two years and may be called upon to perform
work in the general interest by order of the government, and in Myanmar,197
where conscripts are required to perform a variety of non-military tasks.
Other states exclude military personnel from the protection in constitutionalor labour law from forced labour (e.g., Zimbabwe198) or bundle civic service withmilitary service to make the former also compulsory for conscripts (e.g., Mali199).
Some countries require military officers to obtain the approval of a tribunal or
panel before they are allowed to resign, without at the same time specifying
in law the criteria to be used to decide whether a resignation request will be
accepted (Egypt). 200 In other countries, career military officers are not allowed
to leave their service, even in peacetime (e.g., Albania,201 Uganda,202 Malaysia203).
The right of military officers to resign was addressed by the General Survey of2012 on the Fundamental Conventions, where it is recalled that under the ILO
Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), career military personnel and otherpersons in the service of the State, who have voluntarily entered into an engagement, should have the right to leave the service in peacetime within a reasonable
period, either at specified intervals, or with previous notice. 204

Compulsory labour for the purpose of economic
development, and abuse of the obligation to perform workas part of normal civic obligations or minor communal services
Compulsory labour for the purpose of economic development
This form of state-imposed forced labour occurs when a state uses compulsory
labour to promote economic development, in contravention of ILO Convention
No. 105.205 The prohibition applies even where recourse to forced or compulsory
labour as a method of mobilizing and using labour for purposes of economic
development is of a temporary or exceptional nature.
The CEACR and other UN human rights monitoring bodies have expressed deep
concern about the forced participation in Turkmenistan206 of public servants,
private sector workers, and students in cotton harvesting for the government,
almost always for little or no compensation, under threat of substantial fines
for refusal. Turkmenistan law also contains conditions under which a court may
impose an administrative sanction in the form of community service, which includes cleaning the streets and pavements of the district or town and upkeepof public amenities, working in rural areas (crop, livestock, or poultry farming),
and upkeep of grounds to mitigate damage from natural disasters (floods, landslides, earthquakes). 207

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Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Exaction of work beyond normal civic obligations
or beyond minor communal services
States cannot impose work on people beyond normal civic obligations 208 andminor communal services. An exception to this prohibition applies if the work is
extracted in cases of emergency, such as a war or disaster. 209 Outside of emergencies, only compulsory military service is excluded from the scope of ILO
Convention No. 29 (subject to the condition that it is used “for work of a purely
military character,” as discussed above).
States or local authorities can mandate minor communal services if these are
performed in the direct interest of a community and by members of the benefiting community. The services must be “minor” – of small scale and short duration210 – and members of the community or their direct representatives have theright to be consulted about the need for the services. Any mandatory work thatis considered a minor communal service but violates any of these conditions isforbidden by Convention No. 29. 211

57

Violations generally involve the assignment of work that is too long or onerous tobe “minor,” or unilateral decisions on the work to be performed without proper
consultation of the affected population. In Rwanda, where all adult citizens
aged 18 to 65 years are required to perform unpaid community work including
infrastructure construction on a monthly basis, the CEACR has requested theGovernment to take the necessary measures in order to ensure that this community work is limited to “minor services”, which constitute an exception to forced
labour as provided for in the Convention. 212 Another example involves mandatory periods of civil service for doctors specializing in public health or newly
graduated professional specialists (Algeria213).
Migrant domestic workers are another category of workers who in some countries can fall into situations tantamount to forced labour because of statelaws restricting their rights and freedoms. Such situations have been noted in
Oman, 214 where the existence of a sponsorship system enables a relationshipin which migrant workers, including domestic workers, are dependent on theirsponsors/employers, and links the work permit of this category of workers totheir sponsors. The system prevents migrant workers from freely terminating
their employment. In Saudi Arabia, 215 where migrant domestic workers do not
enjoy the same rights as other workers in the country, they can be subjected toeconomic and physical abuse and exploitation, the confiscation of passports byemployers, and the de facto persistence of a sponsorship system.

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Legal reforms towards ending state-imposed forced labour
Important reforms in law related to state-imposed forced labour have been
noted by the CEACR in a wide range of countries in recent years. Of course, reforms to legislation constitute only a first step – real progress towards ending
state-imposed forced labour depends on translating these reforms into practice.
In Uzbekistan, 216 a number of measures have been taken towards ending thepractice of state-imposed forced labour in the cotton harvest. The 2021 ILO
Third-Party Monitoring Report of the cotton harvest in Uzbekistan found thatUzbekistan had eradicated systemic forced and child labour associated with theharvest. 217
In Viet Nam218 and Türkiye, 219 new laws have eliminated provisions regarding
the engagement persons in compulsory military service in tasks or roles of a
non-military nature. In Morocco, 220 amended laws on imprisonment for press
speech, defamation, and “attacking religion or the monarchical regime” meanthese actions are no longer punishable by imprisonment with forced labour.
In Benin,221 legal reforms mean that the offences of defamation, insult, and contempt committed by the press, in printed matter, posters or any other modernmeans of mass communication are no longer sanctioned with prison sentences.
In Guinea,222 the penal code has been amended with the effect that persons who
have not disturbed public order may no longer be punished by imprisonment
involving the obligation to work. In Seychelles,223 legal reforms in 2020 repealed
prison as a disciplinary measure for seafarers. Kiribati224 is an example of progress in amending laws dealing with strike action.
The CEACR has noted several cases of progress concerning the application of
Article 1(a) of Convention No. 105, which prohibits the use of any form of forced
or compulsory labour as a means of political coercion or education, or as a punishment for holding or expressing political views or views ideologically opposedto the established political, social, or economic system. For example, in Burkina
Faso, 225 the CEACR noted with interest that a new law on print media had removed prison penalties for the offences relating to attack on honour, insult, anddefamation. In Sierra Leone, 226 the CEACR noted with interest that persons who
operate a media institution without a license were punished with fines only. In
Serbia, 227 the CEACR noted with satisfaction the adoption of Act No. 6 on publicgatherings which only provided for fines in case of its violation but not penalties
of imprisonment.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

58

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

1.3
Forced marriage
This section of the report presents the main findings relating to forced marriage.
Forced marriage is a human rights violation228 and a harmful practice that leads
to the infliction of physical, mental, or sexual harm or suffering. It has both
short- and long-term consequences, and negatively impacts the capacity of individuals to realise their full rights. 229

59

Within the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, allmember states have committed to eliminate child, early, and forced marriages(Goal 5.3). Forced marriage refers to situations where a person has been forced
to marry without their consent. As set out in the joint general recommendation of the UN’s Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women(CEDAW) and the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), child marriage isconsidered a form of forced marriage, given that one and/or both parties cannot
express full, free, and informed consent. 230 However, in many countries 16 and17-year-olds who wish to marry are legally able to do so following a judicial rulingor with parental consent.
For the purpose of the current estimates, the measurement of forced marriage islimited to marriages of both adults and children that respondents to the survey
reported as having been forced and without consent. As a result, the estimates
do not include every instance of child marriage, as child marriage is not currently
measured adequately at the scale or specificity required for a global estimate.

1.3.1 Overview and trends
An estimated 22 million231 people were living in forced marriage on any given day
in 2021, nearly three in every thousand people in the world. These 22 million arepeople who were forced to marry at any time in their life, without their consent,
and who are still alive and living with their partner. Women and girls make up
14.9 million of this total.
The number of men, women, and children living in forced marriages has
risen globally. There was a 6.6 million increase in the number of people living
in a forced marriage between 2016 and 2021. During this time, the prevalenceof forced marriage rose from 2.1 to 2.8 per thousand people. As noted earlier inthis report, part of the data collection for the 2021 Global Estimates took placeprior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis, so the results only partially reflect
the effects of the pandemic.
These estimates are considered conservative for several reasons, not least thatforced marriage as presented here is based on a narrow definition and does notinclude all child marriages. UNICEF estimates about 650 million women and girls
living today were married before the age of 18. 232

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Figure 17.

The number of men, women, and children living
in forced marriages has risen globally
22 million

15.4 million

2.8‰

2.1‰

NumberPrevalence
2016

2021

Prevalence (per thousand) and number of people in forced marriage,
2016 and 2021

Note: “‰” denotes cases per thousand population.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

60

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

The increase in forced marriage is partially explained by compounding crises
including the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts, 233 and climate change, 234 whichhave increased the risk of forced and child marriage. These crises have led tounprecedented increases in extreme poverty,235 lower education rates,236 a risein distress migration,237 and significant increases in reports of gender-based violence. 238 All these factors are associated with increased vulnerability to forced
marriage.

61

In some countries beset by armed conflict, women and girls
are abducted and trafficked by armed groups and forced tomarry fighters, enduring all manner of sexual, physical, andemotional abuse. Traffickers capitalise on the widespread
human, material, social, and economic losses and consequent vulnerabilities caused by emergencies. In conflictand post-conflict settings, forced marriage is also used as
survival mechanism. Families fleeing conflict who are facedwith physical and economic insecurity may see marriage asa way of alleviating poverty and protecting female relatives
from difficult living conditions.239 Similarly, they may fall preyto traffickers who claim to offer a safer place to live and job
opportunities.240 Males in conflict settings may under-reportexperiences of forced marriage to avoid being accused of
weakness or social deviance, including accusations of homosexuality in countries where it is illegal or widely disapproved of. 241

When I got married I was 13
years old. And I had a really
big responsibility. I could nothandle the cooking or thehousework. It was a huge responsibility. I used to look at myfriends and wish I could returnto the days of childhood again.
— Female refugee and survivorof child marriage242

In March 2022, the Global Protection Cluster, a network of NGOs and international organizations engaged in crisis protection and response, reported a major
increase of “child, early or forced marriage” in humanitarian crises comparedto the situation six months prior. Fifty-two per cent of national cluster operations reported the situation as severe or extreme, compared to 42 per cent in
September 2021. 243
Forced marriages take place in every region in the world. Nearly two-thirdsof all forced marriages, an estimated 14.2 million people, are in Asia and thePacific. This is followed by 14.5 per cent in Africa (3.2 million) and 10.4 per cent
Europe and Central Asia (2.3 million). When regional population is accounted for,the Arab States is the region with the highest prevalence at 4.8 per thousandpeople, followed by Asia and the Pacific at 3.3 per thousand. The Americas has
the lowest prevalence of forced marriage at 1.5 per thousand people.
COVID-19 has led to increased risk of forced marriage in every region. The collection of official statistics, including civil registration systems, was interrupted
during the pandemic due to mobility restrictions, safety and ethical considerations, delays in response services, or de-prioritisation.244 Where data is available,
increases in child and forced marriages have been reported in Afghanistan, 245
Bangladesh, 246 India, 247 Indonesia, 248 Sudan, 249 Egypt, 250 Yemen, 251 Jordan, 252
Senegal253, Uganda,254 and Democratic Republic of the Congo. 255

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Figure 18.

The prevalence of forced marriage
is highest in the Arab States

1.5 million
7%
Arab States

3.2 million
13%

Asia and the Pacific

2.3 million
10%

0.8 million
4%

Europe and Central Asia
Africa14.2 million
65%

Americas

Forced marriage by region: Percentage distribution

4.8‰

3.3‰

2.5‰

2.4‰

1.5‰

Arab States

Asia andthe Pacific

Europe andCentral Asia

AfricaAmericas

Forced marriage by region: Prevalence per thousand population

Note: “‰” denotes cases per thousand population.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

62

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Elsewhere in the world, calls to hotlines about forced marriages increased. In
the UK in 2020, calls to a forced marriage NGO helpline increased in the earlydays of the pandemic before returning to pre-pandemic rates in 2021. 256 The
same is true of child specific hotlines, which saw a doubling of reports in partsof Malawi257 and Mozambique. 258
Three in every five people in a forced marriage are in lower-middle income
countries. However, wealthier nations are not immune with 25 per cent of forced
marriages in high or upper-middle income countries. Prevalence of forced marriage was highest in low- to middle-income countries (4.8 per thousand people),followed by low-income countries (3.3 per thousand), and high-income counties(1.5 per thousand).
Vulnerability to forced marriage will be exacerbated by uneven recovery fromthe pandemic: low-income countries within the Arab States, Americas, Africa,and Asia and the Pacific regions are projected to have the slowest recovery,259
which may result in longer-lasting risks of forced and child marriage in thosecountries.

63

More than two-thirds of those forced to marry arefemale. This equates to an estimated 14.9 million womenand girls. The prevalence of forced marriage is higher for
females than males across all regions. While the global estimates show that the vast majority of those forced to marry
are women and girls, it is worth emphasizing that men andboys comprise 32 per cent of the total. More research isneeded to better understand how men and boys experience
forced marriage.

My mom forced me, she will
help her to clean the house.
— 39 year-old man who was forced
to marry at age 17

Forced marriage is a complex and highly-gendered practice. Although men andboys are also forced to marry, it predominately affects women and girls and isoften underpinned by patriarchal norms260 that emerge in early adolescence but
play a role in the forced marriage of females at every stage of life. In many partsof the world, a girl’s value is seen to lie in her future role as a mother and wife
and, as such, she is perceived to hold little economic value for her own family.
This is reinforced by inheritance laws that often lead to men and boys inheriting
family assets. For families with scarce resources, the future role of a son as headof the family and the perception of his greater earning potential leads to his
education being prioritised over that of a daughter.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Figure 19.

Three in every five people in a forced marriage
are in lower-middle income countries

2.3 million
10%

1.9 million
9%

3.7 million
17%High income
Upper-middle
Lower-middle
Low income

14.1 million
64%

64

Forced marriage by national income grouping: Percentage distribution

1.5‰

1‰

4.8‰

3.3‰

High income

Upper-middle

Lower-middle

Low income

Forced marriage by national income grouping:
Prevalence per thousand population

Note: “‰” denotes cases per thousand population.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Figure 20.

The prevalence of forced marriage is higher
for females than males across all regions

World

AfricaAmericas65

Arab States

Asia and the Pacific

Europe and Central Asia

1.8‰
3.9‰
1.1 ‰
3.7‰
0.8‰
2.1‰
4.3‰
5.5‰
2.1‰
4.5‰
2.1‰

Male

2.8‰

FemaleForced marriage by sex and region (prevalence per thousand population)

Note: “‰” denotes cases per thousand population.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Two in five of those forced to marry were children when the marriage took
place. Among these children, 41 per cent were forced to marry before the ageof 16 years. Girls were more likely than boys to be forced to marry (87 per centversus 13 per cent).
Although marriages under the age of 10 do occur, they arevery rare. The lowest age at marriage reported in the sample
was 9 years and the highest, 69 years. Girls were more likely
than boys to be forced to marry (87 per cent versus 13 percent).

I was afraid of him. I didn’t
want to live or sleep with him
in the same bed…
[B]ut they told me that asa wife I was supposed to livewith my husband. It was thenthat the reality dawned on me
that I was married.
— Female who was forced
to marry at age 11261

Photo: coldsnowstorm.

66

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Figure 21.

Two in five of those forced to marry was a childwhen the marriage took place
22 million

13 million

9 million

13.1%
32.1%
43.8%

67
86.9%
67.9%
56.2%

Male
Female
Total

Adult

Forced marriage by sex (percent)Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

ChildGlobal Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Figure 22.

Nearly one quarter of all females who were forced
to marry, were married before 16 years of age
22 million

7 million

15 million

1.0%

17.0%

16.1%
24.3%

23.8%
37.3%

68

27.3%

36.3%

26.4%

15 years and under
35.9%
16 and 17 years
18 to 24 years

16.0%

25 to 34 years
18.1%
11.2%

5.9%
1.1%

1.0%

1.0%

Total

Male

FemaleAge at time of forced marriage and sex (per cent)Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

35 to 44 years
45+

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

1.3.2 Circumstances surrounding
forced marriages
Forced marriages occur in every region of the world and cut across ethnic, cultural, and religious lines. The many drivers of forced marriage are closely linked
to longstanding patriarchal attitudes and practices and are highly context-specific. 262 Girls and women are forced to marry in exchange for payment to theirfamilies, the cancellation of debt, or to settle family disputes.
Fundamentalist religious and social norms that stigmatise pre-marital sex andlimit access to sexual and reproductive health rights also play a role in forced
marriages. In North America, forced marriages have been reported among conservative religious sects 263 and in some US states judges can issue marriage
licenses for girls under the age of 15 if they are pregnant.264 In some societies,a rapist can escape criminal sanctions by marrying the victim, usually with theconsent of her family. 265

69

Forced marriage intersects with migration and human trafficking. While many
people voluntarily migrate for marriage, migration may create situations of vulnerability that can be exploited to subject a person to forced marriage. People
may be intentionally deceived and trafficked into forced marriage or, once having
migrated or while still on the journey, end up in situations where they cannot
escape and are coerced into forced marriage. 266,267 Girls and young women who
are forced into marriages (early or child marriage) may migrate to escape theirhusbands or parents. In high-income countries, women and girls are forced tomarry foreign men for cultural reasons or to secure another person’s entry into
the country.
The findings presented in this section offer further insights into the circumstances surrounding forced marriages reported by respondents.
Family members are primarily responsible for forced
marriages. Most persons were forced to marry by theirparents (73 per cent) or other relatives (16 per cent). Fourper cent of females in the sample were forced to marry by amarriage broker.

My father introduced me tohusbands since I was twelve.
— 40 year-old female who
was forced to marry at age 17

The ways in which a person is coerced to marry range from overt actions,such as physical or sexual violence or being physically restrained, to emotional pressure. Half of those living in forced marriages were coerced using
emotional threats or verbal abuse. This includes the use of emotional blackmail,for example, parents threatening self-harm or asserting that the family’s reputation will be ruined, and threats of estrangement from family members, among
other things. This was the most common form of coercion used to force bothmales (75 per cent) and females (46 per cent) to marry. Physical or sexual violence and threats of violence were the next most used form of coercion to force
a marriage (20 per cent). Among females, a further 11 per cent reported being
kidnapped or forced to travel abroad for the purpose of marriage.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Figure 23.

Family members are primarily responsible
for forced marriages

64.0%
73.1%

76.1%

70

Parents

7.8%

Other relative
Other non-relative

15.9%
25.3%

6.4%

0.3%

2.9%
1.4%
Total

18.6%

0.2%
0.5%
0.3%

2.2%

0.4%

Male

Marriage broker
Spouse/family of spouse

3.7%
1.1%

Community/Religious leader

FemaleForced marriage by the person most responsible for forcing the marriage(per cent)aPart 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Figure 24.

The ways in which a person is coerced to marryrange from overt actions, such as physical orsexual violence or being physically restrained,
to emotional pressure
100%

100%

100%

46.0%
52.9%

71
74.8%

Emotional threats
or verbal abuse
21.9%
19.2%

Kidnapped/forced
to travel abroad/tricked
11.1%

9.5%

10.4%

6.6%

4.0%

7.1%
6.8%

5.8%

4.7%

3.5%
2.6%

2.7%
3.4%

3.5%

Male

FemaleTotal

Physical/sexual violence
and threats of violence

0.1%

3.4%

Forced marriage by forms of pressure or coercion (per cent)Note: (a) Percentages may exceed 100 as multiple options were allowed.

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

Physical isolation
or restraint
Threats of withdrawalof economic support
or removal from education
Threats of legal action
or deportation
Married without participationor knowledge

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Females were more likely than males to report being
forced to perform work by their spouse or the spouse’sfamily. Thirty-two per cent of respondents identified thatthey were forced to perform domestic labour, 25 per centin their own home and 6.5 per cent in the homes of otherfamily or community members. A further 8 per cent of females reported being forced to work in a business ownedby their spouse or spouse’s family. Over half (57 per cent)of people living in forced marriage reported that they were
not forced to perform work or tasks. This is likely to be an
overestimate, as those who are in a forced marriage may
be unlikely to view control or coercion to conduct certain
activities within the marriage as being “forced.”

I had to leave the situation
or be killed. I know I can neverreturn home because I am
considered a dead person
for breaking the culture andbringing shame to the families.
According to my father,
I am dead.
— Female survivorof three forced marriages268

Photo IOM Sibylle Desjardins.

72Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Figure 25.

Once forced to marry, there is greater risk offurther exploitation, including sexual exploitation,
domestic servitude and violence, and other formsof forced labour both inside and outside the home
100%

100%

100%

48.7%
57.0%

73

None
81.1%

Domestic labour in the home –over what is reasonably
expected to maintain a home
Other
25.1%

18.7%

4.6%
7.5%

6.5%

0.2%

5.6%
4.5%

6.0%

15.9%

6.1%
0.6%

2.9%

Total

Male

Forced to engage in sexualintercourse with spouse
Work in business(spouse/spouse’s family
retain money that was earned)
Forced child-bearing

8.0%

0.8%

Domestic labour outside
the home for otherfamily/community members

0.9%

1.1%
FemaleForced to engage in sexualintercourse with someone
other than spouse

Forced marriage by sex and types of work/tasks made to perform during
the marriage (per cent)Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Panel 6.

