SNAPSHOTMEASUREMENTACTION
FREEDOM

An independent assessmentof government progress towards
achieving UN Sustainable
Development Goal 8.7

Front cover image:
New York, US, September 2015. Projections are seen over the General Assembly buildingand United Nations headquarters. The projections include the 17 Sustainable Development
Goals displayed during the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the UN. Credit: Kena
Betancur/ Getty Images for Global Goals

Published by Minderoo Foundation’s Walk Free initiative (Walk Free), June 2019.
With special thanks to the Rights Lab at University of Nottingham, Commonwealth
Human Rights Initiative (UK), and Regenesys, who were involved in the datacollection for this report.

Rights Lab

Copyright © 2019. The Minderoo Foundation Pty Ltd.
All rights reserved.

Call to action

DEVELOPADOPTERADICATE
MODERN SLAVERY
Walk Free

1

Leaders support

LEADERS SUPPORTING
MEASUREMENT, ACTION, FREEDOM:
Civil Society needs an accurate roadmap to effective and ineffective government action in ending
modern slavery. The SDG 8.7 is a huge opportunity in our engagement with government to inspire
strategic actions that identify and serve the needs of survivors, prosecute offenders and tackle
socio-economic injustices.
Walk Free’s ‘Measurement, Action, Freedom: An independent assessment of government progress
towards achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal 8.7’ report is a useful roadmap and tool tohelp us understand and focus our advocacy efforts at the national and regional levels. This report
also provides a landscape for us on the ground and helps us navigate our strategies in engaging withgovernments to realize and localize SDG targets.
This report’s inclusion of survivor experiences and healing is a powerful example of how we can
optimise survivor voice and their experiences to freedom in our advocacy and policy work to end
modern slavery. Walk Free’s integration of the services of Regenesys, a survivor-employing datacollection service is a strong example of meaningful engagement with survivors at every level ofresearch.
Finally, the report correctly highlights the still limited role of the private sector in tackling labour
exploitation. Civil society needs to engage with local businesses to expand economic opportunities
for families and communities to help address the root causes of trafficking.

Cecilia Flores-Oebanda
CEO, Voice of the Free (formerly Visayan Forum Foundation)

Measuring the response to modern slavery is difficult. The data is hidden and hard to get at. We
know that in order to eradicate a crime that affects over 40 million people worldwide, government
action and collaboration to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goal 8.7 are crucial. Yet, it has
been challenging to pinpoint how and where governments can take targeted, effective measures toeliminate forced labour, human trafficking and child labour.
That’s why the new report by Walk Free, ‘Measurement, Action, Freedom: An independent
assessment of government progress towards achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal 8.7’, issuch an important tool for the anti-slavery movement. This report will galvanize action to achieve
SDG 8.7 and help those in the anti-slavery community better understand the role of government incombatting modern slavery.
From my perspective as the chief executive of an organization that is dedicated to ending modern
slavery – and deeply committed to improving the knowledge base – Walk Free’s new report is a big
step forward. In a field that still remains far too uncoordinated, this report takes an important lookat what governments around the world can and must do to end modern slavery. The Freedom Fundwelcomes this effort, and we are hopeful it will drive real progress against the ambitious goal oferadicating slavery by 2030.

Nick Grono
CEO, Freedom Fund

Walk Free’s ‘Measurement, Action, Freedom: An independent assessment of government progress
towards achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal 8.7’ report highlights governments’performance on addressing the issue of human trafficking. Advocacy can be extremely difficult
without data and information that can guide civil societies on the areas of focus. Our hope is that
this report will help in identification of these areas of focus and begin a conversation on what
government progress looks like and can be improved.

Sophie Otiende
Programme Consultant, Awareness Against Human Trafficking (HAART Kenya)

2

Measurement, Action, Freedom

Leaders support

A man holds a photo during a protest
against slavery in Libya in front of
the Libya embassy in Madrid on 26th
November, 2017. Those protesting wereangry at evidence of migrants in Tripoli
being auctioned off, as well as European
policies that have led to the forcible
return to Libya of migrants trying to reach
Europe via the Mediterranean. Refugees
and migrants are particularly vulnerable
to modern slavery and many countries
across the world are increasingly closing
their borders to those seeking to migrate.
Credit: Juan Carlos Lucas/NurPhoto via
Getty Images.

