[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 62 (Thursday, May 12, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5064-S5066]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     REPORT BY THE INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATION ON FORCED LABOR

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, today, more than ever before in history, 
employees around the world are competing against each other for work. 
Too often, this competition has become a race to the bottom--whoever is 
willing to work for the lowest wages gets the work.
  The most flagrant example of this is the unacceptable practice of 
forced labor. These modern slaves are compelled to work against their 
will, often as victims of human trafficking or ruthless governments.
  A new report by the International Labor Office shows how massive the 
problem of forced labor is. According to the report, over 12 million 
people are its victims in today's world, and they produce $44 billion 
in profits for their overseers.
  To combat the problem, the report urges countries to work together to 
reach a global solution. Countries need stronger laws to protect 
victims and punish perpetrators. They also need stronger law 
enforcement and more effective cooperation between labor ministries and 
law enforcement. Fair labor standards and acting to reduce poverty are 
essential as well.
  This report is the most comprehensive analysis ever made on forced 
labor. I commend it to my colleagues, and I ask unanimous consent that 
the executive summary be printed in the Record. The full report is 
available from www.ilo.org.
 There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                A GLOBAL ALLIANCE AGAINST FORCED LABOUR

                           Executive Summary


                      The concept of forced labour

       A Global Alliance Against Forced Labour sheds new light on 
     the nature and extent of forced labour in the world today, 
     what ILO member States, workers' and employers' organizations 
     and their partners are doing to tackle the problem, and what 
     more must be done if this crime and violation of human rights 
     is to be finally ended. As the second Global Report on forced 
     labour under the Follow-up to the Declaration on Fundamental 
     Principles and Rights at Work, it focuses especially on the 
     period since Stopping Forced Labour, its first report on the 
     subject, was published in 2001.
       This period has seen many important developments, in terms 
     of heightened global awareness of the problems of 
     contemporary forced labour, and particularly of trafficking 
     in persons, and an increased understanding of what it 
     involves--who and where are the victims and the perpetrators, 
     how people get trapped in forced labour situations, and what 
     kinds of measures have proved effective in preventing and 
     combating this criminal practice, for which there can be no 
     place in the twenty first century. Far from being a concern 
     of only a minority of countries, forced labour in its 
     different forms is a problem that pervades all societies--
     developing, transition and industrialized alike. It affects 
     millions of people, and generates billions of dollars of 
     profits for the exploiters of forced labourers.
       The Report first sets out to clarify what the ILO means by 
     forced labour. It certainly cannot be equated simply with low 
     wages or poor working conditions. It comprises two basic 
     elements: the work or service is exacted under the menace of 
     a penalty, and it is undertaken involuntarily. This menace 
     can take extreme forms such as physical violence, but also 
     subtler forms such as confiscation of identity papers or 
     threats of denunciation of irregular migrants to police 
     authorities, in order to extract unfair advantage from them. 
     A forced labour situation is determined by the nature of the 
     relationship between a person and an ``employer'', and not by 
     the activity performed. Nevertheless, there is a broad 
     spectrum of working conditions and practices, ranging from 
     extreme exploitation including forced labour at one end, to 
     decent work with the full application of labour standards at 
     the other. And within the area defined by law as forced 
     labour, a range of coercive and deceptive mechanisms can be 
     applied. The most appropriate law enforcement remedies may 
     depend on the nature, and perhaps also the severity, of the 
     coercive mechanisms being applied.
       The rising global concern with human trafficking, together 
     with new instruments against it, have prompted member States 
     to give attention to the forced labour concept in criminal 
     laws. The ``Palermo'' Trafficking Protocol to the UN 
     Convention against Transnational Organized Crime introduces 
     into international law the concept of exploitation, broken 
     down broadly into labour and sexual exploitation. It is clear 
     from the comments of the ILO supervisory bodies that coercive 
     sexual exploitation also constitutes forced labour. Many 
     countries at present do not provide in their legislation for 
     the specific offence of forced labour. While the present 
     momentum is towards establishing the criminal offence of 
     trafficking, there is a need also to legislate against forced 
     labour as a specific criminal offence.