Forced marriage and the COVID-19 pandemic
COVID-19 has exacerbated the underlying driversof all forms of modern slavery, including forced
marriage. Widespread socio-economic instability
due to the pandemic led to increased global unemployment, job loss, 269 increased indebtedness, 270 and
an increase in extreme global poverty for the firsttime in 20 years. 271 COVID-19 interrupted educationand service delivery, increased rates of pregnancy,and led to the death of parents or guardians. 272
Despite prior progress in reducing the rate of childmarriage, post-pandemic estimates from UNICEF andthe United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) warnthat an additional 10 to 13 million girls will be marriedbecause of pandemic-related restrictions, economic
downturn, gender-based violence, and increasing socio-economic insecurity. 273
As with all forms of modern slavery, it is those whoare already vulnerable who are most exposed tothese economic shocks. Many low-income families, already less financially resilient and more vulnerable tojob and wage loss, 274 sought to reduce expenditures
on education or to decrease their household size. 275
Often in these scenarios, daughters are viewed as financial burdens rather than potential wage earners,
forcing their families to see little alternative than tomarry them off. 276 Regular interruptions to children’s
education, caused by school closures to stymy the
spread of COVID-19, led parents to question the valueof education against the alternative of early marriage. Food insecurity caused by economic hardshipalso drives forced marriage. 277 For example, in West
and Central Africa, COVID-19 caused supply chain
issues that exacerbated food shortages already impacted by economic insecurity, recurring droughts,
and conflict. This led to harmful coping mechanisms,
including forced marriage, to obtain food and othergoods. 278
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated gender-based
violence. According to UNFPA, every three months oflockdown produced an additional 15 million cases ofgender-based violence globally. 279 Women and girls
were exposed to sexual, physical, and psychologicalabuse from family members and intimate partners
because of stay-at-home orders and quarantine restrictions. 280 Forced marriage risk can also increase
where women and girls experience other forms ofgender-based violence, such as female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). 281
Pandemic-related restrictions reduced access to
support services and identification mechanisms for
those at risk of forced marriage. A study in the UK
identified a reduction in calls to national helplines
and in the number of Forced Marriage Protection
Orders that were issued, 282 suggesting that people

Part 1. Scale and manifestations of modern slavery

were less able to access these protection measuresor that people who tended to report concerns foundit harder to identify people at risk. 283 Redirection ofhealth workers to work on the pandemic, coupledwith closures of sexual and reproductive health services and stay-at-home orders, 284 increased vulnerability to exploitation. 285 This, in turn, increased therisk of adolescent pregnancies, which heightenedpressure among unmarried females to marry. 286
Moreover, public health, safety, and financial considerations impacted the work of grassroots and service
delivery civil society organisations, where services
had to be closed and budgets reduced, thereby decreasing support to those at risk and survivors. 287
In Niger and Kenya, for example, safe houses wereclosed, creating a gap in the protection of girls at riskof gender-based violence. 288
The intersection between COVID-19, conflict,political instability, and climate change has further exacerbated risks of forced marriage amongcommunities already struggling with survival.
Approximately 452 million children were living in conflict zones in 2020, 289 with an increasing number ofchildren requiring humanitarian assistance in theseareas because of the pandemic. 290 In Afghanistan, forexample, the pandemic, an ongoing food crisis, andpolitical insecurity of the Taliban government haveworsened the economic situation for families, resulting in an increase in child marriage, with reports
of families offering daughters as young as 20 days old
for future marriage in return for a dowry. 291 COVID-19
also intersects with climate change. Frontline organizations in Kenya report that the pandemic has undermined their work to prevent child marriages, which
had already increased due to the impacts of climatechange. 292
Despite the increase in risk of forced marriage, there
have been some reports that COV ID-19 restrictions and the subsequent economic downturn may
have delayed some child marriages. For example,
in Jordan, girls reported delayed child marriages
because wedding venues were closed, gatherings
restricted, and wedding expenses were too prohibitive. However, many girls reported that some in theircommunities still got engaged or married during thevarious lockdowns. 293 On the other hand, COVID-19
limitations prohibiting large gatherings in India 294
and Sudan 295 unintentionally provided another incentive for child and forced marriages: the reduced
cost of a smaller wedding. While in many ways weare still learning about the full extent of the impact
of COVID-19 on forced marriage, vulnerability will be
exacerbated in many regions of the world.

74

Part 2.

Endingmodern slavery:
the path to 2030

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Modern slavery is the very antithesis of social justice and sustainable development. The 2021 Global Estimates indicate there are 50 million people in situations of modern slavery on any given day, either forced to work against theirwill or in a marriage that they were forced into. This number translates to nearly
one of every 150 people in the world. The estimates also indicate that situationsof modern slavery are by no means transient – entrapment in forced labour canlast years, while in most cases forced marriage is a life sentence. And sadly, thesituation is not improving. The 2021 Global Estimates show that millions moremen, women, and children have been forced to work or marry in the period since
the previous estimates were released in 2017.

Nothing can justify the persistence of
these human rights abuses in today’s world.
We can and must do better.
Through the adoption of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), theglobal community has committed to ending modern slavery among children by2025, and universally by 2030 (Target 8.7), and, relatedly, by 2030 to eliminatingof all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private
spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation (Target5.2), and ending abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence andtorture against children (Target 16.2).

77

As the 2025 and 2030 dates for achieving these ambitious SDG targets drawnearer, it is urgent that the global community gathers the will and resources
to get progress towards ending modern slavery back on track. Promises andstatements of good intent are not enough. While the principal responsibility forchange lies with national governments, a whole of society approach is needed– the social partners, participants in the social and solidarity economy, civil society, survivor organisations, the business community, investors, and an arrayof other groups have critical roles to play.
It is not a question of not knowing what to do. There is a substantial and growing
body of policy and programming experience in addressing modern slavery, offering critical guidance for the future. The overall rise in modern slavery alsomasks numerous contexts that have registered significant reductions, offering
additional key insights into the policy choices needed for progress. International
legal instruments provide the normative framework for efforts against modern
slavery. 296
The two elements of modern slavery – forced labour and forced marriage – bothreflect a denial of people’s freedom and their economic and social agency. Bothrefer to situations of exploitation that a person cannot refuse or leave becauseof threats, violence, coercion, and deception. Both involve underlying imbalances and abuses of power. Both are embedded in patterns of discrimination,
deprivation, and poverty. Gaps in governance, in law and practice, create thespace for both these abuses to occur.

Part 2. Ending modern slavery: the path to 2030

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Yet in many ways these two human rights abuses are also unique. Forced labour
occurs in the world of work and is interwoven with denial of the right to bargain collectively and the right to freedom of association. Broader economic andlabour market forces can play an important determining role. Forced marriage
occurs outside the world of work but those living in a forced marriage may besubject to forced labour and domestic servitude. Forced marriage is driven
by entrenched patriarchal norms, discriminatory legislation, and policies andsystems that place lower value on women and girls and control their sexuality.
Policy responses must necessarily reflect these important differences.
This section looks separately at key policy priorities for addressing forced
labour297 and forced marriage in the lead up to the 2025 and 2030 target dates.

Photo: NRECA International.

78

Part 2. Ending modern slavery: the path to 2030

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

2.1
Forced labour
Expanding workers’ voices
The freedoms of workers to associate and to bargain collectively are indispensable to a world free from forced labour. These fundamental labour rights
enable workers to exert a collective voice to defend their shared interests: tobargain collectively for secure and decent work, including fair incomes, and topress public authorities to ensure that legal protections in the world of work
are enforced, thus creating workplaces that are inimical to forced labour andworkers who are resilient to its risks.

79

Ensuring respect for workers’ fundamental rights of freedom of association andcollective bargaining is a critical precondition for social dialogue, which is in turnvital to building lasting, consensus-based solutions to the challenge of forced
labour. Without the respect of freedom of association and collective bargaining
in all parts of the economy, there can be no negotiation for “a fair share of wealththey have helped to generate,” 298 and without that there can be no decent work.
Yet much more needs to be done to ensure these rights are realised, both inlaw and in practice, not least in the informal economy. More than 40 per centof the world’s population lives in countries that have not ratified either the ILO
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention,
1948 (No. 87) or the ILO Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention,
1949 (No. 98), and restrictions on the universal rights to establish or join a tradeunion and to bargain collectively persist in law or in practice in most countries.
The COVID-19 crisis is adding to the challenge of ensuring necessary legal protections and guarantees. The ILO Committee of Experts on the Application ofStandards has noted that “in some countries exceptional measures have led
to temporary restrictions including the setting aside of collective bargaining
mechanisms and the resulting agreements.”299,300 Both the European Trade Union
Confederation301 and the International Trade Union Confederation302 have raised
similar concerns.
Redressing the lack of effective access to representation in the informal
economy, where forced labour abuses are overwhelmingly concentrated, is especially important to progress against forced labour. It is also a central elementin broader efforts towards the formalisation of informal workplaces.
Reaching informal economy workers so they can organize in collective representative structures is difficult but far from impossible. Groups of informal workers,
including domestic workers, home-workers, brick-kiln workers, tenant farmers,
and artisanal fishers, are developing innovative forms of organization to represent and defend their interests, often with the support of established tradeunions, demonstrating what can be done. 303

Part 2. Ending modern slavery: the path to 2030

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Some of these organizing efforts involve the establishment of bespoke tradeunions, while others involve bringing informal economy workers from a variety
of sectors under the umbrella of an existing national trade union. Still others relyon alternative organizing frameworks, such as small producers’ cooperatives or
hybrid structures containing elements from each. Some are cross-national inscope, involving cooperation between trade unions in source and destination
countries, to help ensure the trade union representation of migrant workers.
These experiences make clear that there is no one-size-fits-all solution – a widearray of approaches is relevant and necessary.
Migrant workers are among the groups particularly affected by restrictions on
their rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining, in some contexts because law forbids them to join unions and in others because they areconcentrated in sectors in which the freedoms to associate and bargain collectively are not protected under law. This is particularly so for migrants withirregular status. However, most international commitments, as well as the 2030
Agenda’s promise of leaving no one behind, means that it is critical that suchbarriers are removed, including in relevant policy and legislative frameworks.

Extending social protection,
including social protection floors, to all
Social protection is also central to broader progress against forced labour. Put
simply, social protection is a primary means of mitigating the socio-economic
vulnerability that underpins much of forced labour. When set at an adequatelevel, it has a critical “emancipatory value” providing workers with the basic
income security to be able to say no to jobs that are abusive and to quit jobs
that have become so. More generally, social protection can obviate the need forpoor and credit-constrained people to resort to unscrupulous moneylenders
to survive shocks such as sudden job loss or family illness, in turn limiting theirrisk of falling into situations of debt bondage. There is also evidence that social
protection can facilitate savings, and thereby enable workers to take greater
productive risks and engage in income generation activities. This, too, can promote income security and reduce the power and pull of informal moneylenders.
With the huge increase in poverty and disruptions in the world of work in thewake of the COVID-19 pandemic, compounded by a cost-of-living crisis and acutefood insecurity, at no other time have these arguments for social protection asa strategy against forced labour been more relevant.
There is an urgent overarching need to extend at least basic social security guarantees to all workers and their families, without discrimination. Such guarantees
are an important part of a nationally-defined social protection floor, which forms
the “ground floor” of a universal social protection system. 304 A particular priority in this regard are those struggling to eke out an existence in the informal
economy, where most forced labour is found and where the COVID-19 crisis has
hit especially hard. Despite important progress, the most recent ILO estimatesindicate that 4 billion people are still without social protection, 305 a large share ofwhom are found in the informal economy. There is a growing body of experienceoffering critical guidance in extending social protection to those in the informal
economy as part of facilitating their transition to formality. 306

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Extending legal coverage by bringing previously excluded categories of informal
workers under social security legislation is a critical first step to extend protection to commonly excluded categories, such as workers in agriculture, domestic
workers and workers in casual employment, and, cutting across these categories, migrant workers.
In terms of broad approaches for extending effective coverage, both contributory social insurance schemes and non-contributory, tax-financed programmes
have a role. However, in view of the limited contributory capacities of workers insituations of extreme vulnerability who are most at risk of forced labour, tax-financed programmes or subsidised social insurance mechanisms are particularly
relevant. Cash transfer programmes are one tried and proven non-contributory
instrument for addressing the contingencies faced by workers vulnerable toforced labour, and by their families, including during crises such as the COVID-19
pandemic. 307 Cash transfers are also being used to help those freed from forced
labour to get back on their feet and prevent their re-victimization. 308

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Yet there is no single answer to extending social security to workers in the informal economy, in view of the scale of the challenge, the diversity of the informal
economy, and the wide variety of work arrangements within it. Other relevant
programmes include child benefits, disability benefits, support for those withoutjobs, and old-age pensions, as well as effective access to health care. All have arole to play in the social protection response to forced labour, guided by international labour standards. 309 Provisions for the portability of social security related
benefits can also be important. There are numerous examples of approaches
using all of these mechanisms to extend at least basic social security guarantees
to hitherto uncovered groups susceptible to forced labour, including domestic
workers, 310 agricultural workers, 311 workers in micro- and small enterprises, 312
and self-employed workers. 313 Concerted efforts are also needed to ensure thatvulnerable workers are aware of and able to access social security. 314
Migrants and, above all, migrants in irregular situations, 315 unaccompanied andseparated migrant children, asylum seekers, the forcibly displaced (both internally and across international borders), and refugees – are especially vulnerable
to forced labour and trafficking for forced labour. Addressing the array of obstacles, legal and practical, to social protection for these groups therefore constitutes a particular priority. They should have equitable and non-discriminatory
access to main social protection schemes, as partial provision of social protection through limited parallel schemes is not enough. Again, country experiencesin this area offer valuable guidance. 316
The challenge of strengthening and extending social protection systems, including floors, clearly cannot be met in the absence of adequate financing. This
is by no means an impossible task. The estimated US$77.9 billion per year required to ensure a social protection floor in low-income countries pales in comparison to the approximately US$19 trillion mobilised in the global fiscal stimulus
response to the pandemic. 317 Countries need to reinforce existing sources offinancing and also develop new and innovative ones. 318 International experience
points to a range of options available to countries. 319

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Promoting fair and ethical recruitment
Unscrupulous recruitment practices directly contribute to forced labour andother human rights abuses in the world of work. The global estimates, for example, indicate that 20 per cent of all forced labour cases involve debt bondage.
While some relate to feudal forms of debt bondage, many are linked to extortionate fees and related costs paid by workers – particularly migrant workers– during recruitment by unscrupulous recruitment agencies and labour intermediaries. Several other common forms of coercion associated with forced labour,
including deception about the nature and conditions of work and the identityof the employer, contract substitution, retention of passports, withheld wages,
and illegal wage deductions, can also be traced to abusive and fraudulent recruitment practices. The COVID-19 crisis has served to exacerbate the risk ofrecruitment abuses facing workers in many contexts. 320
These facts underscore the critical importance of fair and ethical recruitment
to broader efforts against forced labour and trafficking for forced labour. The
adoption of laws and regulations to help ensure that workers and jobseekers, including migrants, are not subjected to various recruitment-related abuses, suchas deception, document retention, or high recruitment or related costs – in linewith international labour standards321 and guidelines322 – is a necessary starting
point.
An ILO review of national regulations and measures in the labour recruitment
sphere indicates that legislation in many countries is still not aligned with international guidelines and standards. Examples of shortcomings include recruitment fees and related costs not clearly defined or explicitly prohibited,legislation that does not cover both national and cross-border recruitment,
and legislation that lacks explicit provisions for sanctions for recruitment violations. 323 Other studies indicate that recruitment regulations commonly only
cover recruiters operating at the upper end of the labour supply chain, leaving
the various labour intermediaries and subcontractors acting on behalf of therecruiters outside the government’s regulatory authority. 324
Stepped up efforts are also needed to ensure compliance with existing recruitment laws and regulations. There is a growing compendium of good practices tohelp guide these efforts. 325 Public labour inspectorates, discussed further below,
and other relevant authorities at national and sub-national level have a criticalrole to play through monitoring of private recruitment and placement agencies,
the detection of abusive recruitment practices, the processing of complaints andapplication of sanctions. 326 In some countries, for example, bespoke inspection
bodies with the authority to issue dissuasive sanctions have been set up to monitor the recruitment industry. 327
Yet the proliferation of actors along the labour supply chain and jurisdictional
limitations can challenge the inspection and enforcement capacity of manynational regulatory bodies. Joint liability laws are one emerging strategy forlightening the enforcement burden of regulatory authorities. By also obliging
employers to report on the recruitment due diligence steps they take andmaking them legally liable and subject to sanction for fraudulent or abusive
recruitment or labour practices in their own operations and supply chains, andrelated recruitment corridors, these laws create incentives for employers to use
their market power to influence better recruitment practices. 328

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In contexts of international recruitment, bilateral agreements between origin
and destination countries can serve to formalize their shared responsibility
in dealing with labour recruitment issues, so that recruitment abuses along alabour supply chain are not simply displaced from origin country to destination
country, or vice versa. While there are a growing number of bilateral agreements
dealing with labour migration generally, too few specifically address labour recruitment issues. 329 Another related concern is the phenomenon of some countries of destination avoiding their fair recruitment responsibilities by shifting
their migrant recruitment focus to less-regulated countries of origin. 330
Expanded collective efforts to engage with workers at the early stages of recruitment and empower them with information about the risks of recruitment
abuses is also critical to broader forced labour prevention efforts. Pre-departure
preparedness programmes have had a proven effect in reducing the risk of recruitment debt and other recruitment abuses along some migration corridors.331
Post-arrival orientation programmes are also undertaken in some contexts toreach migrants with information about their rights and obligations, including in
the recruitment process. 332 Yet such pre-departure and post-arrival programmes
still reach only a very small share of total cross-border migrants. 333

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Much more can also be done to leverage the promise of information and communication technologies (ICT) in promoting among workers awareness and information exchange relating to recruitment issues. 334 Recruitment Advisor, 335 a
web platform launched by the International Trade Union Confederation withsupport from the ILO and other groups, is one promising ICT tool for providing
workers with information on recruitment agencies and a peer-to-peer forum
for exchanging experience. A recent review identifies a wide range of other ICT
tools, including mobile phone apps, social media platforms, and peer-to-peer
networks, for providing recruitment information to migrants, enabling communication between migrant workers and frontline responders, and providing
online recruitment platforms for direct hiring. 336 In addition, relatively simple
interventions, such as making sure workers have free access to the Internet,
contribute to workers’ awareness and well-being and prevention of exploitation
and abuse.
Accurate and informative media coverage of fair recruitment can be criticalto raising awareness of recruitment abuses and, more broadly, to promoting
a more informed and less politically-charged public debate on recruitment issues. 337 In this context, the ILO and its partners are supporting the creation andstrengthening of networks of specialized journalists and have released a toolkit
for journalists on reporting on forced labour and fair recruitment. 338

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Strengthening the reach and capacityof public labour inspectorates
Public labour inspectorates have a central role to play in the prevention, identification, and follow-up of forced labour. Labour inspectorates are uniquelyequipped to detect and act on labour violations – for example, withholding ofwages, unfair deductions, fraudulent contracts, or abusive recruitment practices – before they deteriorate into forced labour. Their privileged access to theworkplace by virtue of their mandate means they are also uniquely positioned
to identify cases of forced labour when they occur, and to refer perpetrators tocriminal law authorities for prosecution and the workers concerned to protection
actors for assistance and follow-up. Labour inspectorates can also have the important function of raising awareness of forced labour risks and the complianceobligations of employers in this regard. 339
Public labour inspectorates require the necessary resources, capacity, and mandates to effectively fulfil these important functions. Many, already chronicallyunderfunded and understaffed, have come under further pressure as budgetary space for labour administrations has shrunk in the wake of the COVID-19
pandemic. Effectively extending the reach of labour inspection into the informal
economy constitutes a particular challenge in view of its expansiveness and thefact that much of it falls outside the typical pattern of labour relations – characterised by clearly-defined employers, employees, contracts, and workplaces– upon which labour inspection is traditionally based. 340
Yet the informal economy is where forced labour is overwhelmingly concentrated, and expanding the reach of inspectors into the informal economy istherefore critical. Evidence also suggests that extending labour inspection to
informal entities can also incentivise their formalisation. 341
New inspection approaches are needed that are adapted to the informal
economy. A participatory approach based on the principle of stakeholder engagement offers one a straightforward and cost-effective way forward in thisregard. 342 This approach, initially developed in West Africa, involves the engagement of an array of informal economy stakeholders (e.g., representatives oftrade associations, employers’ and workers’ organizations, cooperative associations, and local community representatives) and institutional partners (e.g., municipal authorities, social security agencies, and public occupational and healthservices) in the planning and implementation of inspection activities. These
actors do not replace public labour inspectors but rather complement and support them, providing critical “eyes and ears on the ground,” thereby helping toextend inspectors’ reach and effectiveness.
The development and expansion of information and communication technologies (ICTs) is an important, but hitherto underexploited, complementarystrategy for extending the reach of labour inspectorates into the informal
economy, and for preventing, detecting, and publicising human rights abuses
occurring there. 343 Such technology can be put to use to automate some routine inspection tasks, thus providing inspectors more time to cover a greaternumber of workplaces. Equally important, ICT solutions have a critical role toplay in bringing together and analysing disparate administration data sources– e.g., social security, taxes, labour and criminal law, and occupational safety
and health – to identify high-risk sectors and locations in the informal economy
where inspectorates can strategically and proactively concentrate their efforts.

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Assessments of one such application, Apprise, a multilingual tool being implemented in a number of Southeast Asian nations, points to the broader relevanceof these mobile digital applications in helping inspectors overcome challenges ofcommunication, privacy, trust, language, and training during workplace inspections. 344 In probing sensitive topics such as forced labour, these advantages canbe especially relevant.

Ensuring protection for those freed
from situations of forced labour
and trafficking for forced labour345
There are 27.6 million people in situations of forced labour and untold millions
who more have escaped or been rescued from modern slavery, forced labour,and human trafficking, but continue to suffer from its cruel consequences – financial ruin, legal jeopardy, and physical and psychosocial trauma, among otherthings. The rights of these people to protection and remedies as set forth ininternational standards346, should be upheld.

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An essential first step in ensuring that those subject to forced labour receive
the protection and assistance they need is through their effective identification. Despite progress, still only a small fraction of those subjected to forced
labour are identified and referred to comprehensive protection services or provided with compensation or other forms of remedy. 347 Effective identification
requires adequate legal and protection frameworks based on international
commitments, 348 sufficiently trained and resourced labour inspectors, law enforcement and social protection entities, as well as non-state actors, to identify
those in situations of forced labour or human trafficking. Experience also points
to the potential of complaints mechanisms or hotlines, often leveraging ICT applications, in enabling people subjected to forced labour or human trafficking
to self-identify and contact an agency or organization that can assist them. 349
Beyond this, for their comprehensive protection needs to be met and rights
to be realized, referral mechanisms setting out roles and responsibilities forcompetent protection actors and service providers, state and non-state, bothwithin and across borders, are necessary. 350 National and transnational referralmechanisms (NRM/ TRM) can play a critical role in coordinating the efforts ofboth state and non-state actors in identification and follow-up protection efforts. Developed first in Europe, NRM models are now being introduced in otherregions. Transnational referral mechanisms are also needed to ensure the comprehensive cross-border assistance and/or transfer of identified or potential
trafficked persons and the continuum of care across various locations. 351

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The obligation to protect revolves around measures for immediate assistance,
rehabilitation and access to long-term sustainable solutions, so they can successfully recover and avoid re-victimization. Special consideration should begiven to children, migrants, and those trafficked for forced labour. Much also
remains to be done in these areas. Most countries provide basic assistance,such as temporary shelter and health care and psychological counselling, but
fewer provide services such as vocational and financial assistance designed toensure the long-term and sustainable reintegration of people exposed to forced
labour and to prevent their re-victimization. Countries offering a comprehensive
package of interventions encompassing both the immediate and longer-term
needs of those who were in forced labour are even rarer. 352
Special protection measures called for in international standards353 for migrants
freed from forced labour and human trafficking – including residence permits,
work permits, and reflection and recovery periods, as well as safe and voluntary return assistance – are lacking in many countries and substantial obstacles (legal, administrative, linguistic, and informational) can impede access tosuch services even when ostensibly available. 354 Similarly for children freed fromforced labour, there remain important gaps in law and practice in terms of ensuring their best interests and in providing protection services adapted to their
special needs and circumstances. Providing appropriate protection measures
for migrant children, and particularly for those who are unaccompanied and/or
have irregular migration status, constitutes a particular priority. So, too, does
ensuring the care and rehabilitation of demobilized child soldiers. 355
International standards356 make clear that protection should not be conditionalon cooperation with the authorities in legal proceedings. Again, important gaps
in law and practice persist in this area. A review undertaken in 2018 indicatedthat nearly half of the countries with laws mandating protection services link it
to cooperation in criminal proceedings. 357
International standards also make clear that persons in forced labour or humantrafficking should not be prosecuted or punished for offences committed asa direct consequence of their situation. While most countries have provisions
ensuring freedom from prosecution and penalties, actual state practice in thisarea remains far from consistent. One of the biggest problems in terms of effective application is the common failure to identify persons in forced labour as
such. Many continue to be prosecuted because of the absence of indicators andmechanisms for confirming that they are in situations of forced labour or humantrafficking. Such instances are often used by traffickers as a means to control
their victims, through threat of reporting to law enforcement.

