Forced Labour
...for which the said person has not offered himself or herself voluntarily is defined as Forced or Compulsory Labour.
Commonly found categories of Forced Labour are slavery; bonded labour; exploitative labour resulting from abduction or human trafficking; and any involuntary but mandatory labour situation.
Sexual exploitation of women and children are the most widespread form of forced labour encountered in industrial countries. In non-industrialized ones, economic debt is frequently used to force people into slavery or bonded labour relations. Over three-quarters of the 12 million people worldwide who are exploited in forced labour conditions are in Asia; 1.32 millions in Latin America and the Caribbean; almost a million in Africa; 360,000 in industrialized countries and 210,000 in transitional countries.
However, in many sectors, such as in domestic work or in agriculture, the line between bad working conditions and forced labour is very difficult to draw. Further, these figures are based on reported cases and the number of unknown cases might be substantially higher. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO) a total of almost 10 million people are exploited by private agents (sexual or economic exploitation). Forced labour has indeed become an important economic factor. Criminal networks worldwide gain up to 32 billions USD per year from trafficking forced laborers, and half of these profits are generated in industrialized countries.
Law
The “Elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour” was declared core labour standard in the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work which was adopted by the International Labour Conference in June 1998.
International Labour Organization and the forced labour Conventions
The International Labour Organization (ILO) was established in 1919 and became the first...
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