             Minimum estimate of forced labour in the world

       Today, at least 12.3 million people are victims of forced 
     labour worldwide. Of these, 9.8 million are exploited by 
     private agents, including more than 2.4 million in forced 
     labour as a result of human trafficking. The remaining 2.5 
     million are forced to work by the State or by rebel military 
     groups.
       The numbers are highest in Asia, with 9,490,000 victims. 
     Almost two-thirds of total

[[Page S5065]]

     forced labour in Asia is imposed by private actors for 
     economic exploitation, mostly debt bondage in agriculture and 
     other economic activities. About one-fifth is imposed by the 
     State in a few countries such as Myanmar. Forced labour for 
     commercial sexual exploitation makes up less than one-tenth 
     of the total.
       Latin America and the Caribbean has 1,320,000 forced labour 
     victims. 75 per cent is imposed by private actors for 
     economic exploitation, followed by State-imposed forced 
     labour (16 per cent) and forced labour in commercial sexual 
     exploitation (9 per cent). Of the 660,000 forced labourers in 
     Sub-Saharan Africa, 80 per cent are subject to economic 
     exploitation, 11 per cent to State-imposed forced labour, and 
     8 per cent to commercial sexual exploitation. Of the 260,000 
     forced labour cases in the Middle East and North Africa 
     (MENA), 88 per cent is for private economic exploitation, and 
     10 per cent for commercial sexual exploitation.
       There are 360,000 forced labourers in industrialized 
     countries, and 210,000 in transition countries. In both 
     regions, forced labour for commercial sexual exploitation 
     predominates. In industrialized countries however, almost 
     one-quarter of victims are subject to non-sexual economic 
     exploitation.
       Approximately one-fifth of all forced labour globally--or 
     2.45 million persons altogether--is an outcome of 
     trafficking. There are important regional variations. In 
     Asia, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa, the proportion of 
     trafficked victims is less than 20 per cent of all forced 
     labour. In industrialized and transition countries, and in 
     the Middle East and North Africa, it accounts for more than 
     75 per cent of all forced labour.
       Women and girls are overwhelmingly involved in forced 
     commercial sexual exploitation--accounting for 98% of the 
     total of this form. Forced economic exploitation is more 
     evenly divided between the sexes, although women and girls 
     still account for more than half--56%. It is estimated that 
     children aged less than 18 years represent between 40 and 50% 
     of all forced labour victims.