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Ensuring access to remedy for those
freed from forced labour358
Extending access to effective remedies for those freed from the crimes of forced
labour and human trafficking is another key challenge. Evidence indicates, forinstance, that only a very small fraction are reached with the remedy of compensation from the perpetrator or the statem, whether for material damages (suchas medical costs, unpaid wages, legal fees, and loss of earnings and earningpotential) or for moral damages (such as pain and emotional distress). Remedies
can in turn provide critical support to recovery and help prevent their re-victimization. 359 Obliging perpetrators to pay compensation to those they have harmed
can also serve a punitive function and act as a deterrent for would-be offenders.
A growing number of countries are adopting legislation specifically relating to
the rights to remedies of people freed from forced labour, but major challenges
remain in translating law into practice. Indeed, in most contexts in which judicial
or other mechanisms for remedies are technically in place, practical and procedural obstacles mean that people subjected to forced labour are not compensated for the violations committed against them. A lack of awareness on the partof the aggrieved – both of their rights and of how they can be exercised – is one
important obstacle in this regard. Migrants, who are living in an unfamiliar environment and may face additional language and cultural challenges, are typicallyamong the groups who are least aware of their rights.

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Experience points to the value of local assessments of factors impeding accessas a starting point. The effective mobilisation of the actors who are normallythe first point of contact for people freed from forced labour, including labour
lawyers, trade unions, NGOs and humanitarian actors, can be critical in raising
their awareness of the legal channels for remedy that are available to them.
Promoting paralegal support is another important strategy for bridging the gap
between people freed from forced labour and the system for remedies, and enabling them to overcome the cost barriers associated with pursuing remedy. In
a number of countries, migrant resources centres provide vital paralegal assistance to migrants and their families and help them seek redress for employment
abuses. Operational guidelines produced by IOM and other groups provide moredetailed guidance in providing remedy. 360

Ensuring adequate enforcement361
Statistics indicate that the number of cases of forced labour and human trafficking reported for legal investigation remains low and, due to limited capacities for adequate investigation and prosecution of these crimes, the rate ofconviction is minimal.
Strengthening the legal architecture around forced labour and human trafficking remains a critical priority in many countries as a starting point for effective enforcement. As many as one-third of countries lack laws that define,criminalize, and assign adequate penalties for either forced labour, human trafficking, or both. Outdated laws present another common challenge. The laws inmany countries have not kept pace with recent mutations of forced labour linked
to trafficking, recruitment debts, and other developments. Another common
weakness in national legislation is a lack of precision and clarity in terms of how

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forced labour is defined. A number of countries have undertaken “gap analyses”
of existing legislation as a first step in bringing laws and regulations into line
international labour standards.
Laws alone are insufficient if not accompanied by adequate capacity for enforcement. National studies and comments from the ILO Committee of Experts on
the Application of Conventions and Recommendations point to a range of capacity needs at all stages of the prosecution process. In some instances, capacity
needs are conceptual in nature, relating to the understanding and awareness offorced labour and trafficking in persons, as well as their constituent elements
and concrete manifestations. In others they are more technical, as with the evidentiary requirements needed to adjudicate claims or to secure convictions.
In still others, the challenge relates more to overcoming cultural obstacles toenforcement.
Training in countries where new laws on forced labour and/or human trafficking
have come into force is a particular priority in order that legal reforms do not
outpace the institutional capacity needed to implement them.

Addressing migrants’ vulnerability to forced
labour and trafficking for forced labour
The global estimates indicate that the prevalence of forced labour among adults
in the private economy is three times higher for migrants than for non-migrants.
Although most migration is voluntary and has a largely positive impact on individuals and societies, this figure makes clear that migrants not protected inlaw and in practice can be at increased risk of forced labour and trafficking inpersons.
Reducing the vulnerability of migrants to forced labour and human trafficking
depends first and foremost on national policy and legal frameworks that areconsistent with this goal - that protect their human and labour rights and do
not instead contain gaps that leave them more exposed to violations of theserights. Laws and policies should protect the rights of all migrants at all stagesof the migration process, regardless of their migration status, consistent withthe relevant international labour standards governing the rights of migrants inthe world of work. 362 There are only a few examples of countries of destination
extending equality of treatment to migrant workers with respect to all aspectsof employment.
“Gap analyses” that compare extant laws, regulations, and policies with international human rights and labour standards can be a useful first step in identifying
and taking action towards closing protection gaps concerning migrant workers.
Policies and practices should be reviewed to ensure that they apply a humanrights-based approach. It is also critical that the voices of migrants are heard
in the design, implementation and evaluation of policies and practices. The ILO
checklist of policy considerations for ensuring the human rights of migrants atwork offers a valuable framework for this type of analysis. 363

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Policies that create and widen pathways for regular migration help reduce irregular migration flows, and the risks of trafficking in persons and forced labour associated with them. This implies migration management policy coherence acrossdifferent areas of government to facilitate labour mobility and decent work in amanner which reflects demographic, gender, and labour market realities, andresponds to the needs of migrants who are compelled to leave their country oforigin by crisis or other precarious situations. It also means promoting effective labour migration governance systems, including through bilateral labour
agreements, mechanisms for facilitating family reunification, and regularizing
migrants who are in irregular situations, in line with national laws. Critical also
are policies expanding resettlement and ensuring safe passage for refugees
and proper implementation of the relevant international protection frameworks.
While protection and remedy for migrants who have fallen victim to forced
labour and human trafficking are essential, they are not sufficient. Protection
systems should also have sufficient capacity and resources to provide the necessary services to migrants in situations of vulnerability and at heightened risk offorced labour and human trafficking – including those who are stranded or destitute – with the support and participation of a range of local and international
partners. Specific policies and measures addressing the special vulnerabilities ofwomen migrant workers throughout the migration cycle are also critical.

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Ancillary support measures for migrant workers can play a central role in reducing their vulnerability to human rights abuses. Measures to ensure adequate
preparedness are especially important in this regard. In countries of departure,
bespoke skills training programmes can expand the labour market opportunities
of would-be migrants and help facilitate job matches with decent work conditions upon migration. Predeparture and post-arrival orientation and information
sessions, discussed above, are also critical to ensuring migrant workers understand their contracts and are able to identify support services and access justicein case of abuse.
Migrant resources centres in countries of origin and destination, often run bytrade unions, civil society organizations, government employment services, andother groups, can be another critical vehicle for providing migrant workers andprospective migrants with information and support, and for offering them theprotection of trade union membership.
The issue of forced labour and human trafficking among migrants cannot be
separated from the broader political discourse around migration and asylum.
Political rhetoric that reinforces discriminatory and xenophobic attitudes towards migrants and those seeking asylum only adds to the climate of risk they
face both inside and outside the workplace. Discourse that deliberately conflates human trafficking for criminal gain with migration driven by the legitimate
desire of people in search of decent work or safe refuge from crisis is damaging
to the understanding of forced labour, migration, and the rights of refugees,
and to the development of appropriate, rights-based policy approaches to them.

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Addressing children trapped in forced labour
The tragedy of children trapped in forced labour demands special urgency.
These are children suffering some of the worst abuses imaginable in the worldof work. They include children trafficked by criminal networks for forced begging, drug dealing, or commercial sexual exploitation. In war zones, they include children recruited as combatants, used as human shields and slaves, andforced to commit acts of extreme violence. Elsewhere, they include children born
into a life of slavery toiling in the fields because of debts ostensibly incurred bytheir forebears or because they must work alongside their indentured parents.
Through Target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the international
community has committed to ending the forced labour of children, alongside allother forms of child labour, by 2025, just three years from now.
The global estimates indicate a total of 3.3 million children in forced labour. But
this is an imputed estimate based on adult forced labour and it may well be justthe tip of the iceberg. Better information on the numbers of children involved,
the types of forced labour they are trapped in, the locations and economic
sectors where they are found, and on the criminal actors involved is urgently
needed to inform responses. Information already available also needs to be put
to better use. Administrative data sources, such as health system records, social
welfare and support services information, community-level child labour monitoring systems, and public labour inspectorate reporting systems can potentiallyprovide valuable real-time data on the forced labour of children and related risk
factors of relevance for policy makers and frontline actors – yet they are rarely
exploited for this purpose.
Far more investment is needed in identification and protection measures forchildren who have fallen victim to forced labour. These should include measuresfor both immediate assistance and long-term recovery and rehabilitation. Accessto education and family reunification or, when in the best interest of the child, alternative family-based care, are especially important. Special efforts are needed
to ensure that migrant children who have been subjected to, or are at risk of,forced labour, including those who are unaccompanied and/or have irregular migration status, do not fall through the cracks and are identified at an early stage
and reached with protection measures. National referral mechanisms, discussed
above, need to prioritise the special protection needs of child victims to ensure
they are reached with needed services and care.
Children account for more than one in four of all persons subjected to forced
commercial sexual exploitation, and this is a specific area requiring urgent
action. While many countries have taken steps to criminalise and act on childcommercial sexual exploitation, there are still significant gaps to be addressed.
In a 60-country benchmarking index of legislation dealing with child sexual abuseand exploitation produced by the Economist Intelligence Unit, for example, theaverage score was 60 for legislative framework 364 and only 40 for government
commitment and capacity, 365 both out of a maximum possible score of 100. 366
Priorities include greater investment in integrated care models that support andpromote the recovery of children who are dealing with the severe psychosocial
effects of having been through commercial sexual exploitation. Expanded awareness-raising on the risks of commercial sexual exploitation, including its growing
online mutations, is also needed for children and their caregivers.

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The forced labour of children poses a particular risk in situations of armed conflict. Several countries have special programmes for the care and rehabilitationof demobilized child soldiers, but this is another area where much more needs
to be done. Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery has called formeasures to restore the rights of children of people freed from slavery, including
birth registrations that include their national identity, reuniting children with
their families, and ensuring access to schooling. 367

Mitigating the heightened risk of forced labour
and trafficking for forced labour in situationsof crisis

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Situations of crisis linked to armed conflicts, disasters, disease, and other precipitating events are affecting growing numbers of people around the world.
These crises, and the conditions characterising them – including the collapse of
the rule of law, loss of livelihoods, population displacement within and acrossnational boundaries, failure of basic services, disruption of social protection
programmes, and breakdown in extended family support systems – create situations of extreme vulnerability and fertile ground for criminal elements seeking
to exploit this vulnerability. Indeed, worrying reports of severe human rights
violations, including human trafficking, forced commercial sexual exploitation,and forced labour, accompany many of the major crises unfolding in the world
today.
This discussion points to the critical importance of mainstreaming forced labour
and trafficking in persons prevention and protection measures across all phasesof crisis response, from pre-crisis preparedness to humanitarian action following
crisis outbreak and finally to post-crisis reconstruction and recovery. While notwo crises are the same, it is nonetheless possible to identify some key overarching priorities for dealing with the threat of forced labour, human trafficking
and other human rights abuses in crisis situations. 368
Crisis preparedness starts with building societal resilience to crises.369 Crises provide ample opportunities for hiring abuses to occur, and a consolidated regimeof fair recruitment laws and practices can help crisis-affected workers avoid thereach of unscrupulous recruiters. A consolidated set of basic social security guarantees helps protect groups in situations of vulnerability from falling victim toforced labour when crises strike. Established collaboration between employers’
and workers’ organizations has been shown in recent crises to help mitigate
some of the worst consequences, and speed up recovery. 370
Consolidated national referral mechanisms, bringing together governmental authorities, civil society organizations, and international organizations, can help
ensure the effective identification and follow-up of those in forced labour andtrafficking in crises. 371 Pre-established mechanisms of collaboration between
anti-trafficking experts and humanitarian practitioners working in crisis zones
can also play an important role in ensuring forced labour risks are addressed
during crises. 372

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Early warning systems are also critical as part of broader preparedness efforts.
Many such systems are in place, especially relating to the risk of crises stemming from political violence and armed conflict, 373 but few of these contain early
warning indicators of forced labour and human trafficking and of the circumstances that could lead to these abuses. The risks and types of forced labour
differ considerably between women and men, and between adults and children,and indicators should be responsive to these gender- and age-based differences.
Existing early warning indicators of related phenomena, including conflict-related sexual violence, 374 offer a starting point for these efforts.
During the acute phase of a crisis, rapid assessment tools and risk monitoring
systems help to quickly identify forced labour cases and guide follow-up action.
Measures to sustain livelihoods during crises are especially important in protecting workers from forced labour and trafficking as they struggle to support
themselves and their families. Emergency cash transfer programmes can be a
rapid means of getting money into the hands of affected populations, reducing
their susceptibility to human traffickers, unscrupulous moneylenders, and othercriminal elements seeking to exploit their situations of extreme vulnerability.
Awareness-raising and sensitisation sessions can also play a role in helping affected populations recognise and avoid forced labour traps. For children, (re)opening classrooms and other safe spaces is especially important to preventing
them from falling into forced labour or other forms of child labour. 375 Special
procedures are needed to ensure the safety of the growing numbers of unaccompanied children seeking to escape crisis situations and obtain asylum.
The immigration and refugee policies of countries outside the immediate crisis
zone can also have important implications for the risks of forced labour, humantrafficking, and other rights abuses during crises. Closed-border policies, all too
common in today’s world, limit the options of crisis-affected people, making it
more difficult for them to escape crisis zones or pushing them onto high-risk
informal routes in order to do so. 376
Similarly, policies in destination countries that deny displaced people accessto assistance and protection, for reasons relating to their legal status or othergrounds, can force them into survival strategies that raise their risk of forced
labour. Conversely, measures such as the adoption of temporary residency andemployment permits that allow displaced persons to seek out job opportunities
legally and transparently can play an important role in reducing the socio-economic vulnerability that underpins forced labour.
Post-crisis reconstruction and recovery efforts must ensure that forced labour
is not a lasting crisis legacy. Inclusive measures to promote decent work andincome generation, including through employment-intensive investment strategies such as public employment programmes, are essential to re-establishinglivelihoods and reducing socio-economic vulnerability. Restarting tripartite dialogue, and the government institutions and employers’ and workers’ organizations that underlie it, is of particular importance to ensuring workers’ rights
are not eroded during the post-crisis rebuilding and recovery phase. 377 In thecontext of forced labour and, more broadly, linking humanitarian efforts withlonger-term development considerations in crisis responses from the outset canhelp promote and speed up post-crisis reconstruction and recovery.

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Combating forced labour and trafficking
for forced labour in business operations
and supply chains
A total of 17.3 million adults and children are in forced labour imposed by private actors in sectors other than commercial sexual exploitation, accounting
for nearly two-thirds of all people in forced labour. Some from this group arefound in subsistence production linked to situations of hereditary slavery andtraditional forms of debt bondage, others are in domestic work and in forced
begging and illicit activities. These forms of privately-imposed forced labour, andthe people entrapped in them, clearly cannot be forgotten or ignored. Yet thelargest share of privately-imposed forced occurs in business enterprises of all
sizes linked to the broader market economy, in sectors including services, manufacturing, construction, agriculture, and mining and quarrying. This basic fact
underscores the need for attention to business operations and supply chains– domestic and transnational – in broader efforts against forced labour andtrafficking for forced labour in the corners of the market economy where theseabuses occur. 378

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The principal responsibility for addressing the causes of forced labour and trafficking for forced labour – in business operations and supply chains and more
broadly – lies with governments, and the principal means of addressing themlies in a strong legal framework, accompanying enforcement mechanisms andin sound public policies, as discussed in the preceding sections of this chapter.
Laws governing business respect for human rights throughout business operations and supply chains are a critical element of the broader legal framework
on forced labour and trafficking for forced labour. The United Nations Guiding
Principles on Business and Human Rights in this context calls on states to “set out
clearly the expectation that all business enterprises domiciled in their territory and/or jurisdiction respect human rights throughout their operations.”379 States are also
expected to take steps to prevent abuse abroad by business enterprises operating
within or from their jurisdiction; this is especially important as businesses operateincreasingly across countries with different regulatory environments.380
A number of states have adopted voluntary provisions on human rights due
diligence in businesses operations and supply chains. More recently, countries,
principally but not exclusively those in the Global North, have begun introducing
laws mandating enterprises to carry out human rights due diligence. While thedebate on the optimal design features of these laws remains open, among thelessons from first wave of mandatory due diligence legislation are the importance of clarity in terms of the specific obligations and expectations placedon business, coherency across national jurisdictions to ensure a level playing
field, and active government outreach to business to explain the laws and provide compliance guidance. 381 The coverage of human rights due diligence laws
is also critical. Most have hitherto been limited to suppliers operating at theupper links of supply chains, meaning the laws have had limited impact on advancing due diligence among enterprises further down the supply chain in theinformal economy where risks are typically greater. 382 Too few such laws havebeen passed by countries in the Global South.

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States also need to make greater use of other dimensions of their regulatory authority and economic power to ensure businesses respect human rights in theiroperations and supply chains. This includes the integration of human rights due
diligence as a part of eligibility criteria for businesses applying for officially-supported export credits and direct lending, 383,384 as well as the inclusion of humanrights conditionality in the loan agreements with business of development financeinstitutions.385 Labour provisions in trade policies and trade arrangements are another important means of leveraging responsible business practices. While more
and more trade agreements contain such provisions, only about a third of the
trade agreements entering into force over the last ten years contained provisions
relating specifically to freedom from forced labour and the other fundamental
rights at work.386 Governments themselves can do more to set a good example andpromote broader change by ensuring robust due diligence against human rights
abuses by business enterprises that are owned or controlled by the state. They canalso leverage the economic importance of public procurement to encourage due
diligence practices on the part of government suppliers.387
Progress also requires that businesses – transnational and domestic – step up
efforts to prevent, identify, mitigate, and remediate forced labour, trafficking
for forced labour, and other human rights abuses in their operations and supply
chains, in accordance with the due diligence obligations of business spelled out
in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, 388 theILO MNE Declaration,389 and other government-backed due diligence guidance.390
While much of the attention has focused on large public-facing transnationalfirms based in the Global North, business responsibility to respect human rights
of course extends well beyond this group, encompassing, among others, micro-enterprises, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and other large firms– public-facing and business-to-business, domestic and transnational, based inboth the Global North and in the Global South. Progress demands that all ofthese groups act to address human rights impacts in their business operations
and supply chains.
At its core, human rights due diligence involves assessing actual and potential
risks of human rights abuses within a company’s operations and supply chain,
integrating and acting upon the findings, tracking progress, and communicatingon these efforts. Throughout, effective due diligence requires the meaningful engagement of stakeholders, including workers, their representative organizations,and community members, as they are best positioned to identify local risks andhelp formulate the most appropriate mitigation strategies.
Human rights due diligence is risk-driven, meaning that attention should focus
on identifying, prioritizing, and acting on “hotspots” where the risk of humanrights abuses is highest in terms of both severity and scale. Particularly important in this context are the informal micro- and small enterprises operating at
the lower links of supply chains, often in raw materials extraction and production, where forced labour and other human rights abuses are often most pronounced. 391 Too often, due diligence efforts concentrate on the higher links ofsupply chains, where leverage and visibility are greatest, rather than on thesehigher-risk informal actors operating at the lower links. 392 This needs to change.

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Human rights due diligence requires that firms critically assess their own operations and business models, and how these can influence the incentive
structures, business decisions, and labour practices of suppliers along supply
chains. A recent self-assessment tool developed by the ILO, together with theInternational Organisation of Employers (IOE), offers valuable guidance. 393 Thereis no one-size-fits-all means of addressing business-related or “demand-side”
contributing factors to human rights abuses in business operations and supply
chains, but well-established, responsible business, purchasing, and fair recruitment practices can go a long way towards this goal. The prices paid to suppliers
for the inputs they provide are also critical to ensuring living incomes and a fairvalue distribution along supply chains.
Businesses can also contribute to addressing some of the more structural root
causes of forced labour in high-risk locations linked to their business operations and supply chains. While their leverage on root causes may be limited,businesses can play a critical role in advocating for government action, in contributing to the design and implementation of efforts and in fostering synergies
between public and private sector initiatives. Again, business action should be
dictated by assessments of risk and of opportunities for constructive partnership and community engagement. Experience has shown that go-it-alone approaches are rarely successful in achieving lasting change.

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Tools such as a recent interactive mapping of organisations partnering withthe private sector to combat human rights abuses 394 can help businesses in
identifying entry points for collaboration. A growing body of experience395 andguidance396 can also help business in identifying intervention options and approaches. Examples of ongoing business efforts targeting root causes include
measures to advance the fair recruitment of migrant workers, and measures tohelp tackle poverty of workers in their supply chains through the adoption ofliving income programmes. 397

Ending state-imposed forced labour
State-imposed forced labour refers to a wide range of abuses with one common
thread – they are exacted by states on their own citizens, the very people whoserights it is their prime responsibility to protect and promote. The global estimates indicate that state-imposed forced labour accounts for one in seven of allcases of forced labour.
The fact that these abuses are the direct product of deliberate laws and practices
on the part of states lends them an added layer of unacceptability. Yet it also
makes abundantly clear what is needed for change – namely, the political commitment and follow-up to reform these same laws and practices. The experienceof Uzbekistan – where state-imposed forced labour in the cotton harvest was
all but eliminated just a few years after an announced changed in state policy –illustrates how rapidly change can happen when this vital ingredient of politicalcommitment is in place.
The ILO Conventions and related deliberations of the ILO supervisory bodies
clearly outline the reforms in law and practice that are necessary in the countries
where state-imposed forced labour persists.

