Forced Labor

Forced labor is a type of modern slavery in which individuals are forced to work against their will, typically under threat of violence or other forms of coercion. Forced labor can take many different forms, such as labor trafficking, debt bondage, or forced marriage. Forced labor is often characterized by exploitative and abusive conditions, such as long hours, little or no pay, and poor health and safety standards. Forced labor is a global problem and affects people of all ages, genders, and backgrounds. It is condemned by international law and is a violation of human rights.

Main Drivers of Human Trafficking in Brazil
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Main Drivers of Human Trafficking in Brazil

Brasília (Brazil) 16 September 2021 A new UNODC report on human trafficking trends in Brazil highlights how socio-economic vulnerability and the lack of decent employment opportunities are leading people into the hands of criminal networks who exploit them for profit. The publication, “National Report on Trafficking in Persons 2017-2020”, brings together knowledge and expertise from…

First Person: Human trafficking, migrant smuggling, still significant threats in Asia
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First Person: Human trafficking, migrant smuggling, still significant threats in Asia

Martin Reeve is a Regional Adviser for GLO.ACT a joint European Union-UNODC programme which focuses on Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. He spoke to UN News from his base in Baghdad, the Iraqi capital. 

New Bill Against Forced Labor in China Offers Promising Development in Tariff Act Enforcement
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New Bill Against Forced Labor in China Offers Promising Development in Tariff Act Enforcement

Author: Sarah Murray | originally posted on Human Trafficking Institute’s website, Aug 27, 2021 Introduction Over the past four years, the People’s Republic of China has forced at least one million Uyghurs,[1] who are mostly Muslim, and members of other ethnic and religious minorities into internment camps in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (“Xinjiang”), a…

UNODC Supports Jordan and Lebanon to Respond to Trafficking of Refugees
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UNODC Supports Jordan and Lebanon to Respond to Trafficking of Refugees

Vienna (Austria) 11 June 2021 Refugees who are fleeing conflict and crisis are being targeted by human traffickers who take advantage of their vulnerable circumstances and search for a better life. Traffickers thrive in situations of instability and refugees, among them unaccompanied children, are at risk when they cross borders, travel inside a host country…

Investigation: Corporations Are Profiting From Immigrant Detainees’ Labor. Some Say It’s Slavery.
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Investigation: Corporations Are Profiting From Immigrant Detainees’ Labor. Some Say It’s Slavery.

In February, she sued the company for labor trafficking. Gonzalez spent those … to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, ICE and the Department of Labor calling on them to help GEO defend itself …

Victims and villains: Anti-trafficking movement urged to tackle racial bias
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Victims and villains: Anti-trafficking movement urged to tackle racial bias

By Christine Murray MEXICO CITY (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Global protests about racism and police brutality should act as a wake-up call to the anti-human trafficking movement over the approach of law enforcement, treatment of Black victims and a lack of racial diversity, academics and activists said. The legacy of ‘white slave traffic’ – a…

Fact check: Mask-wearing not connected to child trafficking
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Fact check: Mask-wearing not connected to child trafficking

The claim: Mask wearing makes children more at risk for child sex trafficking Misinformation about the causes of sex trafficking and how to protect minors can be especially damaging in the fight against it, yet a web of conspiracy theories about the crime has grown over the past few years. The latest false claim is that…

Venezuela: UN report highlights criminal control of mining area, and wider justice concerns
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Venezuela: UN report highlights criminal control of mining area, and wider justice concerns

UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said that Venezuelan authorities had failed to investigate crimes linked to the industry, in the region of Arco Minero del Orinoco, including extortion, amputation and miners being buried alive. Criminal groups exercise control over a large number of mining operations there, where children as young as nine have been seen…

Human trafficking cases hit a 13-year record high, new UN report shows
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Human trafficking cases hit a 13-year record high, new UN report shows

“The report was undertaken for a simple reason: if we want to succeed in confronting human trafficking in all its manifestations, we must better understand its scope and structure,” said Yury Fedotov, UNODC’s Executive Director as he presented the report in New York. “We need to appreciate where human trafficking is happening, who are its…