Walk Free3

Dust covers a 55-year-old
migrant worker from India who
has just finished a shift working
at a brick kiln in Nepal, which
provides him with a monthly
wage of US$100. The brickindustry in Nepal employs
over 200,000 people, manyof whom face harsh living andworking conditions. Workers inthe sector experience unsafe
workplaces, unhealthy working
hours, and exploitation suchas working under bonded
and forced labour conditions.
Credit: Narayan Maharjan/
NurPhoto via Getty Images

4

Measurement, Action, Freedom

Foreword

FOREWORDBY ANDREW FORREST

Its victims are bound to toil for little or no pay,
are forced to engage in exploitative sex work,
or are married against their will. Its cost is
individual freedom and economic stagnation.
Its impact is global, and no country is immune.
Modern slavery is a human rights abuse of
our own making. Ending it is a choice the world
can make.
In 2015, government leaders agreed to the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) tohelp achieve fair, inclusive, and sustainable
development by 2030. SDG 8.7 calls on all
governments to take immediate and effective
measures to end forced labour, modern
slavery, and human trafficking, as well as childlabour in all its forms.
But since then, progress made toward
ending these abhorrent practices has beendisgracefully marginal. The world must
accelerate action to end this crime. We mustensure our leaders do more and hold themaccountable to delivering on their commitment.
But how?
I subscribe to the belief that if you can’tmeasure something, you can’t fix it. If wewant to achieve SDG 8.7 by 2030, we needto know more about where, why, and how
people are enslaved, and what progress weare making in freeing them. We need to know
which governments are tackling this crime andwhat measures they are taking. We need tounderstand what responses are working andhow we can have the greatest impact.
Measurement has long been a core focus
of Walk Free’s work. Our Global Slavery
Index is the world’s only country-by-country
estimate of people living in modern slavery. It
is through this work, and our partnership with
the International Labour Organization, that weknow how and where 40.3 million people arebeing exploited.
Only with this visibility can we pursue effective
strategies to end modern slavery and holdgovernments accountable for their actions.
This report is an important contribution
to those efforts. It provides a baseline ofWalk Free

current government action and a roadmap
for progress and, significantly, it calls for
the United Nations and member states todevelop indicators to track progress towards
the eradication of modern slavery under
SDG 8.7. The status quo does not drive theaccountability needed to achieve this crucial
target — without indicators to report on, andmeasure progress against, the visibility andpressure on governments necessary to drivechange doesn’t exist.
It’s like hoping your team scores a goal ...
on a field where there are no goalposts. It will
never happen.
In this report, we find encouraging examplesof governments taking action that has resulted
in an increase in prosecutions, the extensionof victim support services, and the ratificationof ILO instruments.
Overall, however, the measurements in thisreport underscore that global progress intackling modern slavery has been hugely
disappointing. We know that 47 countries
globally have not yet recognised humantrafficking as a crime in line with international
standards. Nearly 100 countries still fail tocriminalise forced labour or, if they do, thepenalty for this form of exploitation amounts
to nothing more than a fine. Less than onethird of countries protect women and girls
from the terrible harm of forced marriage. This
is not a situation that any of us should tolerate.
The findings in this report tell us that the world
will not deliver on SDG 8.7 by the 2030 target
date, forgoing the unique opportunity the
Sustainable Development Agenda provides
the international community to effect change
as part of a global movement.
Accordingly, we must redouble our efforts
and mobilise the full power of businesses,
faiths, and the global community toward a
common purpose: energising and galvanising
governments to do more — much more —to end modern slavery in their countries.
We must all hold ourselves and each other toaccount for ending the misery of our fellow
human beings.