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International cooperation and partnership
International cooperation and partnership are indispensable to an effective
response to forced labour, modern slavery, and trafficking in persons. The
challenge is too big, and the myriad root causes too complex, for national governments or other actors to meet on their own.
Much has been done in terms of raising the profile of forced labour and building
cooperative and partnership mechanisms for addressing it. Alliance 8.7 is playing
a particularly important role in this context. Founded in 2016, this global partnership facilitates cooperation on stopping forced labour, human trafficking,and child labour. It groups more than 240 partners from governments, multilateral organizations, workers’ and employers’ organizations, non-governmentalorganizations, academic institutions, and think tanks to define effective waysof accelerating progress towards SDG target 8.7 on ending child labour, forced
labour, and human trafficking. The Alliance focuses on increasing collaborative
action, promoting innovation, and scaling up effective solutions.
The cross-border nature of forced labour and trafficking in persons underscores
the particular need for close cooperation and policy coherence across countries
in policy areas with a bearing on these abuses. These areas include the rightsbased governance of migration, fair recruitment, and criminal law enforcement.
A number of mechanisms are in place with an aim to facilitate cross-country
collaboration on these and related issues. 398 Cooperation between governments
and the social partners, grounded in social dialogue, is also vital to building
lasting, consensus-based solutions to the challenge of forced labour. Ensuringrespect for workers’ fundamental rights of freedom of association and collective
bargaining, discussed above, is a critical precondition for social dialogue.
While other actors cannot replace the roles of employers’ and workers’ organizations in conducting labour relations, nor the obligations of states with regard to
enforcement of the rule of law, national and international civil society organizations, including survivors’ groups, can also contribute their strong local experience in addressing drivers of forced labour and building the resilience of groups
vulnerable to it. Multi-stakeholder initiatives involving cooperation among government, the social partners, members of the social and solidarity economy, civilsociety, businesses, and other groups are an increasingly common model for
addressing the root causes of forced labour and child labour at the local level inplaces where the risk of these abuses is high.
International support to financing and resource mobilisation is another key
ingredient of broader cooperation and partnership. Policies and plans against
forced labour mean little in the absence of the resource commitments needed
for their implementation. While governments can and should adopt resource
mobilization strategies to expand their fiscal space, 399 the international community has a key role to play in helping to fill national financing gaps for combating
forced labour where they persist. This role is all the more important in view ofthe budgetary pressures and increased debt that many governments are facingin the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. Meeting the broader longstanding commitments made by industrialised countries to official development assistance andto financing sustainable development is critical.400 Concessional international
financial assistance through debt relief and very low interest-rate loans to countries are two of the other areas in which international support can help fill thefinancing gap.401

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The ILO Forced Labour Recommendation R203 also stresses the importanceof mobilising resources for international technical cooperation and assistancein national efforts against forced labour. UN agencies, other multilateral andbilateral organizations, international non-governmental organizations, private
foundations, and a variety of other groups involved can play an important rolein this context.
Accelerated progress against forced labour requires building on the foundationof extant experience rather than “reinventing the wheel.” Partnerships aimed
at sharing experiences and lessons learned can help highlight and advance a
growing body of instructive practices in addressing forced labour at all levels.
Alliance 8.7 is one key platform for sharing experience across the wide arrayof governmental and non-governmental organizations that make up its membership. The Pathfinder Country Initiative, one component of Alliance 8.7, includes more than 20 member countries from the Global North and Global Souththat have committed to accelerating progress towards achieving Target 8.7 of
the Sustainable Development Goals and to documenting and sharing lessons
learned for the benefit of other countries.

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Business platforms, including the Global Business Network for Forced Labour402
and the Child Labour Platform,403 are important forums for experience exchange
and guidance in business efforts towards ending forced labour, human trafficking, and child labour. The International Organisation of Employers (IOE),
within its broader role as the permanent liaison body for the exchange of information, views, and experience among employers throughout the world, isalso critical in facilitating peer-to-peer exchange of experience and guidance
for businesses on combating forced labour. The International Trade Union
Confederation (ITUC) plays a similar role as a platform for sharing experienceand guidance for trade unions in efforts to combat forced labour.

Research and data collection
Reliable information and statistics on forced labour and human trafficking is
critical to promoting awareness and understanding of the problem, and to informing policy responses.
Building the tools necessary for collecting data on forced labour and humantrafficking is an important first step. Towards this end, the ILO is working in
partnership with national statistical offices and other UN agencies in developinga standardised household survey instrument for forced labour data collection.
The ILO, IOM, and UNODC are also partnering in the development of a bespoke
survey instrument for the measurement of trafficking for forced labour, startingin the fishing sector. IOM and UNODC are also developing the first International
Classification Standard for Administrative Data on Trafficking in Persons 404 as
well as accompanying guidance for the production and safe management anduse of such data.
National data collection on forced labour remains in its infancy, and these tools
will be critical helping countries in generating robust statistics on forced labourand human trafficking, and in monitoring progress in addressing these humanrights abuses. The first-ever international guidelines on forced labour measurement, endorsed in October 2018 at the 20 th International Conference of Labour
Statisticians, provide countries with a standardised framework of data collection
efforts.

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Yet the need for evidence extends well beyond data and statistics. Informed
policy responses also require more detailed information on the drivers – socio-cultural, economic, legal, and political – of the different typologies of forced
labour. Relatedly, much more information is needed about the concrete impact
of policy initiatives and legal measures enacted against forced labour andhuman trafficking, to permit the identification of good practices with greatest
potential for broad scale replication. Cooperation among research institutions,
universities and other members of the broader research community will be critical to filling these key evidence gaps.
Data and knowledge sharing is an important related challenge. For information
to be acted upon, it must first reach those in a position to act. With this goalin mind, ILO and IOM are partnering in the development of a comprehensive
annotated bibliography and an interactive map of evidence and evidence gaps
relating to forced labour to facilitate access to and sharing of forced labour research. In another effort, the IOM and other partners have created a global open
data portal on human trafficking – the Counter Trafficking Data Collaborative(CTDC) – for researchers, lawmakers, advocates, funding partners, and othergroups.405

Photo: Kazi Salahuddin Razu/NurPhoto via Getty Images.

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2.2
Forced marriage
Responses to forced marriage should necessarily be highly contextualised
and geographically specific. Fundamental to the drivers of forced marriage
are patriarchal norms and social structures that drive control over girls’ sexuality.406 These include perceptions that a girl’s sexuality and sexual activity reflects
negatively on her and her family and therefore her parents are responsible forprotecting her; it follows that the girl should comply with their directives onwhom to marry. Underpinning this is the assumption that all girls want to marry,
and that marriage and motherhood are a girl’s only life choices.407 Interventions
must tackle these contextualised norms and social structures if they are to be
successful in ending forced marriage. The following global recommendations
should therefore be considered as a broad starting point and should be tailoredto specific populations, countries, and regions.

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Put those vulnerable to forced marriage,
especially women and girls, at the centre
Any response to modern slavery should have survivors, and those vulnerable toexploitation, at its centre. Tackling forced marriage is no different. As womenand girls are disproportionately affected, legislative and policy responses
should have a gendered lens, including gender-sensitive laws, policies, programmes, and budgets, including gender-responsive social protection mechanisms.408 It is important that migrants also have fair and equitable access tothese mechanisms, and that their voices are represented.409, 410 Women and girls
should be involved in the design of these interventions, and governments should
provide meaningful avenues for their participation and active consultation, including the creation of safe spaces (including online), forums, and support networks.411 For example, involving girls in legislative changes and empowering
them as transformative agents to challenge harmful laws has brought positive
outcomes in Kenya, Jordan, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.412 The same principles hold during time of crisis, while any intervention should always prioritisethe enhancing of girls’ voice and agency.413

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Ensure adequate protection in national legislation
Any legislation to tackle forced marriage should be part of a suite of protective
and preventative measures that put women and girls and those vulnerable toforced marriage at the centre.
Forced marriage violates several international human rights conventions, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948,414 the Supplementary
Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions andPractices Similar to Slavery 1956, 415 the Convention on the Elimination of all
forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) 1981,416 the Convention on the
Rights of the Child 1989 (CRC),417 and the UN Convention Against Transnational
Organized Crime Supplementary Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish
Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children (Palermo Protocol). 418
These instruments oblige states to prevent forced marriage and trafficking forforced marriage, and to protect citizens, including by prohibiting or criminalisingcertain acts associated with it. Ending child, early, and forced marriage is also
included under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Target 5.3. Despite
these frameworks, there is no internationally agreed definition of forced marriage and what constitutes it; this would be critical to the ending the practice.
Despite nearly universal ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which prohibits child marriage, many countries permit children to marry with parental or judicial consent.
In fact, only 35 countries follow the recommendation of the joint Committeesof CEDAW and the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to establish 18
years as the minimum age of marriage.419, 420 Raising the legal age of marriage
to 18 without exceptions would protect vulnerable children who may otherwise
be coerced into a marriage at age 16 or 17. Doing so would provide an objective
standard of maturity that prevents discrimination and safeguards a child frommarriage before they are ready.421 Marriage before 18 has also been shown tohave negative economic impact.422 Child marriage and early child-bearing is estimated to cost the global economy hundreds of billions of dollars, while raising
the age of marriage to 18 could support global gains of US$98 billion related tounder-five child mortality and stunting costs, as well as saving US$17 billion peryear related to universal secondary education.423
Making it a criminal offence to force someone to marry can be part of the response, but not the sole solution. It has a symbolic effect in communicatingthat the practice will not be tolerated,424 can deter perpetrators, and empower
victims to come forward and report incidents. This can include criminalising theact of marrying a child or someone who does not consent to marriage, as wellas adults who facilitate the marriage, including the person conducting the ceremony. For example, in Australia, forced marriage legislation applies to registeredmarriages and unregistered ceremonial events that take place in Australia or
where a person is taken overseas to marry.425 However, criminalisation can leadto driving these practices underground and can distract from wider responses
that prevent forced marriage and protect those vulnerable. Respondents to consultations with experts in the UK ahead of the introduction of forced marriage
provisions under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act of 2014 expressed concern that criminalisation could make victims more fearful to comeforward, especially if it could lead to their family members being imprisoned.426
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pursue it, potentially against their wishes.427 While in many ways it is too early
to understand its full impact due to the limited amount of case law, criminalising forced marriage should be part of a broader holistic response to forced
marriage, including other prevention and support measures 428 such as safe accommodation, emergency funds, and psychosocial support for those in formallyregistered marriages and informal unions.429
Gender-responsive and child-sensitive national referral mechanisms for the protection of trafficked persons should be strengthened to improve screening measures and individual assessments among those forced to marry and trafficked forforced marriage. This includes developing and applying standardised operatingprocedures and raising awareness and developing capacity among actors dealing
with survivors to support identification and safe referral, as well as providing specialised protection services and culturally-sensitive counselling. Access to legal
counselling and legal representation must also be ensured, including for migrants
who may be in an irregular situation and/or are without legal identity documents.

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Legislative measures aimed at forced marriage should include civil protection
orders that are independent of other legal proceedings. 430 In Australia, theFederal Court can issue orders that prevent a passport being issued for a child,require a person to deliver a child’s or accompanying adult’s passport to thecourt, and restrain the removal of a child from Australia. 431 In the UK, Forced
Marriage Protection Orders (FMPO) create legally binding conditions that change
the behaviour of a person trying to force someone into marriage, with the ultimate aim of protecting the person at risk. 432 This can include a restraining
order or a ban on taking the individual out of the country. Violating an FMPO
is a criminal offence and can be dealt with at family court or criminal court.433
Central to providing criminal or civil remedies to protect victims and those atrisk is a trauma-informed, victim-centred approach that empowers survivors
to make informed choices as to the best solution for their individual situation.
Not everyone wants to prosecute, particularly where family members are perpetrators; therefore, a suite of remedies should be made available, including
alternatives to criminal prosecution.
Beyond punitive approaches, laws should tackle the underlying drivers of forced
marriage, including gender inequality and provide protective measures for girls
who are vulnerable to forced marriage. For example, legislation should strengthen
health systems and access to them,434 including health information systems, aswell as mandate comprehensive sexuality education that includes recognition of
capacity to consent to sexual activity before marriage. Laws should also provide
for equality of access to education.435 Forced genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C)
and other harmful traditional practices should be criminalised, along with allsexual and gender-based violence.436 This includes any provisions that enable,
justify, or lead to a forced marriage, such as those which allow perpetrators ofrape or sexual abuse to escape prosecution by marrying their victims.437 Marital
rape should also be recognised as a crime, while provisions should allow childmarriages to be voided, annulled, or dissolved without undue burden placed on
the survivor.438 Laws that increase vulnerability to forced marriage should be dismantled, including those that prevent women’s full, equal, and meaningful political participation, those that render women or their children stateless, and thosethat do not allow women to inherit land and property.439 Laws should provide for
equal access to social protections and safety nets, including birth and marriage
registration, equality in employment rights, and the prevention of discrimination
on grounds of marriage or maternity, such as dismissal on grounds of pregnancy.
All states should introduce and protect paid parental leave.440

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Strong legislative frameworks require access to justice and accountability mechanisms.441 This includes strengthening available legal frameworks such as laws
on counter-trafficking, child protection, witness protection, and free legal services, and providing training for justice officials such as police, prosecutors, defence attorneys, and the judiciary.442 National coordinators or national humanrights institutions can play a role in monitoring the legislative response andholding governments to account.443

Address underlying socio-cultural norms andstructures that perpetuate forced marriage
Legislation is not in itself sufficient to end forced marriage and should be combined with wider preventative approaches addressing underlying discriminationand gender inequality, as well as related socio-cultural norms.444 These preventive approaches must be grounded in the relevant context, determined throughresearch on the specific vulnerabilities to forced marriage that includes collecting
and publishing relevant anonymised data to inform targeted approaches.445
Central to changing these attitudes are community-based education, training,and empowerment activities that have been shown to encourage an increasein the age of marriage. For example, the Tostan programme focuses on empowering communities to abandon FGM/C by increasing awareness of genderequality and encouraging economic empowerment. Although not directly targeting forced or child marriage, one of the outcomes of the programme has
been changes in community attitudes on not only FGM/C but on forced marriage, as well. The programme has been replicated in Somalia, Senegal, Djibouti,
Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, and Mauritania.446 Critical to all community
empowerment programmes is tailoring them to the recipient community andculture and being inclusive of all in the community, including men.447
Patriarchal norms also affect access to sexual and reproductive health services,which are critical to prevent adolescent pregnancy and the subsequent riskof child marriage. This goes beyond removing legal barriers to accessing services and should involve working with health providers to remove “extra-legal
barriers” such as requiring excess information from girls who seek support orleaving them with the perception that providers will breach their confidentiality.448 It is critical that healthcare providers receive education and training to
critically engage with the underlying paternalistic norms that drive these additional barriers.
Religion can have a profound effect on tackling the attitudes and social norms
that drive forced marriage. In many countries, faith-based organizations provide
services to those affected by forced marriage, including identifying cases andsupporting individuals to rebuild their lives.449 Faith leaders are also hugely influential and can play a specific role in ending forced marriage. This includes raisingawareness of how to identify potential cases, refusing to perform any marriage
they suspect may be forced, and tackling social norms by collaborating with development actors, making public commitments, and participating in campaigns
and training to develop their own role in ending the practice, including throughthe delivery of sermons.450

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Invest in building economic agency of thoseat risk of, and living in, a forced marriage
Providing economic alternatives to forced marriage acts as a preventative
measure as well as a pathway out. Primary and secondary education for all,especially girls, plays a significant role in diverting children away from childlabour in the household and towards the classroom and has delivered pivotal
results in the reduction of both prevalence and vulnerability of child marriage.451
Accordingly, the focus needs to extend beyond the provision of educational
systems and include measures such as increasing access for children to attend
school, such as by reducing school fees and costs associated with the purchaseof textbooks and uniforms.452 The quality of education should also be consideredas it also influences the retention of at-risk children.453 Familial and community
barriers to providing education for girls, where they are seen to hold less value
than their brothers, increase the risk that girls will not complete their education.
Important to increasing retention of girls where secondary schools are not locally available is to create community-based education programmes for them,454
as well as campaigns to raise awareness of child marriage and the importanceof sexual and reproductive health.

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Economic incentives for families, such as conditional and unconditional cash or
in-kind transfers, when implemented as part of a broader programme tackling
harmful patriarchal attitudes and behaviours, have been shown to encourage anincrease in the age of marriage.455 For example, the Berhane Hewan programme
in rural Ethiopia included activities such as forming support groups for girls
aged 10 to 19, offering vocational and livelihood skills training, providing goats
upon graduation to unmarried girls who participated in the programme, andfacilitating community conversations on child marriage and reproductive healthfor girls.456 An evaluation of the programme found that not one child who went
through the Berhane Hewan had married by project end.457
Women and girls vulnerable to forced marriage must have equal access to economic opportunities, including full productive employment and decent work.458
Forced marriage has substantial impacts on women’s potential earnings andproductivity, with some estimates that countries forego on average 1 per centof their national earnings base due to child marriage. 459 Ending the practicealso means providing avenues for women and girls who may have otherwise
been vulnerable to contribute to the economy. To support this, institutions andemployers should offer employment opportunities for women and girls whileproviding training for “soft-skills” beyond formal education, such as pre-employment and on-the-job skills building and training programmes that promote
self-awareness, self-esteem, and life planning.460

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Protect the rights of those vulnerable
to forced marriage and trafficking
for forced marriage during times of crisis
Those living in conflict settings, or those forced to migrate because of conflictor in the contexts of disasters and the adverse effects of climate change, are athigher risk of forced marriage and trafficking for forced marriage. Some formsof forced marriage occur as a direct result of crisis; for example, where womenand girls are abducted or trafficked by armed groups and forced to marryfighters.461 The risk also increases as an indirect result, as when those fleeing
conflict areas may also be preyed upon while they are on the move or residing
in refugee camps.462 Any humanitarian response must therefore include a response to forced marriage, including prioritising adequate funding and humanresources.463 This should be tailored to an understanding of the specific vulnerability of the affected population as well as the specific risk factors at play. It
requires holistic, integrated, and coordinated action between all stakeholders
from the outset of the crisis through to transition and recovery.464 Coordinationis critical; essential to this is developing standard operating procedures thatwould help strengthen protection pathways for the identification of those vulnerable to forced marriage and assistance to them, as well as ensuring that all
actors involved are adequately trained.465
The Global Protection Cluster guidelines on anti-trafficking action in internal
displaced contexts recommend that humanitarian actors “create pathways forpeople to safely leave conflict areas, provide livelihood and education opportunities for at risk persons, ensure food security, establish free of charge civil
registration services (including births and marriages), enable the community
to identify and use local resilience mechanisms, and build the capacity of local
service providers.”466 They further recommend raising awareness of the signsof trafficking, including for forced marriage, as well as providing protection andassistance for those affected.467 One example of a promising initiative focusedon raising awareness in the Levant. An awareness tool aimed at raising the voiceof the affected population468 was developed and a campaign launched acrossthe subregion engaging different members of the family as actors of change
to prevent trafficking in persons including for forced marriage. The crisis-affected population themselves facilitated community dialogue sessions to prevent trafficking, including for forced marriage. Such initiatives will need to becomplemented with access to basic needs and livelihood opportunities for those
identified as at-risk of trafficking for forced marriage.
Providing assistance to those in conflict settings includes developing protective
systems such as hotlines, safe houses and shelters, and legal support – together
with awareness-raising efforts on how to claim their rights 469 – in order to identify and assist at-risk populations during conflict and in protracted and post-conflict settings, including in neighbouring countries and areas of return.470 Early
warning and monitoring frameworks for potential or imminent risk of forced
marriage or trafficking for forced marriage, especially in managed camps,
should be established. Regular assessments of the protection risks faced bydifferent groups of crisis-affected people should also be conducted by humanitarian actors who manage camps. Such assessments should include forced marriage and the collection of data on risks and vulnerabilities to forced marriage,
including through proxy indicators.471

Part 2. Ending modern slavery: the path to 2030

104

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

While embedding efforts to address forced marriage and trafficking for forced
marriage into humanitarian responses is necessary during an emergency, partof any crisis response should include strengthening existing institutions andstructures to better respond to future crises. The COVID-19 pandemic laid barethe inequities and social injustices inherent throughout the world. It led to morefamilies and communities facing extreme poverty and, as with many crisis situations, it was lower-income families, and women and girls, 472 who were particularly vulnerable to these shocks. It is essential that “build back better” after
COVID translates into a more sustainable and resilient recovery that reduces thelikelihood of future shocks and increases society’s resilience to them when they
do occur.473 This includes continuously investing in social services and welfare,474
including sexual and reproductive health services,475 so that they are resilientin the face of the next crisis, strengthening legislation that provides for genderequality, and tackling patriarchal norms so women and girls are not disproportionately affected.

105

More specifically, COVID-19 has set back education outcomes for children, especially girls, in many countries.476 There is a risk that school closures led somestudents to ”go off the grid,” especially girls and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. This may prevent them from re-engaging in education, thus
putting these individuals at higher risk of falling further behind and curbing
their education aspirations.477 This, in turn, increases the risk of child and forced
marriage. It is essential that countries provide catch-up education opportunities
and schooling through teacher training and tutoring.478 Children affected needadditional educational opportunities to graduate from school with full diplomas
and become ready to access the job market rather than being forced into earlymarriage as the only viable alternative.

Address the vulnerability of migrants,
particularly children
Migration may create situations of vulnerability that can be exploited to subject a
person to forced marriage. While many people voluntarily migrate for marriage,
some are intentionally deceived and trafficked into forced marriage or, once
having migrated or while still on the journey, end up in situations where theycannot escape and are coerced into forced marriage. Some individuals – bothchildren and adults – find themselves being pressured or instructed by theirfamily to undertake migration for marriage. While in some cases the family may
not have criminal intent, they may be resorting to negative coping strategies bydeciding that the marriage is the best way to support their family and not fully
considering the individual’s best interests or respecting their agency. In othercases, migrants who have ended up in vulnerable situations – such as unaccompanied or separated children or stranded or destitute migrants – may be moreeasily preyed upon and forced into marriages.
Establishing comprehensive policies and developing partnerships that provide
migrants in situations of vulnerability, regardless of their migration status –with necessary support at all stages of migration – is therefore an importantmeans of addressing and reducing the risk of forced marriage and trafficking forforced marriage. This includes improving capacity to identify those most vulnerable to forced marriage and trafficking for forced marriage and to protect andhelp them exercise their human rights. Migrants who have experienced forced

Part 2. Ending modern slavery: the path to 2030

marriage and trafficking for forced marriage must be provided with the tools
to determine their next steps, including providing them with a safe, dignified
return with equal access to social protection and services, justice, psychosocial assistance, education, vocational training, employment opportunities, anddecent work. All migrants should be provided with information about the requirements and benefits of getting access to legal identity. Consular capacities
should be strengthened in identifying, protecting, and assisting their nationals
abroad who have experienced forced marriage, including by training consular
officers on human rights-based, gender-responsive, and child-sensitive actions.
Those returning home who have experienced forced marriage may struggle toreadapt and rebuild their lives because they still face many of the same economic, social, and psychosocial factors that prompted them to migrate in thefirst place. Therefore, an integrated and sustainable approach to reintegration
should take into consideration economic, social, and psychosocial dimensions
as well as the needs of individual returnees and the communities to which they
return. Reintegration can be considered sustainable when returnees who haveexperienced forced marriage have reached levels of economic self-sufficiency,social stability within their communities, and psychosocial well-being that allow
them to cope with (re)migration drivers. Having achieved sustainable reintegration, returnees are then able to make further migration decisions a matter ofchoice rather than necessity.479
States should enter into bilateral, regional, and multilateral cooperation frameworks and agreements, ensuring that return and readmission of survivors offorced marriage to their own country is safe, dignified, and in full compliancewith international human rights law, including the rights of the child, and by
ensuring that they also include provisions that facilitate sustainable reintegration.480
Child migrants require special focus. Unaccompanied and separated children
must be protected at all stages of migration 481 through the establishment ofspecialised procedures for their identification, referral, care, and family reunification. This includes providing access to healthcare, mental health, education,and legal assistance, as well as the right to be heard in administrative and judicial
proceedings. Swiftly appointing a competent and impartial legal guardian is an
essential means to address the child’s vulnerabilities, to protect them from all
forms of violence, and to provide access to sustainable solutions that are in theirbest interests.
Legal identity is a core enabler of sustainable development and of safe and regular migration,482 in line with the 2030 Agenda and the Global Compact for Safe,
Orderly and Regular Migration. Access to legal identity registration procedures isimportant to protecting children from forced marriage, to protecting those who
were forced to marry while abroad, and particularly to preventing traffickers
from posing as their guardians. A legal identity facilitates the establishmentof a nationality for children, thereby contributing to preventing statelessness
and enabling children to seek protection from violence, exploitation, and abusesuch as forced marriage. This includes removing barriers to birth registration for
migrants in irregular situations, whether by law or in practice, to reduce their
exposure to forced marriage. Progress in this area also requires strengthening
identification procedures and documentation systems through digitalization efforts, as well as consular capacities and cooperation, including through technicalassistance and bilateral or regional agreements.483

Photo Grace Forrest.