               A dynamic global picture of forced labour

       Since the first Global Report on the subject in 2001, the 
     research and activities of the ILO's Special Action Programme 
     to Combat Forced Labour (SAP-FL) have shed more light on 
     recent trends in forced labour, and action to overcome it, in 
     all regions of the world.
       Generally, despite new laws and action programmes against 
     trafficking, law enforcement against forced labour practices 
     remains inadequate. There have been very few prosecutions of 
     exploiters of forced labour anywhere. The offence of forced 
     labour is often not identified as such in existing criminal 
     law (though it may be under labour or administrative law). 
     Penalties are often light. Important progress in combating 
     impunity for forced labour offences has nevertheless been 
     made in some countries, such as Brazil.
       Forced labour imposed by the State, while not the largest 
     problem in terms of numbers, remains a cause for serious 
     concern. In Myanmar, the ILO has taken a lead in drawing 
     attention to continued forced labour practices, which occur 
     in particular in remote areas under the authority of the 
     army. An ILO Liaison Officer has been able to assess the 
     situation in person through field visits, while in May 2003 
     agreement was reached in principle between the Government and 
     the ILO on a Joint Plan of Action against forced labour. By 
     early 2005, however, the ILO was not in a position to move 
     forward on this. Indeed the Myanmar case shows that it is 
     impossible to make progress against forced labour when there 
     is a climate of impunity, and repression against persons who 
     denounce forced labour abuses.
       In China, steps have been made towards reform of the 
     Reeducation through Labour (RETL) system, an administrative 
     measure including compulsory labour that is used for 
     punishing minor offences. As of early 2004, some 260,000 
     persons were detailed under RETL. Reform to the RETL system 
     is on the agenda of the current session of the National 
     Peoples' Congress.
       The forced labour aspects of prison labour have also been a 
     cause for concern in industrialized countries. The focus has 
     mainly been on the eradication of forced labour in private 
     prisons, or by prisoners placed at the disposal of private 
     companies. Yet some consensus is emerging that, while prison 
     privatization is probably here to stay, the central issue in 
     the debate should be how to secure minimum standards of work 
     for those detained in all kinds of prison establishment. In 
     this sense--while prison authorities tend to stress that work 
     is only one aspect of the prison regime--there can be scope 
     for labour inspection services to collaborate with prison 
     authorities on matters which relate strictly to the work 
     regime.
       In developing countries there are clear links between 
     poverty and discrimination on the one hand, and forced labour 
     on the other. The victims are drawn from lower castes in 
     parts of Asia, indigenous peoples in Latin America, the 
     descendants of slaves or forest dwellers in Africa. Patterns 
     of forced labour are nevertheless changing. In addition to 
     traditional agrarian-based serfdom and servitude, new forms 
     of coercion often linked to indebtedness are being detected 
     in a range of sectors and industries, such as brick making, 
     mining, rice mills and domestic work. The asset-poor or 
     landless are particularly vulnerable to forced labour, when 
     they move away from their home communities in search of work 
     in distant parts of their own country, neighbouring countries 
     or overseas. Similar patterns of coercive recruitment and 
     debt bondage have been detected amongst seasonal and migrant 
     workers in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Again, women and 
     children can be especially prone to be trapped in 
     exploitative living and working situations, from which they 
     have great difficulty escaping.
       Tackling such forced labour requires action at different 
     levels. Downstream, there have been important community-based 
     initiatives, using microfinance and other techniques to 
     prevent forced labour and rehabilitate victims after release. 
     Upstream, there is a need for clear policies and plans of 
     action, mobilizing awareness, getting the involvement of 
     different ministries, ensuring the cooperation of labour 
     authorities and other law enforcement agents, and also 
     securing the necessary resources for action against forced 
     labour. One way to achieve this is to include forced and 
     bonded labour concerns in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers 
     (PRSP) and similar policy instruments. Some models are 
     emerging. Brazil and Pakistan have broad-based action plans 
     against forced labour. Nepal and Pakistan address bonded 
     labour in their PRSPs.
       In Africa, the eradication of--and even the clear 
     understanding of--forced labour poses complex challenges in a 
     context of poverty and tradition. Unpaid services can be part 
     of traditional kinship arrangements. There are reports that 
     West Africans of slave descent still suffer discrimination 
     and labour exploitation at the hands of former masters. 
     Research points to a spectrum of situations, from the highly 
     exploitative to the relatively benign. And in some African 
     countries forced labour has occurred in a context of severe 
     political violence and inter-ethnic conflict. Problems of 
     contemporary forced labour include: slavery and abductions, 
     debt bondage, forced overtime, unpaid compulsory labour for 
     public servants, and forced domestic labour. There are prima 
     facie reasons to believe that forced labour may be a 
     widespread problem in the continent. But far more research 
     and awareness raising is needed, to deepen understanding and 
     chart out a way forward.
       The scourge of human trafficking has now caught the world's 
     attention. It is bringing forced labour concerns to the 
     doorstep of industrialized countries. More and more, ILO 
     partners realize that effective action against trafficking 
     requires a focus on its forced labour outcomes, and on demand 
     aspects in the destination countries as well as supply in the 
     origin countries. ILO research in Europe and elsewhere has 
     shed light on these issues, paving the way for improved 
     policies and law enforcement. Affecting sectors including 
     agriculture, construction, textiles and garments, restaurants 
     and entertainment, health care, and domestic work, 
     trafficking for labour exploitation often involves subtle 
     forms of coercion rather than direct physical restraint. 
     Unscrupulous employers exploit the precarious situation of 
     irregular migrant workers in particular, removing identity 
     documents, and threatening them with denunciation to the 
     authorities and deportation if they do not accept substandard 
     conditions of work. Migrant domestic workers are at 
     particular risk of forced labour situations. So far, there 
     have been very few convictions of abusive employers or 
     intermediaries involved in the trafficking of domestic 
     workers.
       Forced labour and trafficking are not limited to the 
     underground economy. With more research, it is becoming 
     clearer that coercive practices can affect migrants in quite 
     mainstream economic sectors. Deceptive practices by 
     recruitment agencies, and long chains of subcontracting, can 
     involve exorbitant transaction costs which drive even legally 
     recruited migrants into debt bondage situations. There have 
     been examples of good practice, such as the 2004 United 
     Kingdom Gangmasters Act, which increase controls over such 
     agencies. In transition countries however standards to 
     monitor the work of recruitment agencies are still very weak. 
     Government authorities, law enforcement agents and the social 
     partners need training to prevent the risk of trafficking.
       Trafficking is a highly lucrative business. The ILO 
     estimates that total illicit profits produced annually by 
     trafficked forced labourers are around US$ 32 Billion (half 
     of this in industrialized countries and one third in Asia). 
     This means an average of US$ 13,000 per year for each forced 
     labourer. By far the highest profits are made from forced 
     commercial sexual exploitation (US$ 27.8 Billion).
       The apparent growth of trafficking for economic 
     exploitation in all regions calls for serious thinking as to 
     the most effective means to eradicate it. Vigorous law 
     enforcement will always be part of the solution, but many 
     other measures are required. Our previous (2001) Global 
     Report depicted human trafficking as the ``underside of 
     globalization''. The knowledge base has now shed further 
     light on the linkages between forced labour more generally, 
     and such aspects of globalization as global competition, 
     migration and labour market deregulation. Without safeguards, 
     competitive pressures can lead to forced labour. Eradicating 
     coercive practices represents a major challenge for 
     employers' and workers' organizations worldwide.