5

Global government response highlights

GLOBAL

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE HIGHLIGHTSAVERAGE GOVERNMENTRESPONSE SCORE% <0-9.9

Not
Rated

1

10-19.9 20-29.9 30-39.9 40-49.9 50-59.9 60-69.9 70-79.9 80-89.9 90-99.9

2

3

4

5

6

7*

8

9

10

* N o country can be awarded above a 7 if there are any negative indicators in their score

LEAST ACTION

MOST ACTIONNORTH KOREAERITREALIBYA
IRAN
EQUATORIAL GUINEABURUNDI
DEM. REP. CONGOCONGORUSSIASOMALIATHE UNITED KINGDOMNETHERLANDSTHE UNITED STATESPORTUGALSWEDENARGENTINA
BELGIUM
SPAIN
CROATIA
AUSTRALIA

6

Measurement, Action, FreedomGlobal government response highlights

KEY GAPS IN RESPONSE

Of the 183 countries in this report:

95

133

60

20

146

do not provide support
services for all victims ofmodern slavery

have not criminalised
forced marriage

deport or detain
foreign victims for
immigration violations

have state-imposed
forced labour

do not addressrisks in businesssupply chains

M1

M2

M3

M4

M5

WEAK RESPONSE
RELATIVE TO WEALTH*QATAR
SINGAPOREKUWAIT
BRUNEIHONG KONG, CHINA
RUSSIA*Gross Domestic Product (Purchasing Power Parity) Per Capita

Walk Free

STRONG RESPONSE
RELATIVE TO WEALTH*GEORGIA
NIGERIAUKRAINE
MOLDOVAETHIOPIAMOZAMBIQUE*Gross Domestic Product (Purchasing Power Parity) Per Capita

7

01

EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
No country in the world is exempt from modern slavery.
Regardless of size, population or wealth, this insidiouscrime permeates national borders and global supply chains.
Even in countries with seemingly strong laws and systems,
there are critical gaps, particularly for the most vulnerable.
Serious, collaborative action to respond to modern slavery
is long overdue.
Four years since all UN member states reached agreement on the Sustainable
Development Agenda, progress to achieve Sustainable Development Goal
(SDG) 8.7, which aims to eradicate modern slavery, has been incredibly slow.
Beyond honouring their commitment to the SDGs, there is a moral imperative
for governments to respond to this gross abuse of human rights. If the world isserious about ending the enslavement of 40.3 million people, governments willneed to redouble efforts to identify victims, arrest perpetrators, and address
the drivers.

8

Measurement, Action, Freedom

01 Executive summary

Lamia Haji Bashar is
pictured during an AFP
interview in Stuttgart,southwestern Germany,on October 28, 2016.
Nadia Murad and Lamia
Haji Bashar, who survived
a nightmare ordeal of
kidnapping, rape andslavery at the hands of
ISIS jihadists, won theEuropean Parliament’s
prestigious Sakharov
human rights prize in2016. Credit: Thomas
Kienzle/AFP/Getty Images

At the UN level, progress towards the SDGs
is measured by a global indicator framework
and Voluntary National Reviews, where
governments report on their own activities
against these indicators. This approach ishampered, however, by the lack of indicatorson all forms of modern slavery under SDG 8.7,
as well as the voluntary nature of this reporting.
Without clear indicators to measure progress
toward the 2030 goal, governments are notable to report systematically and consistently,
nor can they be held to account.
In the absence of official indicators, this report,
Measurement, Action, Freedom, provides an
independent assessment of 183 governments
and their responses to the challenge of modern
slavery. In it, governments are assessed against
their ability to identify and support survivors,
to establish effective criminal justice systems,
to strengthen coordination mechanisms andbe held to account, to address underlying
risk factors, and to clean up government andWalk Freebusiness supply chains, all in order to eradicate
modern slavery. The findings shine a light on
those taking strong action, identify those thatare lagging, and highlight the activities thatshould be prioritised.

FINDINGS AT THE GLOBAL LEVEL
Governments are not on track to eradicate
modern slavery and achieve SDG 8.7 by 2030.
Although there is a trend toward improvement,with the global average score since 2015
increasing from 4 out of 10 to 5 out of 10, thepace of change falls far short of what the scaleand severity of modern slavery demands.
While the improved responses inapproximately 50 percent of countries are
acknowledged, this means that half of all
countries in this report have not reported
any meaningful change in their response or
have taken a backward step. Governments
are falling short even in the most fundamental
aspects of a strong, committed response.
9

01 Executive summary

Some of the key gaps include:• Of the 183 countries assessed, only 31

have ratified the ILO’s 2014 Forced Labour
Protocol. Forty-seven countries havenot criminalised human trafficking inaccordance with the definitions outlinedin the UN Trafficking Protocol; a further
96 countries have not criminalised forced
labour, and 133 have not criminalised
forced marriage. Ratifying the Forced
Labour Protocol and criminalising all formsof modern slavery are the most basic steps
a country can take, but we find that many
countries have failed to take these actions.

