There are 50 million modern slaves in the world
"Modern slavery occurs in almost every country in the world and transcends ethnic, cultural and religious boundaries."
The International Labor Organization, Walk Free and the International Organization for Migration have just revealed their latest estimates: 50 million people are victims of modern slavery in the world. A growing number, since there were 40 million in 2016.
"Modern slavery occurs in almost every country in the world and transcends ethnic, cultural and religious boundaries," the organization explains. Walk Free which fights against modern slavery in all its forms.
Forced labor represents more than half of the victims, 28 million. Nearly one in four slaves in this area experience commercial sexual exploitation. Walk Free also points to state-imposed forced labour, which accounts for 14% of people.
22 million people are victims of forced marriage. “A quarter of all forced marriages are in upper-middle-income or high-income countries,” says Walk Free.
North Korea has the highest prevalence of modern slavery. It affects nearly 2,7 million people. It is followed by Eritrea and Mauritania.
Conversely, Switzerland is the country with the lowest prevalence of modern slavery. It is followed by Norway and Germany. The organization points, for these countries, to “strong governance and strong government responses to modern slavery”.
Walk Free states that "modern slavery is inextricably linked to global challenges such as climate breakdown, gender inequality, COVID-19 and conflict".
"Those fleeing conflict, natural disasters or repression of their rights, or seeking to migrate for work, are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, with more people migrating now than at any other time in the past five decades. The large-scale deterioration of civil and political rights in the face of these multiple crises increases the risks for those already vulnerable to modern slavery. The most vulnerable – women, children and migrants – remain disproportionately affected.”
MC