Annex.

Methodology

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

The Global Estimates of modern slavery cover two principal components, forced
labour and forced marriage. This annex summarises the methods used to calculate the estimates of modern slavery in the present edition. A more comprehensive technical description of the methodology is also available in a separate
publication.484

Stock and flow
In principle, all forms of modern slavery may be measured as both a stock and aflow. A stock measurement refers to the average number of persons in modern
slavery at a given point in time during the 2017-2021 reference period. A flow
measurement refers to the total number of persons who were subjected tomodern slavery during any period of time between 2017 and 2021. The estimatescalculate both the stock and total flow of the different components of modern
slavery. The flow measurement does not take into account the length of timethat the individual was subjected to modern slavery in the reference period,
while the stock measurement does.
The duration of forced labour (meaning the amount of time in which people weretrapped in forced labour) is the key factor in determining the average stock byreference to the total flow. The stock estimate is calculated by multiplying thetotal flow by the average duration of a spell of forced labour, expressed in fraction of the overall time period.

109

The estimate of forced marriage is presented as a stock figure, representing all
people living in a forced marriage in the reference period.

Forced labour
The estimate of forced labour comprises forced labour exploitation (forms offorced labour imposed by private individuals, groups, or companies, in all sectors except the commercial sex industry), forced commercial sexual exploitation of adults, commercial sexual exploitation of children, and state-imposed
forced labour. These estimates have been derived from various sources, as noone source is considered sufficiently suitable. Overall, the methodology usedin the present edition of the Global Estimates is essentially the same as thatof the previous edition from 2017, with some improvements on the scope andthe statistical treatment of the underlying data. The changes particularly affected the estimation of forced labour at regional level and in the male-female
distribution of global forced labour. Therefore, the comparison of the present
estimates with the results of the previous edition should be avoided at disaggregated level. However, comparison of estimations in the two editions at global
level is possible. Another feature that makes comparison extremely difficult isthe emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected not only the situationof workers worldwide but also the modalities of data collection in the surveys.

Annex. Methodology

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Forced labour in the private economy
The same methodology was employed for estimating forced labour in the private economy and forced marriage.
The estimates of forced labour in the private economy are derived from nationally representative household surveys in 68 countries conducted during the
2017-2021 period, using a common set of questions on forced labour (see Table
5). Only cases of modern slavery that occurred between 2017 and 2021 are included in these estimates.
The target sample for the national surveys was the entire civilian, non-institutional population, aged 15 years and older. Except for areas that were scarcely
populated or presented a threat to the safety of interviewers, samples were
probability-based and nationally representative. Typically, 1,000 to 1,200 interviews were conducted in each survey country, except for Bangladesh (n=2,072),
Cambodia (n=2,600), Indonesia (n=2,192), Myanmar (n=1,600), Nepal (n=2,095),
the Russian Federation (n=2,168), and Thailand (n=2,000). Two of the surveys
were conducted in 2017, 43 in 2019, and 24 in 2020. In one case (Cambodia),part of the survey was conducted in 2017 (n=1,000) and the other part in 2019
(n=1,600). Surveys conducted in 2017 and 2019 used face-to-face interviewing,
but those conducted in 2020, after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic,
were carried out by telephone interviewing.
A total of 77,914 respondents were interviewed across the 68 survey countries.
The survey respondents were asked questions about their own experiences offorced labour and those of their immediate family network. The family network
included the respondent’s living immediate family (spouse or partner and biological parents, children, and siblings). The combined size of the family networkof the 77,914 sample respondents included 628,598 persons altogether, corresponding to an average family network size of 8.07. The family network included
children below 15 years of age as well as individuals 15 years old and over.
As the estimate of forced labour exploitation of adults is based on household surveys, respondents were interviewed in their country of residence.
Nevertheless, all situations of forced labour were counted in the country where
the exploitation took place, regardless of the worker’s citizenship, country ofbirth, or country of current residence. For example, if a woman interviewed inIndonesia reported that she was forced into domestic work in Oman during thereference period, that case would be attributed to Oman.

Annex. Methodology

110Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Table 3.

Outline of questionnaire on forced labourin the ILO-Walk Free Surveys conducted
as part of Gallup World Poll surveys, 2017-2021

111

Questions

Description

P1-P4, wp1223

Identification of immediate family network

P6-P7

Inquiry on involuntary work experience by anyone among immediate family (e.g., work against
will in particular circumstances; overtime, hazardous conditions; work against will to repay
debt, work to help other family member who was made to work against will by employer, work
against will for employer so another person receives job, land, money or other resources)

P8-P10

Who in the immediate family, sex and age

P11

When last happened

P11i

Total duration during last 5 years

P12

Country in which last spell happened

P13

Type of activity (e.g., agriculture and forestry; fishing; mining and quarrying; manufacturing;
construction; domestic work …)

P14

Coercion (Physical violence; threats of violence; threats of deportation or legal action; withheld
valuable documents (e.g., passport, residence permit, …); non-payment of wages or otherpromised benefits; isolated and dependent on employer to leave work or living place; …)

WP5

Country of current residence

WP4657, WP9048

Native or foreign born; country of birth

In the 2020 surveys, the following six additional questions were included in thesurvey questionnaire for collecting data on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
Questions

Description

covidp14_1

Currently being forced to work by employer or recruitercovidp14_2

Forced work was stopped before or after coronavirus restrictions started

covidp14_3

Situation that kept you/family member from quitting work stayed the same

covidp14_4

Main reason situation that kept you/family member from quitting work improved

covidp14_5

Main reason situation that kept you/family member from quitting work got worse

covidp14_6

Main reason situation involving force work was stopped

Annex. Methodology

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Forced marriage
The estimates of forced marriage are derived from nationally representative
household surveys in 75 countries conducted during the 2017-2021 period, using
a common set of questions on forced marriage (see Table 6).
A total of 109,798 respondents were interviewed across the 75 survey countries.
The survey respondents were asked questions about their own experiences offorced marriage and those of their immediate family network. The combined
size of the family network of the 109,798 sample respondents included 931,394
persons altogether, corresponding to an average family network size of 8.48.
The family network included children below 15 years of age as well as individuals
15 years old and over.
The global estimates of forced marriage are based on those who reported having
been forced to marry in the last five years, without their consent, and those who
were forced to marry before that time but remain in the marriage. Respondents
were asked if they had ever been forced to marry, and later in the survey they
were also asked if they consented to the marriage in order to limit overcounting.

Table 4.

Outline of questionnaire on forced marriage
in the household surveys
Questions

Description

P1-P4,

Identification of immediate family network

WP5

Country of current residence

WP4657, WP9048

Native or foreign born; country of birth

WP1223

Marital status

WP1220Current age

P15

Inquiry on forced marriage experience by anyone among immediate family

P17-P20

Who in the immediate family, sex and age at time of forced marriage

P21

Whether consented to the marriage

Annex. Methodology

112

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

From national survey estimatesto global estimates
The expansion to national estimates is carried out by applying extrapolation
weights to the survey data, which take account of the probabilistic nature of thenational sample and the extent of non-response of the sample units. The extrapolation weights are then calibrated to ensure consistency of the survey population estimates with known population totals from reliable external sources. The
resulting weights are finally adjusted to take account of the response bias that
occurs due to the tendency for people reporting on their own experiences tobe more accurate than when talking about experiences of family members, bygiving more importance to self-responses relative to proxy responses for family
members.

113

Estimates for countries in which national surveys were not conducted were obtained through an imputation model. This is a change from the methodology
used in the previous edition of the global estimates, where the sample countries
were considered to mimic a random sample of the universe of countries in theworld. In the present edition, the sample of countries are treated as a non-probability sample, which they are, and appropriate techniques for inference from
non-probability samples are applied.485 It essentially consists in using a modelwith covariates to impute values for the missing countries. After some experimentation with alternative models and a range of covariates, a weighted linear
model on the prevalence rate of forced labour was adopted with the covariates
consisting of geographic variables and an additional variable on the number ofinternational migrant workers in the country. For forced marriage, the weighted
linear model consisted of geographic variables only. Because no national surveys
were available for the North America region, that region was assimilated with theNorthern, Southern and Western Europe region.

Annex. Methodology

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Figure 26.

Sample scheme for the 2021 Global Estimatesof Modern Slavery: Forced Labourand Forced Marriage

World

189 countries and territories covering about 99.7 per cent of world population in 2020

Region11 ILO Broad regions

Sample country

68 forced labour sample countries | 75 forced marriage sample countries

Area sample within country

About 8500 clusters (primary sampling units - PSUs)

Household sample

77,914 FL sample households | 109’204 sample households for forced marriage

Sample of individuals 15 years old and over

71,914 FL respondents | 109,798 FM respondents among household members 15 years and over

Family network

628,598 FL family members | 931,394 FM family members

Imputation for missing countries (non-sample countries)
Weighted linear model with covariates

Annex. Methodology

114

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Aggregating national survey estimates
to regional estimates
The country-level estimates obtained from the national surveys and the imputation model described above refer to the number of adults subjected to forced
labour exploitation in the country of residence at the time of the survey. At the
global level, there is, of course, no difference between place of residence andplace of exploitation. The difference comes at the regional level. Accordingly,
to obtain regional estimates of adult forced labour exploitation at country of
exploitation, a matrix was constructed relating the country of residence andthe country of exploitation using the information provided by the national surveys. The resulting matrix estimates the proportion of adults subjected to forced
labour in a country of region X who were exploited in a country of region Y. The
matrix is then used to derive the regional estimates at country of exploitationfrom the data on the country of residence.

Forced commercial sexual exploitation

115

Estimation of forced commercial sexual exploitation and commercial sexual
exploitation of children required a different methodological approach, as too
few cases were reported across the 68 countries surveyed. The estimates, covering both children and adults, were calculated using two datasets. The first is
the national survey data on forced labour of adults. The second is the Counter
Trafficking Data Collaborative (CTDC) dataset.486 The CTDC dataset consists ofcase data collected by IOM and its partners in the process of providing protection and assistance services to victims of human trafficking.487 It comprises
cases of trafficking for both sexual and forced labour exploitation and includes
information on the profile of the victims of human trafficking (e.g. age, gender,
citizenship, country of birth) and on the trafficking situation (e.g., country of
exploitation, type of exploitation, industry of exploitation, means of control).
The estimates were calculated in two steps. First, statistical models were used
to estimate the odds ratios of forced commercial sexual exploitation relative toforced labour exploitation separately for adults and children by gender using
the CTDC database.
A range of alternative logistic regression commercial models 488 were tested, examining the odds of being subjected to forced commercial sexual exploitation
relative to being subjected to forced labour exploitation. The most appropriate
model in line with the model of the previous edition of the global estimates wasused to derive the estimates for this edition. Second, these odds ratios wereapplied to the corresponding global estimates of forced labour exploitation of
adults and children derived from the national surveys to derive the estimate ofcases of forced commercial sexual exploitation of adults and commercial sexual
exploitation of children. For example, the estimate of the number of adult females subjected to forced commercial sexual exploitation in a given region is
obtained by multiplying the odds ratio derived from CTDC data with the estimateof the number of female adults subjected to forced labour exploitation in thissame region derived from the national surveys.

Annex. Methodology

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Forced labour imposed by the state
For the estimate, state-imposed forced labour has been classified into threemain categories:
1. Abuse of compulsory prison labour▪

Compulsory prison labour of prisoners in remand or in administrative detention.

▪

Compulsory prison labour exacted for the benefit of private individuals, companies, or associations outside the exceptions allowed by the ILO supervisory
bodies.

▪

Compulsory prison labour exacted from persons under certain circumstances, such as punishment for expressing political views, labour discipline,or punishment for peaceful participation in strikes.

2. Abuse of conscription, when conscripts are forced to work for tasks
which are not of purely military character.
3. Compulsory labour for the purpose of economic development, andabuse of the obligation to perform work as part of normal civic obligations or minor communal services▪

Obligation to perform work beyond normal civic obligations.

▪

Abuse of the obligation to participate in minor communal services, whenthese services are not in the direct interest of the community and have notbenefited from prior consultation of the members of the said community.

▪

Compulsory labour for the purpose of economic development.

To build estimates for each of these three main categories of state-imposed
forced labour, cases of forced labour were identified through a systematic
review of the comments of the ILO supervisory bodies followed by a review of
secondary sources.
The forced recruitment of children by armed groups and armed forces was excluded from the estimate due to a lack of reliable estimates.

Annex. Methodology

116Photo Grace Forrest.

Endnotes

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

1

ILO, Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29).

2

Daniel Gerszon Mahler, Nishant Yonzan, Ruth Hill, Christoph Lakner, Haoyu Wu
and Nobuo Yoshida, “Pandemic, prices, and poverty”, World Bank Blogs (blog),
13 April 2022.

3

ILO, ILO Monitor on the world of work. Ninth edition, 2022.

4

Forced labour of children is defined, for purposes of measurement, as work performed by a child during a specified reference period falling under one of thefollowing categories: (i) work performed for a third party, under threat or menaceof any penalty applied by a third party (other than the child’ own parents) either
on the child directly or the child’s parents; or (ii) work performed with or for thechild’s parents, under threat or menace of any penalty applied by a third party(other than the child’s parents) either on the child directly or the child’s parents;or (iii) work performed with or for the child’s parents where one or both parents
are themselves in a situation of forced labour; or (iv) work performed in anyoneof the following worst forms of child labour: (a) all forms of slavery or practices
similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage andserfdom, [as well as forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict; (b) the use, procuring oroffering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances ; (c) the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit
activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in
relevant international treaties.

15

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has noted, “Women andgirls in situations of child and forced marriage may experience conditions inside
a marriage which meet ‘international legal definitions of slavery and slavery-likepractices’ including servile marriage, sexual slavery, child servitude, child trafficking and forced labour ….”. UN General Assembly, Resolution 26/22, Preventing and Eliminating Child, Early and Forced Marriage, Report of the Office of theUnited Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, A/HRC/26/22 (2014).

16

Levirate marriages refer to customary unions where a widow is coerced or otherwise forced to marry the brother of her deceased husband. Widow inheritancealso refers to these forced marriages. For further information, refer to: The Loomba Foundation, World Widows Report, 2016, pp. 92-93.

17

According to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Womenand the Committee on the Rights of the Child, “A child marriage is considered to
be a form of forced marriage, given that one and/or both parties have not expressed full, free and informed consent. Source: UN Committee of the Eliminationof Discrimination Against Women and UN Committee on the Rights of the Child,
Joint general recommendation No. 31 of the Committee on the Elimination ofDiscrimination against Women/general comment No. 18 of the Committee on the
Rights of the Child (2019) on harmful practices, CEDAW/C/GC/31/Rev.1–CRC/C/
GC/18/Rev.1.

18

Conference of Plenipotentiaries convened by the UN Economic and Social Council, Resolution 608 (XXI), Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery,
the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, 1956.

5

In accordance with the ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No.
182), any type of commercial sexual exploitation is considered forced labour
when minors are involved

19

ILO, Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29).

6

Including the ILO Forced Labour Conventions Nos 29 and 105; the Worst Formsof Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182); the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced
Labour Convention, 1930; the Forced Labour (Supplementary Measures) Recommendation, 2014 (No. 203); the United Nations 1956 Convention on slavery
and slavery-like practices; the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress andPunish Trafficking in Persons (2000) supplementing the UN Convention against
Transnational Crime; the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; and the UN
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

20

ILO, Application of International Labour Standards 2021, Report III /Addendum(Part A), Addendum to the 2020 Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, International Labour Conference
109th Session, 2021.

21

ILO, Issue paper on COVID-19 and fundamental principles and rights at work, 2020.

22

https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G20/201/21/PDF/
G2020121.pdf?OpenElement

119
7

ILO and Walk Free, Methodology of the 2021 Global Estimates of Modern Slavery:
Forced Labour and Forced Marriage, 2022.

23

See https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_norm/@ipec/documents/
publication/wcms_757247.pdf.

8

The Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative (CTDC), curated by IOM, is the firstglobal data portal on human trafficking, with disaggregated case data contributed by multiple agencies (2002 to 2021).

24

Equidem, The Cost of Contagion: The human rights impacts of COVID-19 on migrant
workers in the Gulf, 2020.

25

9

ILO and Walk Free, Methodology of the 2021 Global Estimates of Modern Slavery:
Forced Labour and Forced Marriage, 2022.

“Drastic Covid impact calls for improving women RMG workers’ working and living conditions: Speakers”, The Financial Express, 8 October 2021.

26

10

For a more detailed discussion of comparability, see ILO and Walk Free, Methodology of the 2021 Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced
Marriage, 2022.

S. Rubatheesan, “Garment workers in the claws of Covid-19 virus”. The Sunday
Times, 13 June 2021.

27

UN General Assembly, Impact of the coronavirus disease pandemic on contemporary forms of slavery and slavery-like practices, Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences,
A/HRC/45/8, 2020.

28

See, for example, ILO, General observation on matters arising from the application of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, as amended (MLC, 2006) during the
COVID-19 pandemic, Adopted by the Committee of Experts on the Application ofConventions and Recommendations (CEACR) at its 91st session (Nov-Dec. 2020).

29

See, for example: “COVID-19 Impact on Migrant Smuggling and Human Trafficking”, Interpol (11 June 2020); “COVID-19 Crisis Putting Human Trafficking Victims
at Risk of Further Exploitation, Experts Warn”, UN News (6 May 2020); UNODC,“COVID-19 Measures Likely to Lead to an Increase in Migrant Smuggling and Human Trafficking in Longer Term, UNODC Report Finds” (14 May 2020).

30

UN General Assembly, Impact of the coronavirus disease pandemic on contemporary forms of slavery and slavery-like practices, Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences,
A/HRC/45/8, 2020.

31

UN Women, Measuring The Shadow Pandemic: Violence Against Women During
Covid-19, 2021.

32

UNODC, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2020, 2021, page 87.

11This refers to anyone who was alive in 2020 and experienced forced labour or was
in a forced marriage during the period 2017 to 2021.

12

ILO, Guidelines concerning the measurement of forced labour, 20th International Conference of Labour Statisticians, Geneva, 10-19 October 2018.

13

ILO, Guidelines concerning the measurement of forced labour, 20th International
Conference of Labour Statisticians, Geneva, 10-19 October 2018.

14

The Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade andInstitutions and Practices Similar to Slavery (1956) defines servile marriage as a“slavery like practice,” in Article 1(c) as follows: “Any institution or practice whereby: (i) A woman, without the right to refuse, is promised or given in marriage on
payment of a consideration in money or in kind to her parents, guardian, family
or any other person or group; or (ii) The husband of a woman, his family, or his
clan, has the right to transfer her to another person for value received or otherwise; or (iii) A woman on the death of her husband is liable to be inherited byanother person.” See also, UN General Assembly, Resolution 2200A (XXI), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966, Article 8; UN General Assembly, resolution 71/480, Child, Early and Forced Marriage, A/RES/71/480 (2016);
and UN General Assembly, Resolution 1763 A (XVII), Convention on Consent toMarriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages Resolution,
1962.

EndnotesGlobal Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

Greenpeace, Misery at Sea: Human suffering in Taiwan’s distant water fishing fleet,
2018; Greenpeace, Seabound: The Journey to Modern Slavery on the High Seas, 2019;
Issara Institute and International Justice Mission, Not in the Same Boat: Prevalence& patterns of labour abuse across Thailand’s diverse fishing industry, 2017; Human
Rights Watch, Hidden Chains: R Rights Abuses and Forced Labor in Thailand’s Fishing
Industry, 2018; Chirstina Stringer, D.H. Whittaker, Glenn Simmons, “New Zealand’s turbulent waters: the use of forced labour in the fishing industry”, Global
Networks, Vol.16, No. 1 (2016): 3.24.

33

Daniel Gerszon Mahler, Nishant Yonzan, Ruth Hill, Christoph Lakner, Haoyu Wu
and Nobuo Yoshida, “Pandemic, prices, and poverty”, World Bank Blogs (blog),
13 April 2022.

34

ILO, ILO Monitor on the world of work. Ninth edition, 2022.

35

European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Protecting migrant workers from
exploitation in the EU: workers’ perspectives, 2019.

36

Becky Giovagnoni and Mary Nikkel, “Forced Labor in the United States”, The Exodus Road (blog), 15 July 2021.

52

Humanity United and The Freedom Fund, Tracking Progress: Assessing business responses to forced labour and human trafficking in the Thai seafood industry, 2019.

37

European Parliament, Report on domestic workers and careers in the EU, Plenary
Session, 2015/2094(INI), 2016.

53

Shigefuji, 2021.

38

Pierre Bérastégui, “Labour Exploitation of Migrant Workers in Construction andForestry”, The European Trade Union Institute, 24 June 2021.

54

Jessica L. Decker Sparks & Leslie K. Hasche, “Complex linkages between forcedlabor slavery and environmental decline in marine fisheries” Journal of Human
Rights, Vol.18. No.2 (2019): 230:245.

39

See, for instance, Cli ́odhna Murphy, David M. Doyle and Stephanie Thompson,
Experiences of Non-EEA Workers in the Irish Fishing Industry, Maynooth University,
2021.

55

See, for example, Genevieve LeBaron and Ellie Gore, “Gender and Forced Labour:
Understanding the Links in Global Cocoa Supply Chains”, The Journal of Development Studies, Vol. 56, No. 6 (2020): 1095–1117.

40

See, for example, Sofija Voronova and Anja Radjenovic, The gender dimension ofhuman trafficking, Briefing Note, European Parliament Research Service, 2016.