• Victims are not being identified. Despite

the large number of countries that haveprovided training to their police (166) andto immigration officials, border guards, orlabour inspectors (141) on how to identify
victims, the rates of identification remain
extremely low. An estimated 40.3 million
men, women, and children were living inmodern slavery in 2016. In the same year,
the number of victims identified globally
was a fraction of that. Governments
cannot extend protection to victims theycannot reach and, at present, they are
failing at the first step – identification.

• Survivors are being let down by a lack ofservices, with limited options for men,children, and migrant populations in 95
countries. Many victims are also subject
to re-traumatisation due to officials’
limited understanding of their needs. In 71
countries, victims face criminal charges
for crimes committed while exploited, andin 60 countries, victims are deported ordetained for immigration violations. Thesefigures are likely to be underestimated,with limited publicly available informationon these issues. Survivors are also largely
excluded, with few governments taking
concrete action to engage directly withthem to strengthen their policy response.

• Despite there being an estimated 16 million

people in forced labour exploitation in theprivate economy worldwide, engagementwith business is limited. Only 40 countries
have investigated public or business supply
chains to tackle labour exploitation. This
includes mandatory reporting legislationin Australia, the UK, and the US, as well as
the establishment of guidelines for public
procurement specialists across the EU.

10

COUNTRY-LEVELACTION…AND INACTION
Despite the slow progress, the 10 countries
taking the most action to respond to modern
slavery are:

1. The United Kingdom
2. The Netherlands
3. The United States
4. Portugal
5. Sweden
6. Argentina
7. Belgium
8. Spain
9. Croatia
10. Australia
These countries are characterised by strong
political will, high levels of resources, and astrong civil society that holds governments
to account. However, not all of thesecountries have matched good policy witheffective enforcement. There are low
numbers of identified victims, as in Croatia,
or few prosecutions for labour exploitation,
as in the Netherlands. Countries withotherwise strong responses also may haverestrictive and discriminatory migration
policies, which continue to be a key driver ofmodern slavery, as is the case in the EU, UK,
the US, and Australia.
The 10 countries taking the least action to
respond to modern slavery are:1. North Korea
2. Eritrea
3. Libya
4. Iran
5. Equatorial Guinea
6. Burundi
7. Democratic Republic of the Congo
8. Congo
9. Russia
10. Somalia
According to the 2018 Global Slavery Index,
approximately 6.9 million people were in someform of modern slavery in these countries.
This amounts to 17 percent of the total numberof people in modern slavery living where there
is limited, if any, government action. These
countries are characterised by government
complicity (North Korea and Eritrea), low levels

Measurement, Action, Freedom

01 Executive summaryof political will (Iran), high levels of corruption(Equatorial Guinea), or widespread conflict(Libya). Few victims are being identified andthere are even fewer prosecutions. There isalso evidence that governments are actively
enslaving part of their population in some ofthese countries. In North Korea, there arereports that prisoners are forced to labour incamps under threats of violence, and actual
violence, to themselves and their families.

TAKING ACCOUNT OF CAPACITY
TO RESPOND
When correlated against GDP (PPP) per
capita, some countries stand out as taking
relatively robust action when compared withthose that may have stronger economies anda greater capacity to act. Countries such as
Georgia, Nigeria, Ukraine, Moldova, Ethiopia,
and Mozambique are notable for taking steps
to respond to modern slavery despite having
limited resources. Both Mozambique andEthiopia have criminalised human trafficking
in line with the UN Trafficking Protocol; in
Mozambique, victims who participated as
witnesses in criminal proceedings were able toaccess witness protection programs in 2018. In
contrast, there are wealthier countries that havedone little when it comes to combating modern
slavery. Qatar, Singapore, Kuwait, Brunei, Hong
Kong, and Russia stand out as taking relatively
limited action despite the size of the problem
they confront and the national resources attheir disposal. In Hong Kong, evidence suggeststhat victims are increasingly being treated as
criminals for conduct that occurred while under
the control of their exploiters.