                    ILO action against forced labour

       Spearheaded by its Special Action Programme to Combat 
     Forced Labour (SAP-FL)

[[Page S5066]]

     under the Declaration Follow-up, the ILO has progressively 
     increased its profile and activities on forced labour over 
     this four-year period. Guided by its Governing Body mandate, 
     the programme has emphasized: advice on appropriate 
     legislation; awareness raising on forced labour, among both 
     the general population and key authorities; research and 
     surveys, on the nature and extent of the problems; 
     prevention, through advocacy, vigorous application of 
     national laws and regulations, and by tackling underlying 
     causes; and sustainable support and rehabilitation measures.
       SAP-FL has been active in many parts of the world in a 
     short period of time. Awareness-raising has been conducted in 
     all regions, and with major international partners. There is 
     growing consensus that forced labour is the key entry point 
     for anti-trafficking action. Research--in South and South-
     East Asia, transition and industrialized countries and Latin 
     America--has for the first time provided a full understanding 
     of the nature of modern forced labour, and of the action 
     needed to eradicate it. Law and policy advice have been 
     provided to Asian countries including China, Mongolia and 
     Vietnam, paving the way for ratification of the ILO's 
     Conventions on forced labour.
       Several ILO projects aim to strengthen institutional 
     structures for combating forced labour. A Brazilian project 
     supports the Government's National Action Plan against Slave 
     Labour, working with several ministries, police, judiciary 
     and labour authorities as partner agencies. The project, in 
     part through a massive awareness campaign, has contributed to 
     the significant rise in the number of forced labourers 
     rescued in Brazil. In South Asia, a project to promote the 
     prevention and elimination of bonded labour has gradually 
     developed new tools for tackling this immense problem. With 
     an initial focus on using microfinance to prevent bonded 
     labour and assist the rehabilitation of released bonded 
     labourers at the community level, it has moved increasingly 
     into capacity-strengthening of Government agencies and other 
     partners. In Pakistan, ILO assistance has largely been 
     designed to support the goals first set out in the 2001 
     National Policy and Plan of Action on bonded labour.
       On trafficking, research and studies in both origin and 
     destination countries have prepared the ground for integrated 
     programmes across the trafficking cycle, combining 
     prevention, victim identification and protection, law 
     enforcement, and rehabilitation of victims. As requested by 
     international partners the ILO has taken a lead in 
     providing guidance to member States on the forced labour 
     and labour exploitation dimensions of trafficking, drawing 
     on pertinent ILO standards. Operational projects are now 
     under way in West Africa, South East Asia, China, and 
     Eastern and Western Europe. In particular, these projects 
     aim to involve labour authorities and other institutions 
     including employers' and workers' organizations in action 
     against trafficking, demonstrating the importance of their 
     cooperation with police, prosecutors and law enforcement 
     agencies in general.