56

ILO, ILO Global Estimates on International Migrant Workers – Results and Methodology– Third edition, 2021.

41

See, for instance, UNODC, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2020, 2021.

57

42

ILO, OECD, IOM and UNICEF, Ending Child Labour, Forced Labour and Human Trafficking in Global Supply Chains, 2019.

IOM and Walk Free Foundation, Migrants and their vulnerability to human trafficking, modern slavery and forced labour, 2019.

58

43

The share of total respondents who did not indicate a sector of work was 2.8 percent. Information on the sector of work was not collected for children in forced
labour.

44

Services comprise both market services (trade, transportation, accommodationand food, and business and administrative services) and non-market services(public administration, community, social, and other services and activities).

See, for example, Louise Waite, Gary Craing, Hannah Lewis and Klara Skrivankova(eds.), Vulnerability, Exploitation and Migrants: Insecure Work in a Globalised Economy (London, Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2015); Joelle Mak, Tanya Abramsky, Bandita
Sijapati Ligia Kiss and Cathy Zimmerman, “What is the prevalence of and associations with forced labour experiences among male migrants from Dolakha, Nepal?
Findings from a cross-sectional study of returnee migrants”, BMJ open, Vol. 7,
No. 8 (2017): 1-13.; London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, South Asia
Work in Freedom Three-Country evaluation: A theory-based intervention evaluation topromote safer migration of women and girls in Nepal, India and Bangladesh, 2019.

45

The manufacturing sector includes the physical or chemical transformation ofmaterials, substances, or components into new products, although this cannot be
used as the single universal criterion for defining manufacturing. The materials,
substances, or components transformed are raw materials that are products ofagriculture, forestry, fishing, and mining or quarrying, as well as products of other manufacturing activities. Substantial alteration, renovation, or reconstructionof goods is generally considered to be manufacturing. Source: United Nations,International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities Revision 4,
Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division, 2008.

46

The construction sector includes general construction and specialised construction activities for buildings and civil engineering works. It includes new work,
repair, additions and alterations, the erection of prefabricated buildings or structures on the site, and also construction of a temporary nature. Source: United Nations, International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities Revision
4, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division, 2008.

47

The agriculture sector includes the exploitation of vegetal and animal natural
resources, comprising the activities of growing of crops, raising and breedingof animals, and harvesting of timber and other plants, animals, or animal products from a farm or their natural habitats. Source: United Nations, International
Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities Revision 4, Department of
Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division, 2008.

48

Domestic work captures the activities of households as employers of domestic
personnel such as maids, cooks, waiters, valets, butlers, laundresses, gardeners,
gatekeepers, stable-lads, chauffeurs, caretakers, governesses, babysitters, tutors, secretaries etc.

49

ILO, Making decent work a reality for domestic workers: Progress and prospects ten
years after the adoption of the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), 2021.

50“Forced Labour and Human Trafficking in Fisheries”, ILO.

51

See for example: ILO, Ship to Shore Rights: Endline research findings on fishers andseafood workers in Thailand, 2020; ILO, Baseline research findings on fishers and seafood workers in Thailand, 2018; Environmental Justice Fundation, Blood and Water:
Human rights abuses in the seafood industry, 2019; Greenpeace, Turn the Tide: Human Rights Abuses and Illegal Fishing in Thailand’s Overseas Fishing Industry, 2016;

Endnotes

59

IOM, Flow Monitoring Surveys: The Human Trafficking and Other Exploitative Practices
Indication Survey Analysis on Adult and Children on The Mediterranean Routes Compared September 2017, 2017.

60“Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021), Abolitionof Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Qatar (Ratification: 1998)”, ILO.

61

“Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021), Forced
Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - United Arab Emirates (Ratification: 1982)”, ILO.

62

In this context, the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions
and Recommendations has considered that “… in cases in which work or service
is imposed by exploiting the worker’s vulnerability, under the menace of a penalty, dismissal or payment of wages below the minimum level, such exploitationceases to be merely a matter of poor conditions of employment and becomes
one of imposing work under the menace of a penalty and calls for the protectionof the Convention, according to which the term ‘forced or compulsory labour’means all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace ofany penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself or herself voluntarily.” Source: ILO, General Survey concerning the Forced Labour Convention,
1930 (No. 29), and the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105),
Report III (PART. 1B), 2007.

63

In this context, the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions
and Recommendations, considers that “… Exploitation of the vulnerability ofworkers who are facing a menace of dismissal or forced to work beyond normal
working hours to attain productivity targets so that they can earn the minimum
wage, limits the workers’ liberty and right to refuse work imposed on them underthe menace of a penalty. The Committee has considered that, in certain situations, an obligation to perform overtime work may constitute an infringement ofConvention No. 29.” Source: ILO, General Survey concerning the Forced Labour
Convention, 1930 (No. 29), and the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957
(No. 105), Report III (PART. 1B), 2007.

64

ILO, OECD, IOM and UNICEF, Ending Child Labour, Forced Labour and Human Trafficking in Global Supply Chains, 2019.

65

ILO, Issue paper on COVID-19 and fundamental principles and rights at work, 2020.

120

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

66

UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary
Forms of Slavery, Including Its Causes and Consequences, A/HRC/33/46 (2016).

67

OHCHR, “Statement of Ms. Urmila Bhoola, Special Rapporteur on contemporary
forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences at the Human Rights
Council 36th Session”, 12 September 2017.

68

In accordance with the ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999
(No. 182), any type of commercial sexual exploitation is considered forced labour
when minors are involved.

69

UNODC, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2020, 2021.

70‘Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative (CTDC)’, IOM, accessed 7 July 2022.

71

UNODC, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2020, 2021.

72

UNODC, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2020, 2021.

73

Polaris, On-Ramps, Intersections, and Exit Routes: A Roadmap for Systems and Industries to Prevent and Disrupt Human Trafficking, 2018.

74

https://www.ctdatacollaborative.org/story/exploitation-victims-trends

75

See, for example Kristy Siegfried, “Ukraine crisis creates new trafficking risks”,
UNHCR, , 13 April 2022.; and “IOM Warns of Increased Risk of Trafficking in Persons for People Fleeing Ukraine”, IOM, 16 March 2022.

76

UN Secretary-General, Conflict-related sexual violence, Report of the United Na�tions Secretary-General, 2022.

77

Forced labour of children is defined, for purposes of measurement, as work performed by a child during a specified reference period falling under one of thefollowing categories: (i) work performed for a third party, under threat or menaceof any penalty applied by a third party (other than the child’ own parents) either
on the child directly or the child’s parents; or (ii) work performed with or for thechild’s parents, under threat or menace of any penalty applied by a third party(other than the child’s parents) either on the child directly or the child’s parents;or (iii) work performed with or for the child’s parents where one or both parents
are themselves in a situation of forced labour; or (iv) work performed in anyoneof the following worst forms of child labour: (a) all forms of slavery or practices
similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage andserfdom, [as well as forced or compulsory labour], including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict; (b) the use, procuring oroffering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances ; (c) the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit
activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in
relevant international treaties.

121

78

79

Susan Hillis, Joel-Pascal Ntwali N’konzi, William Msemburi, Lucie Cluver, Andrés
Villaveces, Seth Flaxman, and H.J.T. Unwin, “10.4 Million Children Affected by
COVID-19-associated Orphanhood and Caregiver Death: An Imperative for Action”, medRvix, 10 May 2022.
The review included publicly-available reports, articles and studies from governments, news media organizations, NGOs, UN organizations, the ILO Committeeof Experts on the Application of Conventions (C29, C105, and C182), regional andinternational organizations, universities and research institutes, and international data hubs. It included information from 118 countries spanning the Latin
America and Caribbean, Africa, and Asia and the Pacific regions.

80

UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography andother child sexual abuse material, A/HRC/43/40 (2020).

81

UN Secretary-General, Sale and sexual exploitation of children, including childprostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material; and trafficking in persons, especially women and children, A/72/164 (2017).

82

See, for example, UNICEF, The State of the World’s Children: Children in a Digital
World, 2017; and UN Human Rights Council, “Report of the Special Rapporteuron the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio”, A/HRC/28/56 (2014).

83“COVID-19: Urgent Need for Child Protection Services to Mitigate the Risk of Child
Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Worldwide”, Press release, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 6 May 2020.

Endnotes

84

UNODC, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2020, 2021.

85

UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary
forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, on her mission to Paraguay, A/HRC/39/52/Add.1 (2018).

86

Centro de Estudios Sociales y Publicaciones Cesip, Mapeo sobre trabajo infantil,
esclavitud infantil, violencia contra la niñez y educación Informe de la Subregión
América del Sur (Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Perú), 2015.

87“Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022), Worst
Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Benin (Ratification: 2001)”,
ILO; and UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on thesale of children, child prostitution and child pornography: Mission to Benin,
A/HRC/25/48/Add.3 (2014).

88

UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences: visit to Togo,
A/HRC/45/8/Add.1 (2020).

89

The Kamlari system in Nepal is officially prohibited under the Kamlari Prohibition
Act of 2013. Source: “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC
session (2019), Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Nepal(Ratification: 2002)”, ILO.

90

The Freedom Fund, Child domestic work. Summary framing paper, 2021.

91

UN Human Rights Council. Report of the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, Including Its Causes and Consequences, Urmila Bhoola.
A/HRC/30/35/Add.1 (2015).

92“Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019), Worst
Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Nepal (Ratification: 2002)”,
ILO.

93

Walk Free Foundation, The Global Slavery Index 2018, 2018.

94

Walk Free Foundation, The Global Slavery Index 2018, 2018.

95

Mahfooz ul-Haq, “Afghanistan’s Modern Day Slave Labourers”, Institute for War
and Peace Reporting, 24 January 2017.

96

Anti-Slavery International (ASI), Every Child Against Trafficking UK (ECPAT UK) and
the Pacific Links Foundation, Precarious journeys: Mapping vulnerabilities of victimsof trafficking from Vietnam to Europe, 2019.

97

UNODC, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2020, 2021.

98«Children trafficked have a different profile to adults”, Counter Trafficking Data
Collaborative, IOM, accessed July 2022.

99«Children trafficked have a different profile to adults», Counter Trafficking Data
Collaborative, IOM, accessed July 2022.

100 UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking inpersons, especially women and children, Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, Mission to Gabon, A/
HRC/23/48/Add.2 (2013), p.5.
101 ILO. Child Labour in Mining and Global Supply Chains. 2019.
102 ILO, Rural-urban migrants employed in domestic work: Issues and challenges, Knowledge Sharing Forum on Domestic Work in Africa, Briefing Note No. 5, May 2013.
103 Claro Ribando Seelke, Trafficking in Persons in Latin American and the Caribbean,Congressional Research Service, 2016.
104 See for instance ILO, Child Labour in Cotton, a briefing, 2016; ILO, Child Labour in thePrimary Production of Sugarcane, 2017; and Kumari M. (2013) Child labour, a Sociological Study in Haryana, India, International Research Journal of Social Science,Vol. 2 (8), 15-18 August 2013, as cited in UNODC, Global Report on Trafficking in
Persons 2020, 2021.
105 IOM, IOM Bangladesh: Rohingya Refugee Crisis Response, Situation Overview of Human Trafficking, 2018.
106 See, for example Kristy Siegfried, “Ukraine crisis creates new trafficking risks”,
UNHCR, , 13 April 2022.; and “IOM Warns of Increased Risk of Trafficking in Persons for People Fleeing Ukraine”, IOM, 16 March 2022.

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

107 «Children trafficked have a different profile to adults», Counter Trafficking Data
Collaborative, IOM, accessed July 2022.

129 UN Security Council, Children and armed conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic, Report of the Secretary-General, S/2021/398 (2021).

108 A/HRC/23/48/Add.2, Report of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, p7.; 2019, A/HRC/41/46/Add, Reportof Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children,
2019, p.4. ; A/HRC/30/35/Add.1, Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, Urmila Bhoola, 2015,
pp12-14., as cited in UNODC, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2020, 2021.

130 UN Security Council, Children and armed conflict in Yemen, Report of the Secretary-General, S/2021/761 (2021).
131 “Children under attack at shocking scale in conflicts around the world, says
UNICEF ‘No safe places left for children as they are targeted in their homes,
schools and playgrounds’”, UNICEF.

109 See for instance “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017), Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Senegal(Ratification: 2000)”, ILO; and “Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published
109th ILC session (2021), Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No.
182) - Guinea - Bissau (Ratification: 2008)”, ILO.

132 See for instance United Security, Children and armed conflict in Nigeria, Reportof the Secretary-General, S/2020/652 (2020); UN Security Council, Children
and armed conflict in Myanmar, Report of the Secretary-General, S/2020/1243(2020); UN Security Council, Children and armed conflict in Yemen, Report of theSecretary-General, 27 August 2021.

110 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022), Worst
Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Albania (Ratification: 2001) ”,
ILO

133 See, for instance, Children and armed conflict in Nigeria, Report of the Secretary-General, 6 July 2020; Children and armed conflict in Afghanistan, Report of
the Secretary-General, S/2021/761 2021.

111 “Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021),
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Sri Lanka (Ratification:2001)”, ILO.

134 See, for example, UN Security Council, Children and armed conflict, Report of theSecretary-General, A/75/873–S/2021/437 (2021); and UN Human Rights Council,
Children and armed conflict, Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, A/HRC/46/39 (2020).

112 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022), Worst
Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Colombia (Ratification:2005)”, ILO.

135 See for instance US Bureau of International Labor Affairs, Child Labor and Forced
Labor Reports. Congo, Democratic Republic of the (RDC). Moderate Advancement, 2020.

113 Sally Atkinson-Sheppard, “Developing a Global South Perspective of Street Children’s Involvement in Organized Crime”, In The Palgrave Handbook of Criminology
and the Global South, 2018, pp.473-492.

136 “Mental health and psychosocial support in emergencies”, UNICEF.

114 Europol, Situation Report. Criminal Networks Involved in the Trafficking and Exploitation of Underage Victims in the European Union, Situation Report, October
2018.

138 Defined by Article 1(a) of ILO Convention No. 105 as “holding or expressing political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social or
economic system.” A “non-violent” political offence concerns a political offence
that does not involve acts of violence, preparatory acts of violence and incitement
to violence.

115 Annie Isabel Fukushima, A Survey of Child Welfare and Labor Trafficking in California.
A White Paper, 2020.
116 Sally Atkinson-Sheppard, “Developing a Global South Perspective of Street Children’s Involvement in Organizes Crime”, In The Palgrave Handbook of Criminology
and the Global South, 2018, pp.473-492.
117 Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and Organization of American
States, Violence, Children and Organized Crime, 2015.
118 USAID, Central America and Mexico Gang Assessment, 2006.
119 United Nations General Assembly, Children and armed conflict, Report of the Secretary-General, A/75/873–S/2021/437 (2021).
120 “Child Recruitment and Use”, Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.
121 UN Security Council, Children and armed conflict in Afghanistan, Report of theSecretary-General, S/2021/662 (2021).
122 UN Security Council, Children and armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo, Report of the Secretary-General, S/2020/1030 (2020).
123 UN Security Council, Report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Mali, S/2018/136 (2018).
124 UN Security Council, Children and armed conflict in Myanmar, Report of the Secretary-General, S/2020/1243 (2020).
125 UN Security Council, Children and armed conflict in Nigeria, Report of the Secretary-General, S/2020/652 (2020).
126 UN Security Council, Children and armed conflict in Somalia, Report of the Secretary-General, S/2020/174 (2020).

137 Convention 29, Article 2.2(c).

139 Convention 105, Article 1(c) and (d).
140 Even if the strikes are illegal, though the rule is applied only to peaceful andnon-violent strikes.
141 Convention 105, Article 1(e).
142 Convention 29, Article 2.2(c).
143 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Burundi (Ratification: 1963)”,
ILO.
144 “Direct Request (CEACR) – adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022),
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) – Algeria (Ratification:1969)”, ILO.
145 “Direct Request (CEACR) – adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) – Benin (Ratification: 1961)”,
ILO.
146 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Kazakhstan (Ratification:2001)”, ILO.
147 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) – Russian Federation (Ratification: 1998)”, ILO.
148 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) – United Arab Emirates (Ratification: 1997)”, ILO.

127 UN Security Council, Children and armed conflict in South Sudan, Report of theSecretary-General, S/2020/1205 (2020).

149 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) – United Republic of Tanzania(Ratification: 1962)”, ILO.

128 UN Security Council, Children and armed conflict in the Sudan, Report of the Secretary-General, S/2020/614 (2020).

150 ILO, Committee on the Application of Standards, CAN/Azerbaijan/PV.3 01.06.22,
2022.

Endnotes122

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

151 ILO, Committee on the Application of Standards, CAN/Fiji/PV.8 03.06.22, 2022.
152 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Zimbabwe (Ratification:1998)”, ILO.
153 “Promoting accountability in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights
Council, 11 January 2021.
154 “Promoting accountability in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights
Council, 11 January 2021.
155 UN Human Rights Committee, Concluding observations on the initial report of
Bangladesh, CCPR/C/BGD/CO/1 (2017).
156 “Direct Request (CEACR) – adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022),
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) – Algeria (Ratification:1969)”, ILO.
157 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Cameroon (Ratification:1962)”, ILO.
158 ILO, China ratifies the two ILO Fundamental Conventions on forced labour, ILO
Press release, 12 August 2022.
159 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Pakistan (Ratification: 1960)”,
ILO.

123

160 Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) – United States of America(Ratification: 1991); and Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th
ILC session (2021), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) – United States of America (Ratification: 1991).
161 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) – Botswana (Ratification:1997)”, ILO.
162 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) – Republic of Moldova (Ratification: 1993)”, ILO.
163 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) – South Africa (Ratification:1997)”, ILO.
164 “Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021),
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Grenada (Ratification:1979)”, ILO.
165 “Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021),
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - United Arab Emirates(Ratification: 1997)”, ILO.
166 “Direct Request (CEACR) – adopted 2021, published 108th ILC session (2019), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) – Côte d’Ivoire (Ratification:1961)”, ILO.
167 “Direct Request (CEACR) – adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) – Kazakhstan (Ratification:2001)”, ILO.
168 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) – Philippines (Ratification:1960)”, ILO.
169 “Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Bangladesh (Ratification:1972)”, ILO.
170 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Guatemala (Ratification:1959)”, ILO.

Endnotes

171 “Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015),
Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Canada (Ratification: 2011), Protocolof 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Canada (Ratification: 2019)”,ILO.
172 “Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012),
Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Chile (Ratification: 1933), Protocol of2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Chile (Ratification: 2021)”, ILO.
173 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004), Forced
Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Colombia (Ratification: 1969)”, ILO.
174 UN Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Subcommittee on Prevention of
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Visit
to Mongolia undertaken from 11 to 20 September 2017: observations and recommendations addressed to the State party, Report of the Subcommittee, CAT/OP/
MNG/1 (2018).
175 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019), Forced
Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Australia (Ratification: 1932), Protocol of 2014
to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Australia (Ratification: 2022)”, ILO.
176 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022), Forced
Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Austria (Ratification: 1960), Protocol of 2014
to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Austria (Ratification: 2019)”, ILO.
177 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019), Forced
Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Germany (Ratification: 1956), Protocol of2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Germany (Ratification: 2019)”, ILO.
178 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021), Forced
Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Russian Federation (Ratification: 1956), Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Russian Federation (Ratification: 2019)”, ILO.
179 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021), Forced
Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Ratification: 1931), Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Conven�tion, 1930 - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Ratification:2016)”, ILO.
180 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019), Forced
Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Belarus (Ratification: 1956)”, ILO.
181 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Mozambique (Ratification:1977)”, ILO.
182 “Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022),
Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Democratic Republic of the Congo(Ratification: 1960)”, ILO.
183 “Promoting accountability in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights
Council, 11 January 2021.
184 “Promoting accountability in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights
Council, 11 January 2021.
185 “Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 2017, publiée 107ème session CIT (2018),
République démocratique du Congo (Ratification: 1960)”, ILO.
186 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) – Cambodia (Ratification:1999)”, ILO.
187 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) – Azerbaijan (Ratification:2000)”, ILO.
188 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) (Ratification: 1964)” ILO.
189 Prohibited under Article 2(2)(a) of Convention 29.

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

190 Prohibited under Article 1(b) of Convention 105.
191 ILO, General Survey concerning the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29),
and the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), ILC96-III(1B),
2017, p.54, para. 94.
192 “Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021) Mongolia (Ratification: 2005)”, ILO.
193 “Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2019, Published 109th ILC session (2021) Zambia (Ratification: 1964)”, ILO.
194 See for instance “Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC
session (2018), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Burkina
Faso (Ratification: 1997)”, ILO; “Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No.
105) - Burundi (Ratification: 1963)”, ILO; and “Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted
2020, published 109th ILC session (2021), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention,
1957 (No. 105) - Samoa (Ratification: 2008)”, ILO.
195 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022), Forced
Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Egypt (Ratification: 1955)”, ILO.
196 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022), Forced
Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Chad (Ratification: 1960)”, ILO.
197 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019), Forced
Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Myanmar (Ratification: 1955)”, ILO.
198 Zimbabwean law (section 4A(2)(c) of the Labour Relations Act) provides that theexpression “forced labour” does not include any labour required of a member ofa disciplined force. Source: “Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published
109th ILC session (2021) Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Zimbabwe(Ratification: 1998), Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 Zimbabwe (Ratification: 2019)”, ILO.
199 “Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)
Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Mali (Ratification: 1960) Protocol of2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Mali (Ratification: 2016)”, ILO.
200 “Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022),
Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Egypt (Ratification: 1955)”, ILO.

209 As per Article 2(2)(d) of Convention 29. Emergencies are defined as “any circumstance that would endanger the existence or the well-being of the whole or partof the population.” Examples include the mobilisation of medical staff and construction workers to set up medical facilities and mobilisation of labour to repair
essential infrastructure after a flood.
210 ILO, General Survey concerning the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29),
and the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), Report III (PART.
1B), 2007, para. 66.
211 Article 2(2)(e).
212 “Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021),
Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Rwanda (Ratification: 2001)”, ILO.
213 “Observación (CEACR) - Adopción: 2018, Publicación: 108ª reunión CIT (2019), Convenio sobre el trabajo forzoso, 1930 (No. 29) - Argelia (Ratificación : 1962)”, ILO.
214 Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021), Forced
Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) – Oman (Ratification: 1998)
215 Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021), Forced
Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Saudi Arabia (Ratification: 1978), Protocol of2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Saudi Arabia (Ratification: 2021)
216 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Uzbekistan (Ratification:1997)”, ILO.
217 “ILO, 2021 third-party monitoring of child labour and forced labour during the cotton
harvest in Uzbekistan, 2022.
218 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021), Forced
Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Viet Nam (Ratification: 2007)”, ILO.
219 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021), Forced
Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Türkiye (Ratification: 1998)”, ILO.
220 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Morocco (Ratification: 1966)”,
ILO.

201 “Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022),
Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Albania (Ratification: 1957)”, ILO.