THE WAY FORWARD
At the current rate of progress, achieving SDG
8.7 is impossible. Based on best available
estimates, we need to free some 10,000 people
per day in order to eradicate modern slavery
by 2030. Measurement, Action, Freedom
highlights that the rate of change required toachieve this goal must be far more aggressive.
Without renewed commitment from every
country and effective measurement, millions
will continue to be enslaved. We are calling on
all governments to:Work together to develop indicators
and adopt these to track progress toeradicate all forms of modern slavery
under SDG 8.7.

Based on our analysis of current government
responses to SDG 8.7, we urge that all
governments, at a minimum, take thefollowing actions:

1.

Increase identification of, and improveassistance for, modern slavery victims.

2. Ratify the ILO Protocol of 2014 to theForced Labour Convention, 1930.

3. Strengthen existing modern slavery

legislation to ensure that all forms of
exploitation are criminalised and penalties
are severe.

4. Empower women and girls by providing
primary education for all.

5. Strengthen national laws to protect labour

rights for all workers in both the formal andinformal economy.

Beyond these minimum requirements,
we recommend that governments:

6. Ensure survivor voices are included in all

aspects of the response by consulting withvictims and providing avenues for their input.

7. Enforce legislation by providing training
and resources for police, prosecutors,
judges, and defence attorneys.

8. Remove barriers to victim participationin the criminal justice system, such as
ensuring access to visas, compensation,and restitution.

9. Develop evidence-based National Action
Plans or strategies.

10. Engage with business and strengthen

strategic partnerships to tackle modern
slavery.

The SDGs were not meant to be divisible nor
achieved by a single government acting alone.
Therefore, cooperation and coordination are
crucial. Governments should participate inregional and bilateral fora to share resourcesand expertise. International organisations
should provide technical capacity to
implement the above recommendations, while
civil society should work together to holdgovernments to account.
Through the precise measurement of progress
and identification of gaps in current responses
to SDG 8.7, we can galvanise immediate andeffective action towards the eradication of themost extreme forms of exploitation, and bringabout the freedom of 40.3 million people inmodern slavery.
Together, we all have a role to play in ending
modern slavery.

Walk Free

11

02

MEASURINGPROGRESSTOWARDSSUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
GOAL 8.7
12Measurement, Action, Freedom

02 Measuring progress towards SDG 8.7

Kiev, Ukraine, October
20, 2018. Ukrainian
women silently protest
against exploitation toraise awareness of humantrafficking and slavery.
Credit: STR/NurPhoto
via Getty Images

In 2015, the United Nations General
Assembly adopted a set of 17
Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs). In doing so, member
states signalled their commitment
to collectively address global
challenges in order to achieve peace
and prosperity for all by 2030. There
are no “easy” SDGs and achieving
them requires that, as a global
community, we aggressively pursue
their implementation and monitor
our progress throughout.
“Without evidence of where we stand
now we cannot confidently chart ourpath forward in realizing the Sustainable
Development Goals” 1 — António Guterres,
Secretary-General of the United Nations

Walk FreeAt the UN level, progress towards the SDGs
is measured by Voluntary National Reviews(VNRs), where governments report on theirprogress, against the UN’s global indicator
framework. 22 This framework is comprisedof 232 indicators reviewed and developed by
the Inter-agency and Expert Group on SDG
Indicators (IAEG-SDG), which is composedof representatives from member states.
Essentially, governments help shape theframework against which they report on a
voluntary basis.
In his foreword to the 2018 Sustainable
Development Goals Report, UN SecretaryGeneral António Guterres concluded that
despite encouraging progress in someareas, “progress is insufficient to meet the[Sustainable Development] Agenda’s goals
and targets by 2030.” The measurementof progress towards certain SDGs remains
hampered by the lack of reliable, timely,accessible, and disaggregated data.
In addition, there remain many challenges

13

02 Measuring progress towards SDG 8.7

in the collection, processing, and analysis
of comparable data across UN member
states. For some SDGs, such as SDG 8.7,
measurement is hampered by a more
fundamental problem — the absence ofindicators required for assessing progress.

not required to regularly report against
these measurements, which prevents theestablishment of a baseline and subsequent
benchmarking, and hinders the official
measurement of progress towards SDG 8.7
and related targets.