          Action Plan: A Global Alliance Against Forced Labour

       The ILO now calls for a global alliance against forced 
     labour. It will require national commitment to eradicate 
     forced labour through plans with specific time horizons. 
     National plans and programmes will need to be backed by 
     extensive international assistance, notably from the 
     development agencies and financial institutions concerned 
     with poverty reduction. Asia, where the numbers affected by 
     contemporary forced labour are the largest, must be the 
     highest priority. The development agencies, which base their 
     strategies on poverty targeting and the eradication of 
     extreme poverty, should single out bonded labour systems for 
     priority attention. In Latin America, where the incidence of 
     forced labour is particularly severe amongst indigenous 
     peoples, poverty reduction progammes and resources can be 
     targeted at the peoples and areas affected.
       As regards forced labour and trafficking, the destination 
     countries need to take their share of responsibility. All 
     countries need to include provisions against forced labour 
     and trafficking in their criminal laws, involving labour law 
     experts in the drafting process. There is a need for more 
     awareness of the role of demand for cheap and flexible labour 
     in the destination countries in giving rise to trafficking 
     and forced labour, and also for more rational migration 
     management.
       Universities, research and policy institutions need to 
     improve the knowledge base on forced labour. Priority can be 
     given to the difficult issues, where there is currently a 
     lack of consensus as to whether and which practices do 
     constitute forced labour. One example is the forced labour 
     aspects of prison labour.
       The ILO can take an active leadership in this global 
     alliance. It can set targets for eradicating the forced and 
     bonded labour problems linked to structural poverty, as part 
     of its contribution to achievement of the Millennium 
     Development Goals. It can identify specific steps, with 
     targets for the coming years, against the forced labour 
     problems linked to globalization. Employers and workers' 
     organizations will have a key role to play, the former 
     developing codes of conduct to ensure vigilance against 
     forced labour in supply chains, the latter helping the 
     informal economy workers vulnerable to forced labour in their 
     efforts to organize themselves and seek redress. Through 
     their regional and international networks, transport and 
     other unions can exercise permanent vigilance against human 
     trafficking.
       The ILO can help member States improve data gathering on 
     forced labour. Reliable forced labour statistics must now be 
     developed at the national level, providing benchmarks against 
     which progress can be measured over time.
       Through operational projects, the ILO can greatly help 
     member States eradicate forced labour. The aim will be to 
     develop ``models'' of intervention, which can then be applied 
     on a wider scale by others. These should comprise linked 
     components, addressing upstream policy and legal issues, as 
     well as strengthening enforcement institutions and providing 
     direct support for victims. In developing such integrated 
     projects the ILO needs to draw on all its capacities, as they 
     relate to employment promotion as well as the application of 
     labour standards.
       In developing projects, however, it must be remembered that 
     hard policy decisions are required to end forced labour. Such 
     instruments as microfinance are important for prevention and 
     rehabilitation, and will always be part of the ``toolkit'' 
     against forced labour. But to combat impunity, and to tackle 
     the roots of either the more traditional or more modern forms 
     of forced labour, member States may ultimately have to 
     revisit their land, tenancy, labour market or even migration 
     policies.
       With courage and commitment to face up to the problems, and 
     with the allocation of resources to meet the challenges, 
     there is a real hope that forced labour can finally be 
     relegated to history.

                          ____________________