New ILO Protocol on Forced Labour to be discussed with the diplomatic community at the upcoming European Commemoration Day Against Trafficking in Persons in Geneva
In commemoration of the European Day against Trafficking in Persons, an event will explore the challenges of Protection and Partnership, on October 17th, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
Organized by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the discussion will engage the diplomatic community to discuss the destructive outcomes of human trafficking and how to forge innovative partnerships.
While States have the primary obligation to fight against trafficking, working in partnership with a variety of actors active in anti-human trafficking work is paramount. The United Nations as a family has a central role to play to consider new directions in the fight against trafficking in persons, while consolidating the lessons learned and achievements of the past.
Human trafficking has acquired increasing attention from the international community since the 1990s, leading to its recognition as a crime in the 2000 UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children. Today, although human trafficking is largely a hidden crime, it is estimated that there remains approximately 20.9 million people whom are victims of forced labour globally. This estimate captures the full realm of human trafficking for labour and sexual exploitation or what some call “modern-day slavery.”
Root causes and contributing factors that fuel demand are spread across countries of origin, transit and destination, and they cannot be addressed in isolation from supply. A comprehensive response to addressing the entire trafficking chain requires the combined action of different stakeholders – States, international organizations, civil society, the private sector, employers and workers and their organizations, as well as individual citizens in their roles both as consumers and as members of society. Effective prevention and protection of trafficked victims and potential victims require cooperation among a large variety of state and non-state actors.
Those elements are particularly relevant in the light of the new ILO Protocol and Recommendation Supplementing the Forced Labour Convention, No. 29, which were nearly unanimously adopted by the international community in June 2014. These instruments give a new impetus to the global fight against forced labour, including human trafficking and slavery-like practices. They require States to take effective measures to prevent and eliminate forced labour, to provide victims protection and access to appropriate and effective remedies, such as compensation, and to sanction perpetrators.
While States have the primary obligation to fight against trafficking, working in partnership with a variety of actors active in anti-human trafficking work is paramount. The United Nations as a family has a central role to play to consider new directions in the fight against trafficking in persons, while consolidating the lessons learned and achievements of the past.
Human trafficking has acquired increasing attention from the international community since the 1990s, leading to its recognition as a crime in the 2000 UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children. Today, although human trafficking is largely a hidden crime, it is estimated that there remains approximately 20.9 million people whom are victims of forced labour globally. This estimate captures the full realm of human trafficking for labour and sexual exploitation or what some call “modern-day slavery.”
Root causes and contributing factors that fuel demand are spread across countries of origin, transit and destination, and they cannot be addressed in isolation from supply. A comprehensive response to addressing the entire trafficking chain requires the combined action of different stakeholders – States, international organizations, civil society, the private sector, employers and workers and their organizations, as well as individual citizens in their roles both as consumers and as members of society. Effective prevention and protection of trafficked victims and potential victims require cooperation among a large variety of state and non-state actors.
Those elements are particularly relevant in the light of the new ILO Protocol and Recommendation Supplementing the Forced Labour Convention, No. 29, which were nearly unanimously adopted by the international community in June 2014. These instruments give a new impetus to the global fight against forced labour, including human trafficking and slavery-like practices. They require States to take effective measures to prevent and eliminate forced labour, to provide victims protection and access to appropriate and effective remedies, such as compensation, and to sanction perpetrators.
In order to address forced labour and trafficking an effective way, there remains an urgent need to adopt a rights-based, multidisciplinary approach which ensures that anti-trafficking measures do not adversely affect the human rights and dignity of trafficking victims and that no one actor can tackle the problem alone.“The Protocol and Recommendation mark a major step forward in the fight against forced labour and represent a firm commitment among governments, employer and worker organizations to eliminate contemporary forms of slavery,” Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General said.