THE STATE OF MEASUREMENT OFSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL 8.7

The IAEG-SDG’s 2020 Comprehensive
Review will include consideration of therefinement, adjustment, deletion, or
addition of indicators. The IAEG-SDG has
indicated that additional indicators could
be considered in exceptional cases wherea crucial aspect of a target is not being
monitored by current indicators or when agoal has very few Tier 1 or Tier 2 indicators.

While the measurement issues faced by other
SDGs also apply here, the measurement ofprogress to end modern slavery is prevented
by the lack of clear indicators. As with other
SDGs, 8.7 is ambitious in committing all
nations to:“Take immediate and effective measuresto eradicate forced labour, end modern
slavery and human trafficking and secure
the prohibition and elimination of theworst forms of child labour, including
recruitment and use of child soldiers, andby 2025 end child labour in all its forms.” 3
Currently, there is only one indicator for SDG
8.7 and that is the proportion and number ofchildren aged 5 to 17 years engaged in childlabour by sex and age. Some forms of modern
slavery are covered under SDGs 5.3, which
is dedicated to eliminating child, early, andforced marriage and 16.2, which seeks to end
abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all formsof violence against children. The indicators
respectively measure the proportion of
women aged 20 to 24 who were married
before age 15 and before age 18, and thenumber of victims of human trafficking per
100,000 by sex, age, and form of exploitation.4
However, there are no indicators relating
to forced labour, modern slavery, the worst
forms of child labour, and the recruitment anduse of child soldiers.

THE PROCESS OF SETTINGAN INDICATOR
The IAEG-SDG classifies each indicator
into a three-tier system based on its levelof methodological development and theavailability of data at the global level. While
initially classifying the sole indicator for SDG
8.7 at Tier 1, it was subsequently downgradedto Tier 2, reflecting a conclusion that data
are not regularly produced by countries.
The indicator for SDG 16.2 was similarly
downgraded based on data availability. 5
The downgrading means countries are

14

VOLUNTARY NATIONAL REVIEWS
In recent years, the usefulness of Voluntary
National Reviews has been called into
question. Despite noting an improvement instandards from earlier years, an assessmentof the 46 VNRs submitted at the 2018
High-Level Political Forum found that fewer
countries prepared an assessment of theSDGs in terms of policies or data that could
inform the implementation of the 2030
Agenda.6 The assessment by the CanadianCouncil for International Cooperation also
identified a lack of baselines from which tomeasure progress and found that information
on data availability, including disaggregateddata, was often unclear or not articulated.7
Reporting on SDG 8.7 — against the single
indicator on child labour — is particularly
weak. A recent report indicates only 25 of the46 2018 VNRs reported on SDG 8.7 in someform. 8 Two nations that have been active andcommitted to tackling modern slavery haveconsidered themselves unable to report on
the child labour indicator. Australia reported
that it is unable to report on this indicator or
the indicator on early marriage under SDG
5.3, due to there being no existing suitabledata sources.9 Canada advised that its VNR
did not report on SDG 8.7, noting that thechild labour indicator is “not applicable in the
Canadian context.” 10
In sum, the first two years of the Voluntary
National Reviews have revealed serious
limitations in the national reporting of
progress to achieve SDG 8.7.