221 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Benin (Ratification: 1961)”,
ILO.

202 “Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015),
Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Uganda (Ratification: 1963)”, ILO.

222 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019), Forced
Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Guinea (Ratification: 1959)”, ILO.

203 “Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019),
Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Malaysia (Ratification: 1957), Protocolof 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Malaysia (Ratification: 2022)”,ILO.

223 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Seychelles (Ratification:1978)”, ILO.

204 ILO, General Survey on the fundamental Conventions concerning rights at workin light of the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization, 2008, Re�port III (Part 1B), 2012.
205 Article 1(b).
206 See for instance: “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 109th ILC ses�sion (2022), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) – Turkmenistan”, ILO; UN Human Rights Council, Summary of Stakeholders’ submissions
on Turkmenistan, Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights Human Rights Council, A/HRC/WG.6/30/TKM/3 (2018); and UN
Economic and Social Council, Concluding observations on the second periodic
report of Turkmenistan E/C.12/TKM/CO/2 (2018).
207 “Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017), Ab�olition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Turkmenistan (Ratification:1997)”, ILO.
208 As per Article 2(2)(b) of Convention 29.

Endnotes

224 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Kiribati (Ratification: 2000)”,
ILO.
225 “Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Burkina Faso (Ratification:1997)”, ILO.
226 “Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Sierra Leone (Ratification:1961)”, ILO.
227 “Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021), Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Serbia (Ratification: 2003)”,ILO.
228 Forced marriage violates several international human rights conventions, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices
Similar to Slavery 1956, the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) 1981, and the Convention on the Rights of theChild 1989 (CRC), and the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime
Supplementary Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons
Especially Women and Children (Palermo Protocol).

124

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

229 UN Human Rights Council, Resolution 41/8, Consequences of child, early andforced marriage, A/HRC/RES/41/8 (2019).

250 UNFPA, UNICEF, Child marriage in the context of Covid-19. Analysis of trends, programming and alternative approaches in the Middle East and North Africa, 2021.

230 According to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Womenand the Committee on the Rights of the Child, “A child marriage is considered to
be a form of forced marriage, given that one and/or both parties have not expressed full, free and informed consent. Source: UN Committee of the Eliminationof Discrimination Against Women and UN Committee on the Rights of the Child,
Joint general recommendation No. 31 of the Committee on the Elimination ofDiscrimination against Women/general comment No. 18 of the Committee on the
Rights of the Child (2019) on harmful practices, CEDAW/C/GC/31/Rev.1–CRC/C/
GC/18/Rev.1.

251 UNFPA, UNICEF, Child marriage in the context of Covid-19. Analysis of trends, programming and alternative approaches in the Middle East and North Africa, 2021.

231 This included 17.4 million marriages that had occurred in the five-year reference
period (2017-2021), with the remaining occurring prior to 2017 but continuing
into the reference period.
232 Child Marriage: Latest trends and future prospects - UNICEF DATA
233 See Department of Peace and Conflict Research n.d., Countries in Conflict. Uppsala Conflict Data Program. Available from: https://ucdp.uu.se/ [].; Håvard Strand,
Siri Aas Rustad, Henrik Urdal and Håvard Mokleiv Nygård, Trends in Armed Conflict,
1946-2018, Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2019; “Armed Conflict By Type, 19462019”, Uppsala Conflict Data Program; and Institute for Economics & Peace, Global Peace Index 2021: Measuring Peace in a Complex World, 2021.
234 International Union for Conservation of Nature, Gender and Climate Change:
Strengthening climate action by promoting gender equality, Issues Brief, November
2015.
235 Daniel Gerszon Mahler, Nishant Yonzan, R.A. Castaneda Aguilar, Christoph
Lakner, Haoyu Wu and Nobuo Yoshida, “Updated estimates of the impact of
COVID-19 on global poverty: Turning the corner on the pandemic in 2021?”, WorldBank Blogs (blog), 24 June 2021.

125

236 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank, UNESCO and UNICEF, The State of the Global Education Crisis: A Path to Recovery, 2021.
237 IOM, ILO and Walk Free, 2022. No Escape: Assessing the relationship between slavery-related abuse and internal displacement in Nigeria, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, forthcoming.
238 “COVID-19 and violence against women: what the data tells us,” UN Women,
24 November 2021.
239 Alys McAlpine, Mazeda Hossain and Cathy Zimmerman, “Sex trafficking andsexual exploitation in settings affected by armed conflicts in Africa, Asia and the
Middle East: systematic review”, BMC International Health and Human Rights, Vol.
16, No.1 (2016); and IOM, Regional Trends Report: Study Research on Vulnerability to
Trafficking in Persons mong the Crisis-Affected Populations in the Levant Region, 2021.

252 UNFPA, UNICEF, Child marriage in the context of Covid-19. Analysis of trends, programming and alternative approaches in the Middle East and North Africa, 2021.
253 “Child marriage has more than doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic withnumbers set to increase, World Vision warns”, World Vision, 20 May 2021.
254 “Child marriage has more than doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic withnumbers set to increase, World Vision warns”, World Vision, 20 May 2021.
255 UNFPA, UNICEF, Child Marriage in COVID-19 contexts: Disruptions, Alternative Approaches and Building Programme Resilience, 2020.
256 University of Notting Ham Rights Lab, The impact of Covid-19 and Covid-related restrictions on forced marriage, Data report, April 2022.
257 Jennifer Rigby, “Child marriages skyrocket in Malawi as Covid-19 closes schools,
figures show”, The Telegraph, 14 August 2020.
258 UNFPA, UNICEF, Child Marriage in COVID-19 contexts: Disruptions, Alternative Approaches and Building Programme Resilience, 2020.
259 World Bank, Global Economic Prospects, 2021, pp. 25-26.
260 “With 40 million Forced into Modern Slavery, Third Committee Expert Urges
States to Protect Rights of Women, Girls, Companies, Must Remedy Violations”,
United Nations.
261 Walk Free, Stacked Odds, Minderoo Foundation, 2020.
262 Walk Free, Stacked Odds. How lifelong inequality shapes women and girls’ experience of modern slavery, 2020, p. 6.
263 Michele Zaman and Alissa Koski, “Child marriage in Canada: A systematic review”,
PLoS ONE, Vol. 15, No. 3 (2020).
264 See for instance Tahirih Justice Centre, Child Marriage in the United States: A serious
problem with a simple first-step solution, 2017, p 1.; and Tahirih Justice Centre, Understanding State Statutes on Minimum Marriage Age and Exceptions, 2020, p. 2.
265 UNFPA, My body is my own claiming the right to autonomy and self-determination,
State of World Population 2021, 2021.
266 UNODC, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2020, 2021.
267 UNODC, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2020, 2021.

240 UNODC, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2016, 2016.

268 Walk Free, Stacked Odds, Minderoo Foundation, 2020.

241 Ela Stachow, “Conflict-related sexual violence: a review”, BMJ Mil Health, Vol. 166,
No.3 (2020): pp.183-187.

269 ILO, ILO Monitor: COVID-19 and the world of work. Seventh edition. Updated estimates and analysis, 2021.

242 Bailey-King, E, I wish I never got married: the story of two Syrian refugees in
Lebanon, Girls Not Brides, 2019.

270 BSR HER project, “I can hardly sustain my family”. Understanding the humancost of the COVID-19 pandemic for workers in the supply chain”, 2020, p. 10.;
Genevieve LeBaron, Penelope Kyritsis, Perla Polanco Leal, and Michael Marshall,
The Unequal Impacts of Covid-19 on Global Garment Supply Chains: Evidence
from Ethiopia, Honduras, India, and Myanmar, 2021, p.29.

243 Global Protection Cluster, Leaving known ones behind? The human toll of war, 2022.
244 Save the Children, Global girlhood report 2021. Girls’ rights in crisis, 2021.
245 “Child marriage has more than doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic withnumbers set to increase, World Vision warns”, World Vision, 20 May 2021.
246 “Child marriage has more than doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic withnumbers set to increase, World Vision warns”, World Vision, 20 May 2021.
247 UNICEF, The importance of child helplines during the time of COVID-19 The caseof Bangladesh and India, 2020
248 Kosuke Inou, “Child marriages in Asia rise as COVID drives more into poverty”,
NIKKEI Asia, 2 January 2022.
249 UNFPA, UNICEF, Child marriage in the context of Covid-19. Analysis of trends, programming and alternative approaches in the Middle East and North Africa, 2021.

Endnotes

271 World Bang, Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2020: Reversals of Fortune, 2020.
272 See UNICEF, COVID-19: A threat to progress against child marriage, 2021; and Joshaul
Yukich et al, “Projecting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child marriage”,
Journal of Adolescent Health, Vol. 69, No. 6 (2021):s23-s30.
273 See UNICEF, COVID-19: A threat to progress against child marriage, 2021; and UNFPA,
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Family Planning and Ending Gender-based Violence, Female Genital Mutilation and Child Marriage, Interim Technical Note, April
2020.
274 OECD, Combatting COVID-19’s effect on children, 2020.

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

275 L.P.R. Kumala Dewi and Teguh Dartanto, “Natural disasters and girls vulnerability:
is child marriage a coping strategy of economic shocks in Indonesia?”, Vulnerable
Children and Youth Studies, Vol. 14, No. 1 (2019):24-35.; UNICEF, COVID-19: A threat
to progress against child marriage, 2021.
276 Nelsy Affoum and Isabel Santagostino Recavarren, “Child marriage: the unspoken consequence of COVID-19”, World Bank Blogs (blog), 9 October 2020.
277 See “Gender & Nutrition. Factsheet”, FAO; and “Briefing series: ‘Taking Action to
Address Child Marriage: the Role of Different Sectors.’”, Girls Not Brides.
278 Plan International and Girls Not Brides, Covid-19 and child marriage in West andCentral Africa, Joint Policy Brief, August 2020.
279 UNFPA, Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Family Planning and Ending Gender-based Violence, Female Genital Mutilation and Child Marriage, Interim TechnicalNote, April 2020.
280 Girls Not Brides, COVID-19 and Child Marriage: A Year On, 2021; and UNFPA, Impactof the COVID-19 Pandemic on Family Planning and Ending Gender-based Violence, Female Genital Mutilation and Child Marriage, Interim Technical Note, April 2020.
281 Tammary Esho et al, “The perceived effects of COVID-19 pandemic on female genital mutilation/cutting and child or forced marriages in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia
and Senegal”, BMC Public Health, Vol. 22 (2022).
282 Forced marriage protection orders are injunctions that protect people at risk offorced marriage by preventing anyone taking them out of the country or preventing anyone from making marriage arrangements for them, or even contacting them. See: University of Notting Ham Rights Lab, The impact of Covid-19 and
Covid-related restrictions on forced marriage, Data report, April 2022.
283 University of Notting Ham Rights Lab, The impact of Covid-19 and Covid-related restrictions on forced marriage, Data report, April 2022.
284 Girls Not Brides, COVID-19 and Child Marriage: A Year On, 2021.
285 UNFPA, UNICEF, Pivoting the UNFPA-UNICEF global programme to end child marriage
to respond to the pandemic. Adapting to covid-19, 2020.
286 Girls Not Brides, COVID-19 and Child Marriage: A Year On, 2021.
287 UNICEF, COVID-19: A threat to progress against child marriage, 2021.
288 UNFPA, UNICEF, Pivoting the UNFPA-UNICEF global programme to end child marriage
to respond to the pandemic. Adapting to covid-19, 2020.

297 The discussion of policy priorities for addressing forced labour draws on: ILO,
Ending forced labour by 2030: a review of policies and programmes, 2018.
298 “The text of the Declaration and its follow-up. ILO Declaration on Fundamental
Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-up“, ILO.
299 ILO, Application of International Labour Standards 2021, Report III /Addendum (PartA), Addendum to the 2020 Report of the Committee of Experts on the Applicationof Conventions and Recommendations, International Labour Conference 109th
Session, 2021.
300 The CEACR considers that these exceptional measures are admissible only in theevent of an acute crisis and that, by their nature, they must be limited in time,strictly adapted and proportionate to the objective constraints they address, include guarantees for the workers most affected, and be consulted with the mostrepresentative organizations of employers and workers.
301 European Trade Union Confederation, COVID-19 WATCH: ETUC Briefing Notes, Trade
Union Rights and COVID-19, Briefing Note, June 2020.
302 Kieran Guillbert, “Workers’ rights seen crumbling as coronavirus threatens further setbacks”, Reuters, 18 June 2020.
303 See ILO, Organizing Workers in the Informal Economy, Policy Brief, 2016; ILO, Organizing Informal Economy Workers into Trade Unions: A trade union guide, 2019; International Partnership for Cooperation on Child Labour in Agriculture, Statementof the African Regional Workshop of rural workers’ trade unions and small producers’organizations to exchange experiences of “Organizing against child labour”, 2017;
304 The International Labour Conference in June 2021 set out a framework for action
towards universal, adequate, comprehensive, and sustainable social protection
systems that are adapted to developments in the world of work. See ILO, Resolution concerning the second recurrent discussion on social protection (social security),
ILC.109/III, 2019.
305 World Social Protection Report 2020–22: Social protection at the crossroads ‒ inpursuit of a better future. International Labour Office – Geneva: ILO, 2021.
306 ILO, Extending Social Security Coverage to Workers in the Informal Economy: Lessons
from International Experience, 2021; see also related ILO, Extending social security
to workers in the informal economy: information and awareness, Social Protection
Spotlight, ILO Brief, March 2021. “Social Protection - Extending Social Security toWorkers in the Informal Economy”, ILO.

289 Save the Children, Stop the War on Children. A Crisis of Recruitment, 2021.

307 Alice Eckstein, “Cash Transfers and Vulnerable Populations: Understanding Pandemic-Era Interventions Through a Modern Slavery Prevention Lens”, Delta8.7(blog), 30 March 2022.

290 Katrina Lee-Koo and Eleanor Gordon, “Neither Seen nor Heard: The Invisibility ofChildren in the Global Politics of Peace, Security, and Responses to COVID-19”,
SFS Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, 25 June 2021.

308 Radical idea to help freed slaves: Just give them cash, The Christian Science Monitor - 11 January 2016, as cited in “Radical idea to help freed slaves: Just give themcash”, ILO Asia-Pacific Migration Network.

291 “Girls increasingly at risk of child marriage in Afghanistan. Statement by UNICEF
Executive Director Henrietta Fore”, UNICEF, 12 November 2021.

309 Relevant international labour standards include the Social Security (MinimumStandards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102), the Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202), and the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015 (No. 204).

292 Climate Justice Resilience Fund, “Defending girls’ rights at the intersection of theclimate crisis and Covid-19”, Climate Home News, 2 March 2022. https://www.climatechangenews.com/2022/03/02/defending-girls-rights-at-the-intersectionof-the-climate-crisis-and-covid-19/
293 Save the Children 2020, Global Girlhood Report 2020. How COVID-19 is putting progress in peril, 2020.
294 World Vision International, COVID-19 and Child Marriage: How COVID-19’s impact onhunger and education is forcing children into marriage, 2021
295 UNFPA, UNICEF, Child marriage in the context of Covid-19. Analysis of trends, programming and alternative approaches in the Middle East and North Africa, 2021.
296 Including the ILO Forced Labour Conventions Nos 29 and 105; the Worst Formsof Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182); the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced
Labour Convention, 1930; the Forced Labour (Supplementary Measures) Recommendation, 2014 (No. 203); the United Nations 1956 Convention on slavery
and slavery-like practices; the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress andPunish Trafficking in Persons (2000) supplementing the UN Convention against
Transnational Crime; the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; and the UN
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

Endnotes

310 ILO, Extending social security to domestic workers: lessons from international experience, Social Protection Spotlight, ILO Brief, June 2021.
311 ILO and FAO. 2021. ‘Extending Social Protection to Rural Populations: Perspectives for a Common FAO and ILO Approach’. Geneva and Rome: International Labour Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
312 ILO, Extending social security to domestic workers: lessons from international experience, Social Protection Spotlight, ILO Brief, June 2021.
313 ILO, Extending social security to self-employed workers: lessons from international experience, Social Protection Spotlight, ILO Brief, March 2021.
314 ILO, Extending social security to workers in the informal economy: information andawareness, Social Protection Spotlight, ILO Brief, March 2021.
315 Migrants in an irregular situation are defined as those who are not “authorized toenter, to stay and to engage in a remunerated activity in the State of employment
pursuant to the law of that State and to international agreements to which that
State is a party” (International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All
Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, Article 5).

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Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

316 ILO, Intervention model: For extending social protection to migrant workers in an irregular situation, ILO Brief, December 2021
317 Fabio Durán-Valverde, José F. Pacheco-Jiménez, Taneem Muzaffar and Hazel Elizondo-Barboza, Financing gaps in social protection. Global estimates and strategies
for developing countries in light of the COVID-19 crisis and beyond, ILO Working Paper
14, October 2020.

335 “Find out about your Rights & your Right Recruiter”, Recruitment Advisor.
336 ILO, Use of digital technology in the recruitment of migrant workers, 2021.
337 “Media engagement on forced labour and fair recruitment”, ILO.

318 ILO, UNICEF, The role of social protection in the elimination of child labour. Evidence
review and policy implications, 2022.

338 “Reporting on forced labour and fair recruitment, An ILO toolkit for journalists”,
ILO.

319 Mira Bierbaum and Valérie Schmitt, Investing more in universal social protection.
Filling the financing gap through domestic resource mobilization and international
support and coordination, ILO Working Paper 44, January 2022.

339 This paragraph draws on ILO, Ending forced labour by 2030: a review of policies andprogrammes, 2018.

320 ILO, Locked down and in limbo: The global impact of COVID-19 on migrant worker
rights and recruitment, 2021.
321 The ILO Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181), the principal
ILO instrument dealing directly with private recruitment, prohibits private employment agencies from charging any fees or costs to workers (Articles 7.1, 8.1
and 8.2). Similarly, the ILO Recommendation on supplementary measures for theeffective suppression of forced labour, 2014 (No. 203), calls for measures to “…
eliminate the charging of recruitment fees to workers to prevent debt bondage
and other forms of economic coercion” (paragraph 4(i)).

127334 ILO, Use of digital technology in the recruitment of migrant workers, 2021.

322 See ILO, General principles and operational guidelines for fair recruitment & Definition of recruitment fees and related costs, 2019; “IRIS Standard”, IOM International Recruitment
Integrity System (IRIS) Standard IOM IRIS Standard https://iris.iom.int/iris-standard;and “The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration”, United Nations.
The sixth objective of the Objectives for safe, orderly and regular migration is to“Facilitate fair and ethical recruitment and safeguard conditions that ensure decent
work”. Source: Global Compact for Migration, Global Compact for Safe, Orderly andRegular Migration. Intergovernmentally Negotiated and Agreed Outcome, 2018. The recent Progress Declaration of the International Migration Review Forum (UN General
Assembly, Resolution 76/L.48, A/76/L.58 (2022)) reaffirms commitments to this end.
323 ILO, Findings from the global comparative study on the definition of recruitment feesand related costs, Background paper for discussion at the Tripartite Meeting ofExperts on Recruitment Fees and Related Costs, MERFRC/2018, 2018.
324 Beate Andrees, Alix Nasri and Peter Swiniarski, Regulating labour recruitment toprevent human trafficking and to foster fair migration: Models, challenges and opportunities, ILO Working Paper 1, 2015.
325 ILO, Compendium of Promising Practices to Advance Fair Recruitment of (Migrant)
Workers: 5 Years of the Fair Recruitment Initiative, 2022.
326 ILO, Labour inspection and monitoring of recruitment of migrant workers, ILO Technical brief, forthcoming.
327 ILO, Promising Practices for Fair Recruitment: Tunisia – Formation of a New Body ofInspectors for the Recruitment Industry, ILO Brief, April 2021.
328 Jennifer Gordon, Global labour recruitment in a supply chain context, ILO Fair recruitment initiative series, Fundamentals Working Paper 1, 2015.
329 ILO, Bilateral Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding on Migration of Low
Skilled Workers: A Review, 2015, p. 26.
330 See for example Kennedy Atong, Emmanuel Mayah and Akhator Odigie, Africa
Labour Migration to the GCC States: The Case of Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda. An
African Trade Union Overview, African Regional Organisation of the International
Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-AFRICA), 2018.
331 ILO, The Benefits of Fair Recruitment – Result of the impact study on the Nepal-Jordan
corridor, 2019.
332 “Post-Arrival Orientation for Migrant Workers in Malaysia”, ILO, 19 April 2021.
333 The Comprehensive Information and Orientation Programme (CIOP) is one example of proactive engagement with workers in both pre-departure preparedness
and post-arrival orientation. Another example is IOM IRIS: Ethical Recruitment– a global multi-stakeholder initiative that supports governments, civil society,the private sector, and recruiters to establish ethical recruitment as a norm andinternational recruitment fair for everyone involved.

Endnotes

340 ILO, A Guide on Labour Inspection Intervention in the Informal Economy: A participatory method, 2018.
341 Michael Gallo and Hannah Thinyane, Supporting decent work and the transition
towards formalization through technology-enhanced labour inspection, ILO Working
paper 41, October 2021.
342 ILO, A Guide on Labour Inspection Intervention in the Informal Economy: A participatory method, 2018.
343 Michael Gallo and Hannah Thinyane, Supporting decent work and the transition
towards formalization through technology-enhanced labour inspection, ILO Working
paper 41, October 2021.
344 Michael Gallo and Hannah Thinyane, Supporting decent work and the transition
towards formalization through technology-enhanced labour inspection, ILO Working
paper 41, October 2021.
345 This discussion draws on: ILO, Ending forced labour by 2030: a review of policies andprogrammes, 2018, pp. 89-112 and 122-123.
346 Including, inter alia, ILO Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930; ILO
Forced Labour (Supplementary Measures) Recommendation, 2014 (No. 203); andUN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime Supplementary Protocol to Prevent,
Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children.
347 ILO, Ending forced labour by 2030: a review of policies and programmes, 2018, pp.
89-112 and 122-123.
348 For example, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized
Crime and its Supplementary Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking
in Persons (Trafficking Protocol) sets out state commitments to protect and assist
victims of human trafficking, with full respect for their human rights, support for
their physical, psychological and social recovery, though protection and assistanceservices, access to temporary or permanent residency status in the country ofidentification, return support and possibility of obtaining compensation for damage suffered as a result of being trafficked. In forced labour cases, trade unions
and other actors have an essential role to play in such processes. The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) and the recent progress declaration (2022) also set out measures in support of such protections.
349 To support such efforts, IOM has worked with leading frontline civil society actors to produce the Human Trafficking Case Data Standards (HTCDS), which canbe used by frontline organizations and technologists who are configuring victim
case management systems to help them consistently define trafficking cases. See“UNMigration/HTCDS”, GitHub.
350 IOM’s Guidance on Referral Mechanisms for the Protection and Assistance of Migrants Vulnerable to Violence, Exploitation and Abuse and Victims of Trafficking(2019), and its Handbook on Protection and Assistance to Migrants Vulnerable toViolence, Exploitation and Abuse (2019), for example, provide guidance acrossthese areas. See: IOM, IOM Guidance on Referral Mechanisms: for The Protection And
Assistance of Migrants Vulnerable to Violence, Exploitation and Abuse and Victims ofTrafficking, 2019; IOM, IOM Handbook on Protection and Assistance to Migrants Vulnerable to Violence, Exploitation and Abuse, 2019. IOM, The IOM Handbook on Direct
Assistance for Victims of Trafficking, 2007; and IOM, London School for Hygiene andTropical Medicine and United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Trafficking in Persons (UN.GIFT), Caring for Trafficked Persons: Guidance for Health Providers, 2009.
351 IOM, IOM Guidance on Referral Mechanisms: for The Protection And Assistance of Migrants Vulnerable to Violence, Exploitation and Abuse and Victims of Trafficking, 2019.
352 ILO, Ending forced labour by 2030: a review of policies and programmes, 2018, p. 99.

