Modern slavery rises as crises fuel poverty, UN says

The number of people forced to work or marrying against their will has increased in recent years to around 50 million, the United Nations (UN) International Labor Organization (ILO) said on Monday as it released its report on modern slavery.

Crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic, armed conflict and climate change have led to unprecedented disruptions to employment and education, while exacerbating extreme poverty and forced migration, the agency said.

Compared to the last count for 2016, the number of people in modern slavery increased by about 9.3 million.

According to the latest figures, forced labor accounted for 27.6 million people in modern slavery in 2021, more than 3.3 million of whom are children, and forced marriage for 22 million.

The ILO found that more than half of all forced labor took place in upper-middle- and upper-middle-income countries, with migrant workers three times more likely to be affected.

The report mentioned Qatar, which faces widespread allegations of labor rights violations related to migrants working in the country ahead of the FIFA World Cup football, which starts in November.

But since the ILO opened an office in the capital Doha in April 2018, there has been “significant progress” regarding the living and working conditions of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers in the country, even with problems implementing new labor rules, pointed out the report.

Qatar 2022 Chief Executive Nasser Al Khater Qatar said on Thursday that the country faced a lot of unfair criticism for hosting the World Cup which was not based on facts but responded to any fair criticism.

The ILO report also raised concerns about forced labor in parts of China. The document refers to a report released by the UN human rights commissioner on Aug. .

China has vehemently denied the allegations.

(Editor: Frank Jack Daniel)