Measurement, Action, Freedom

02 Measuring progress towards SDG 8.7

THE WAY FORWARD
In 2016, there were an estimated 40.3 million
people in modern slavery. Without concerted
action to tackle this serious issue, these
individuals are in danger of being left behind.
The action required should begin with thesetting of clear indicators to measure theproblem and our progress tackling it. With thisin place, governments would be able to reportsystematically and consistently on their progress
to eradicate all forms of modern slavery and be
held accountable for their progress.
The 2020 IAEG-SDG Comprehensive Reviewof the SDG Indicators provides a possible
opportunity for reform. However, this will
only come to fruition if member states andnational statistics offices begin to revitalise
their data collection tools, in particular byusing the International Conference of Labour
Statisticians (ICLS) guidelines concerning themeasurement of forced labour.11
International agencies and partnerships also
have a clear role to play. The Addis Ababa Action
Agenda notes that, in order to strengthen themeans of implementation of the SDGs, data froma country’s national statistical system should
be supplemented with data from civil society.12
The involvement of multiple stakeholders in theprocess of data collection and the mobilisationof support through partnerships to strengthen
national capacity are also emphasised by the2018 Voluntary Review Synthesis.13

In the interim — while additional indicators
are developed, support is given to national
statistical offices, and partnerships are formed— it falls to civil society to provide the impetus
to ensure countries are held accountable for
their SDG commitments. The International
Labour Organization and MinderooFoundation’s Walk Free initiative (Walk Free), in
partnership with the International Organization
for Migration, have already contributed to SDG
8.7 by publishing the 2016 Global Estimatesof Modern Slavery, which aims to provide
accurate and reliable data to raise awarenessand enable policy makers to take strategic
decisions based on evidence.14
In the absence of an official indicator, thisnew report, produced solely by Walk Free,
provides a comprehensive and independent
assessment of the measures taken by
governments that contribute to eliminating
modern slavery. It provides a platform forcivil society to advocate reform agendas
in individual countries and adds to othercivil society efforts such as the Sustainable
Development Solutions Network, Delta 8.7,
and many other NGOs trying to fill the gaps
in official SDG measurements. Throughthe precise measurement of progress andidentification of gaps in current responses
to SDG 8.7, we can galvanise immediate andeffective action towards the eradication of themost extreme forms of exploitation, and bringabout the freedom of 40.3 million people inmodern slavery.

TOGETHER WE ALL
HAVE A ROLE TO
PLAY IN ENDING
MODERN SLAVERY
Walk Free15

02 Measuring progress towards SDG 8.7

ENDNOTES
1

United Nations 2018, The Sustainable Development
Goals Report 2018. Available from: https://unstats.
un.org/sdgs/files/report/2018/TheSustainableDev
elopmentGoalsReport2018-EN.pdf. [14 June 2019].

2

Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform
2019, Voluntary National Reviews Database.
Available from: https://sustainabledevelopment.
un.org/vnrs/. [14 June 2019].

3

16

Sustainable Development Goals Knowledge
Platform 2018, Sustainable Development Goal
8, United Nations. Available from: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg8. [13 June2019].

4

United Nations Statistics Division 2019, SDG
Indicators: Metadata repository. Available from:https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/. [14 June2019].

5

Indicator 5.3.1 on proportion of women aged 20-24
years who were married or in a union before age
15 and before age 18 was reclassified as Tier 1 in
May 2019. See UN Stats 2019, Tier Classification
for Global SDG Indicators 22 May 2019. Available
from: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/files/Tier_
Classification_of_SDG_Indicators_22_May_2019_
web.pdf. [25 June 2019].

6

Kindornay, S 2019, Progressing National SDG
Implementation: An independent assessment of thevoluntary national review reports submitted to theUnited Nations High-level Political Forum in 2018,
Canadian Council for International Co-operation.
Available from: https://ccic.ca/wp-content/
uploads/2019/01/EN-Executive-SummaryProgressing-National-SDGs-Implementation-2019.
pdf. [14 June 2019].

7

As above.

8

White & Case 2018, Voluntary National Review(VNR) Analysis 2018 Aggregated Chart, Global
Alliance for Reporting Progress on Peaceful, Justand Inclusive Societies. Available from: https://
docs.wixstatic.com/d/51bba1_0ceaf969541f4fcc8
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Measurement, Action, Freedom

02 Measuring progress towards SDG 8.7

Children, some as young as
seven, found working insidealuminium pot making factoryin Dhaka, Bangladesh on May
23, 2017. Children are forced towork in terrible conditions. Many
children do not have access to
education, which increases theirvulnerability to exploitation.
Credit: Zakir Chowdhury/
Barcroft Images / Barcroft
Media via Getty Images

Walk Free

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