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

353 See, for example, ILO, Forced Labour (Supplementary Measures) Recommendation, 2014 (No. 203).

374 “Matrix: Early-Warning Indicators Of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence”, United
Nations Peacemaker.

354 ILO, Ending forced labour by 2030: a review of policies and programmes, 2018, p. 99.

375 “Education in Emergencies”, UNICEF.

355 The Convention on the Rights of the Child and the United Nations Convention
on Transnational Organized Crime and their supplementary protocols also set
out special protection measures, including for victims of human trafficking, unaccompanied and separated migrant children, and demobilized child soldiers,
among others.

376 Approaches such as Humanitarian Border Management (HBM), seek to ensurethat border management practices can adapt to the needs of specific groups isins
scenarios such as this. See “Humanitarian Border Management”, IOM.

356 Including, inter alia, ILO Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930; ILO
Forced Labour (Supplementary Measures) Recommendation, 2014 (No. 203); and UN
Convention on Transnational Organized Crime Supplementary Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children.
357 ILO, Ending forced labour by 2030: a review of policies and programmes, 2018, p. 105.
358 This discussion draws on: ILO, Ending forced labour by 2030: a review of policies andprogrammes, 2018, pp. 89-112 and 122-123.
359 ILO, Ending forced labour by 2030: a review of policies and programmes, 2018, p. 108.
360 See, for example, IOM, Operational guidelines for Businesses on Remediation of Migrant-worker Grievances | IOM Publications Platform, 2021; and IOM, Remediation
Guidelines for Victims of Exploitation in Extended Mineral Supply Chains, 2018.
361 This discussion draws on: ILO, Ending forced labour by 2030: a review of policies andprogrammes, 2018, pp. 89-112 and 122-123.
362 The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (1990) and the ILO migrant workers Conventions Nos. 97 and 143 provide an international normative basis for the protectionof migrants’ rights in the world of work. Other UN human rights treaties andinternational labour standards (on fundamental rights at work, wages, private
recruitment, or domestic work, for example) are equally relevant to protecting
national and migrant workers.
363 ILO, Practical guide on developing labour migration policies, 2022, p. 42.
364 Refers to the legal framework for protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation.
365 Refers to government commitment and capacity to invest in institutions, personnel and data collection to respond appropriately.

377 ILO, Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience Recommendation,2017 (No. 205)
378 For a discussion of human rights abuses in global supply chains, see ILO, OECD,
IOM and UNICEF, Ending Child Labour, Forced Labour and Human Trafficking in Global Supply Chains, 2019.
379 United Nations, Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Implementing theUnited Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework, 2011.
380 See ILO, Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises
and Social Policy (MNE Declaration), 2006, para. 12; and OECD, Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, 2011 Edition, 2011.
381 See, for example, Re:Structure Lab, Due Diligence and Transparency Legislation,
Forced Labour Evidence Brief, 2021; and Genevieve LeBaron, “How to Spur Corporate Accountability with Modern Slavery Legislation”, Delta 8.7 (blog), 8 May
2019.
382 See, for example, European Commission, Study on due diligence requirements
through the supply chain, Final Report, 2020.
383 See, for example, “Responsible Credit Granting”, Svensk Exportkredit (blog).
384 OECD, Recommendation of the Council on Common Approaches for Officially Supported
Export Credits and Environmental and Social Due Diligence (The “Common Approaches”), OECD Legal Document, 2022.
385 Development finance institutions (DFIs) are government-backed financial institutions that invest in low- and middle-income economies through a wide range of
instruments, notably equity investments, loans and loan guarantees, risk insurance, and technical assistance. DFIs may have varying ownership and governancestructures, and in the case of the national DFIs, some may be fully owned by theirgovernments while others may also have private shareholders.
386 “Labour Provisions in Trade Agreements Hub”, ILO.

366 The Economist Intelligence Unit, Out of the Shadows: Shining Light on the Response
to Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation. .

387 ILO, OECD, IOM and UNICEF, Ending Child Labour, Forced Labour and Human Trafficking in Global Supply Chains, 2019.

367 UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary
forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, Gulnara Shahinian, Addendum, Mission to Mauritania, A/HRC/15/20/Add.2 (2010), p. 23.

388 United Nations, Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Implementing theUnited Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework, 2011.

368 IOM’s Migrants in Countries in Crisis (MICIC) initiative provides policy and operational guidelines for addressing and mitigating such risks and reducing vulnerability. See “MICIC Initiative and Guidelines”, IOM Migrants in Countries in Crisis(MICIC).
369 This paragraph draws on: ILO, Ending forced labour by 2030: a review of policies andprogrammes, 2018, pp. 113-114.
370 ILO, Managing Conflicts and Disasters: Exploring Collaboration between Employers’
and Workers’ Organizations, 2020.
371 Guofu Liu, “National Referral Mechanisms for Victims of Human Trafficking: Deficiencies and Future Development”, In IOM, Ideas to Inform International Cooperation on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, 2017.

389 See ILO, Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises
and Social Policy (MNE Declaration), 2006, para. 12; and OECD, Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, 2011 Edition, 2011.
390 Including, inter alia, OECD, OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible BusinessConduct, 2018.
391 See, for example, ILO, OECD, IOM and UNICEF, Ending Child Labour, Forced Labourand Human Trafficking in Global Supply Chains, 2019.
392 European Commission, Study on due diligence requirements through the supply
chain, Final Report, 2020.
393 ILO and IOE, A Self-Assessment Tool for Enterprises. Tripartite Declaration of Principles
Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (MNE Declaration), 2022.

372 The Freedom Fund, Modern slavery and trafficking in conflict: The UN’s response,
2016.

394 “Interactive Map for Business of Anti-Human Trafficking Organisations”, Modern
Slavery.

373 Examples include the African Union’s Continental Early Warning System, the Central Early Warning System of the Economic Community of Central African States,
the Warning and Response Network of the Economic Community of West African
States, the Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanism in East Africa, andthe European Union Policy Planning and Early Warning Unit located in the European Council.

395 See, for example, UN.GIFT, Human Trafficking and Business: Good Practices to Prevent and Combat Human Trafficking, 2010.

Endnotes

396 See, for example, ILO, Combating Forced Labour: A Handbook for Employers and Business, 2015.

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Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

129

397 Shift Project, The Human Rights Opportunity: 15 real-life cases of how business iscontributing to the Sustainable Development Goals by putting people first, 2018.

414 UN General Assembly, Resolution 217 A, Universal Declaration of Human Rights(1948).

398 For example, the UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration(GCM), is the first inter-governmentally negotiated agreement, prepared under
the auspices of the United Nations, covering all dimensions of internationalmigration in a holistic and comprehensive manner. The Global Compact is designed to: support international cooperation on the governance of internationalmigration; provide a comprehensive menu of options for States from which they
can select policy options to address some of the most pressing issues aroundinternational migration; and give states the space and flexibility to pursue implementation based on their own migration realities and capacities. To support
the implementation, follow-up and review of the GCM, the United Nations established a Network on Migration to ensure effective, timely and coordinatedsystem-wide support to Member States. In carrying out its mandate, the Networkprioritizes the rights and well-being of migrants and their communities of destination, origin, and transit. The United Nations has also recognised the importance of partnership in its Global Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons(2010) and the renewed commitments made at a high-level meeting of the UN
General Assembly in November 2021. The Plan of Action promotes partnership tostrengthen cooperation among UN entities, including through the Inter-Agency
Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons, as well as government-to-government coordination at “national, bilateral, sub regional, regional and international levels, especially among countries of origin, transit and destinations.” The
Global Compact on Refugees is a framework for more predictable and equitable
responsibility-sharing, recognizing that a sustainable solution to refugee situations cannot be achieved without international cooperation. It provides a blueprint for governments, international organizations, and other stakeholders toensure that host communities get the support they need and that refugees canlead productive lives.

415 Conference of Plenipotentiaries convened by the UN Economic and Social Council, Resolution 608 (XXI), Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery,
the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, 1956.

399 See, for example, Fabio Durán-Valverde, José F. Pacheco-Jiménez, Taneem Muzaffar and Hazel Elizondo-Barboza, Financing gaps in social protection. Global estimatesand strategies for developing countries in light of the COVID-19 crisis and beyond, ILO
Working Paper 14, October 2020.
400 United Nations General Assembly, Resolution 69/313, Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (Addis
Ababa Action Agenda), A/RES/69/313 (2015).
401 ILO, Covid-19 and the world of work GB report

416 UN General Assembly, Resolution 34/180, Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), A/RES/34/180 (1979).
417 UN General Assembly, Resolution 44/25, Convention on the Rights of the Child(CRC), A/RES/34/180 (1989).
418 UN General Assembly, Resolution 55/25, Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, A/RES/55/25 (2001). The Protocol explicitly mentions ‘slavery’ and‘practices similar to slavery’ – and thus forced marriage – as one of the types of
exploitation for which people may be trafficked to constitute a crime of trafficking
in persons.
419 Data are from: Girls Not Brides, “Where does it happen: Atlas”, 10 May 2022;
World Policy Centre, “What is the minimum age of marriage for girls when all
exceptions are taken into account”, 10 May 2022.
420 UN Committee of the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women and UN
Committee on the Rights of the Child, Joint general recommendation No. 31 of
the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women/generalcomment No. 18 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (2019) on harmful
practices, CEDAW/C/GC/31/Rev.1–CRC/C/GC/18/Rev.1.
421 Girls Not Brides, The case for a minimum age of marriage of 18, 2017.
422 Girls Not Brides, The case for a minimum age of marriage of 18, 2017.
423 International Center for Research on Women 2018, The economic impacts of childmarriage: key findings, 2018.
424 Department of Home Affairs 2022, People Smuggling and Human Trafficking,Government of Australia. 30 May 2022.
425 Department of Home Affairs 2022, People Smuggling and Human Trafficking,Government of Australia.

402 “ILO Global Business Network on Forced Labour”.

426 Home Office, Forced Marriage – A Consultation: Summary of Responses, Governmentof the United Kingdom, 2012.

403 “Child Labour Platform”. ‘Child Labour Platform’, accessed 12 June 2022,
https://childlabourplatform.org.

427 Maz Idriss, “The Problem with Forced Marriage Legislation”, Safe Lives (blog), 26
May 2017.

404 IOM and UNODC (forthcoming). International Classification Standard for Administrative Data on Trafficking in Persons.
405 “The Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative”, IOM.

428 Emma Psaila, Vanessa Leigh, Marilena Verbari, Sara Fiorentini, Virginia Dalla Pozza and Ana Gomez, Forced marriage from a gender perspective, European Union,
2016; UN Human Rights Council, Child, early and forced marriage in times of crisis, including the COVID-19 pandemic, A/HRC/48/L.7/Rev.1 (2021).

406 Girls Not Brides, Girls’ sexuality and child, early, and forced marriages and unions:
A conceptual framework, 2022.

429 United Nations Human Rights Commissioner, Report in response to Resolution
A/HRC/48/L.7/REV.1, to be presented at the 52nd Human Rights Council, forthcoming.

407 Girls Not Brides, Girls’ sexuality and child, early, and forced marriages and unions:
A conceptual framework, 2022.

430 United Nations Human Rights Commissioner, Report in response to Resolution
A/HRC/48/L.7/REV.1, to be presented at the 52nd Human Rights Council, forthcoming.

408 UN Human Rights Council, Child, early and forced marriage in times of crisis,
including the COVID-19 pandemic, A/HRC/48/L.7/Rev.1 (2021).

431 Department of Home Affairs, Forced Marriage: Frequently Asked Questions, Government of Australia, n.d.

409 UN Human Rights Council, Child, early and forced marriage in times of crisis,
including the COVID-19 pandemic, A/HRC/48/L.7/Rev.1 (2021).

432 “Guidance: Forced marriage protection orders”, HM Courts & Tribunals Service,
Government of the United Kingdom.

410 Human Rights Council, Expert workshop on the impact of existing strategies andinitiatives to address child, early and forced marriage, Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, A/HRC/35/5 (2017).

433 “Guidance: Forced marriage protection orders”, HM Courts & Tribunals Service,
Government of the United Kingdom.

411 UN Human Rights Council, Child, early and forced marriage in times of crisis,
including the COVID-19 pandemic, A/HRC/48/L.7/Rev.1 (2021).
412 Human Rights Council, Expert workshop on the impact of existing strategies andinitiatives to address child, early and forced marriage, Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, A/HRC/35/5 (2017).
413 Human Rights Council, Child, early and forced marriage in humanitarian settings,
Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, A/HRC/41/19 (2019).

Endnotes

434 UN Human Rights Council, Child, early and forced marriage in times of crisis,
including the COVID-19 pandemic, A/HRC/48/L.7/Rev.1 (2021).
435 Girls Not Brides, Girls’ sexuality and child, early, and forced marriages and unions: A
conceptual framework, 2022.
436 “The law and child marriage”, Girls Not Brides.
437 UN Human Rights Council, Child, early and forced marriage in times of crisis,
including the COVID-19 pandemic, A/HRC/48/L.7/Rev.1 (2021).

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

438 United Nations Human Rights Commissioner, Report in response to Resolution A/
HRC/48/L.7/REV.1, to be presented at the 52nd Human Rights Council, forthcoming.
439 UN Human Rights Council, Child, early and forced marriage in times of crisis,
including the COVID-19 pandemic, A/HRC/48/L.7/Rev.1 (2021).
440 See for instance Walk Free, Stacked Odds. How lifelong inequality shapes womenand girls’ experience of modern slavery, 2020.
441 UN Human Rights Council, Child, early and forced marriage in times of crisis,
including the COVID-19 pandemic, A/HRC/48/L.7/Rev.1 (2021).
442 Human Rights Council, Expert workshop on the impact of existing strategies andinitiatives to address child, early and forced marriage, Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, A/HRC/35/5 (2017).
443 Human Rights Council, Expert workshop on the impact of existing strategies andinitiatives to address child, early and forced marriage, Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, A/HRC/35/5 (2017).
444 UN Human Rights Council, Child, early and forced marriage in times of crisis,
including the COVID-19 pandemic, A/HRC/48/L.7/Rev.1 (2021).
445 United Nations Human Rights Commissioner, Report in response to Resolution A/
HRC/48/L.7/REV.1, to be presented at the 52nd Human Rights Council, forthcoming.
446 See Diane Gillespie and Molly Melching, “The Transformative Power of Democracy and Human Rights in Nonformal Education: The Case of Tostan”, Adult Education Quarterly, Vol. 60, No. 5 (2010): 477-498; UNICEF, Long-Term Evaluation Of
The Tostan Programme In Senegal: Kolda, Thiès And Fatick Regions, UNICEF Working
Paper, 2008; and Beniamino Cislaghi, Diane Gillespie and Gerry Mackie, Values
Deliberation and Collective Action, Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.
447 Diane Gillespie and Molly Melching, “The Transformative Power of Democracy
and Human Rights in Nonformal Education: The Case of Tostan”, Adult Education
Quarterly, Vol. 60, No. 5 (2010): 477 -498.

457 Annabel S. Erulkar and Eunice Muthengi, “Evaluation of Berhane Hewan: A Program to Delay Marriage in Rural Ethiopia”, International Perspectives on Sexual andReproductive Health, Vol.35, No.1 (2009): 6:14.
458 UN Human Rights Council, Child, early and forced marriage in times of crisis,
including the COVID-19 pandemic, A/HRC/48/L.7/Rev.1 (2021).
459 World Bank & International Centre for Research on Women, Economic impacts ofchild marriage: Work, earnings, and household welfare brief, 2017.
460 Girls Not Brides, Girls’ sexuality and child, early, and forced marriages and unions: A
conceptual framework, 2022.
461 Delta 8.7 and United Nations University, Delta 8.7 Crisis Policy Guide, 2021.
462 IOM and Walk Free Foundation, Migrants and their vulnerability to human trafficking, modern slavery and forced labour, 2019.
463 Human Rights Council, Expert workshop on the impact of existing strategies andinitiatives to address child, early and forced marriage, Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, A/HRC/35/5 (2017).
464 UN Human Rights Council, Child, early and forced marriage in times of crisis,
including the COVID-19 pandemic, A/HRC/48/L.7/Rev.1 (2021).
465 UN Human Rights Council, Child, early and forced marriage in times of crisis,
including the COVID-19 pandemic, A/HRC/48/L.7/Rev.1 (2021).
466 Global Protection, An Introductory Guide to Anti-Trafficking Action in Internal Displacement Contexts, 2020.
467 Global Protection, An Introductory Guide to Anti-Trafficking Action in Internal Displacement Contexts, 2020.
468 ATIP Levant Regional Project, “ATIP Levant - Anti Human Trafficking Campaign”,
Facebook, 29 May 2020.

448 Girls Not Brides, Girls’ sexuality and child, early, and forced marriages and unions: A
conceptual framework, 2022.

469 UN Human Rights Council, Child, early and forced marriage in times of crisis,
including the COVID-19 pandemic, A/HRC/48/L.7/Rev.1 (2021).

449 Azza Karam, “Faith-Inspired Initiatives to Tackle the Social Determinants of Child
Marriage”, The Review of Faith & International Affairs, Vol. 13, No. 5 (2015): 59-68.

470 IOM and Walk Free Foundation, Migrants and their vulnerability to human trafficking, modern slavery and forced labour, 2019.

450 Girls Not Brides, Working with Religious Leaders to Address Child Marriage, 2019.

471 IOM’s “Counter-trafficking in Emergencies: Information Management Guide”(2020) provides technical guidance to information management officers, enumerators, data collectors, and those tasked with analysis and reporting on how
to integrate trafficking indicators and safely collect evidence on trafficking in persons in crisis settings.

451 Seán J. Burke, Bernardita Cárdenas, Ozgur Arun and Banu Karaedemir Arun, Combating the worst forms of child labour and Supporting the time bound programme ofchild labour in Turkey, IPEC/ILO, 2007; Sandy Wark and Nantaporn Ieumwananonthachai, Support for the national action to combat child labour and its the worst forms
in Thailand, Evaluation Summaries, ILO.
452 Annabel S. Erulkar and Eunice Muthengi, “Evaluation of Berhane Hewan: A Program to Delay Marriage in Rural Ethiopia”, International Perspectives on Sexual andReproductive Health, Vol.35, No.1 (2009): 6:14; Anthony Keats, ”Women’s schooling, fertility, and child health outcomes: Evidence from Uganda’s free primaryeducation program”, Journal of Development Economics, Vol. 235 (2018): 142-159.
453 American India Foundation, Small steps lead the way: The learning and migration
programme (LAMP) of the AIF, a Review, 2001. Sajeda Amin, Johana Ahmed, Jyotirmoy Saha, Md. Irfan Hossainand Eashita Haque, Delaying child marriage throughcommunity-based skills-development programs for girls: Results from a randomized
controlled study in rural Bangladesh, Population Council, 2016.
454 Educate Girls, Annual Report 2020-2021, 2021.
455 See Sarah Baird, Ephraim Chirwa, Craig Mcintosh and Berk Özler, What Happens
Once the Intervention Ends? The Medium-Term Impacts of a Cash Transfer Experimentin Malawi, International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), Evaluation Report27, 2015; and Annabel S. Erulkar and Eunice Muthengi, “Evaluation of Berhane
Hewan: A Program to Delay Marriage in Rural Ethiopia”, International Perspectives
on Sexual and Reproductive Health, Vol.35, No.1 (2009): 6:14.
456 Annabel S. Erulkar and Eunice Muthengi, “Evaluation of Berhane Hewan: A Program to Delay Marriage in Rural Ethiopia”, International Perspectives on Sexual andReproductive Health, Vol.35, No.1 (2009): 6:14.

Endnotes

472 UN Women, From Insight to Action: Gender Equality in the Wake of COVID-19, 2020,
p.12.
473 OECD, Building back better: A sustainable, resilient recovery after COVID-19, 2020.
474 Human Rights Council, Child, early and forced marriage in humanitarian settings,
Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, A/HRC/41/19 (2019).
475 UN Human Rights Council, Child, early and forced marriage in times of crisis,
including the COVID-19 pandemic, A/HRC/48/L.7/Rev.1 (2021).
476 See “Education: From disruption to recovery”, UNESCO; and Girls Not Brides,
COVID-19 and Child Marriage: A Year On, 2021.
477 OECD, Education and COVID-19: Focusing on the long-term impact of school closures,
2020.
478 Helen Pearson, “COVID derailed learning for 1.6 billion students. Here’s how
schools can help them catch up”, Nature, 25 May 2022.
479 IOM, Reintegration Handbook: Practical guidance on the design, implementation andmonitoring of reintegration assistance, 2019.
480 UN General Assembly, Resolution 76/L.48, Progress Declaration of the International Migration Review Forum, A/76/L.58 (2022).
481 UN General Assembly, Resolution 73/195, Global Compact for Safe, Orderly andRegular Migration, A/RES/73/195 (2019).

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Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage

482 IOM, IOM Institutional Strategy on Legal Identity, 2021.
483 UN General Assembly, Resolution 76/L.48, Progress Declaration of the International Migration Review Forum, A/76/L.58 (2022).
484 ILO and Walk Free, Methodology of the 2021 Global Estimates of Modern Slavery:
Forced Labour and Forced Marriage, 2022.
485 Michael R. Elliott, Richard Valliant, “Inference for Nonprobability Samples”,
Statistical Science, Vol. 32, No. 2 (2017): 249-264.
486 ”The Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative”, IOM.

131

Endnotes

487 The CTDC partners are IOM, Polaris, Liberty Shared, A21 and the Portuguese
Observatory on Trafficking in Human Beings (Observatório do Tráfico de Seres
Humanos, or OTSH).
488 Regression models are used to assess the nature of a relationship between an
outcome variable and one or more independent variables.

Photo: ILO / Marcel Crozet.

Photo Grace Forrest.

September 2022

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery

Forced Labourand Forced Marriage

Photo: ILO / Marcel Crozet.