Status: 09/12/2022 12:24 p.m
The number of people being forced to work has risen significantly – to 50 million worldwide. According to a UN report, many women in particular live in slavery. The situation in China is particularly bad.
Around 50 million people around the world live in forced labour. This is the result of a report presented by various human rights organizations in Geneva. The number has increased significantly by 25 percent in the past five years.
22 million in forced marriages
The authors count almost 28 million people who are forced to work and 22 million who live in forced marriages and are mainly exploited as domestic servants. The 2021 report on modern slavery was presented by the UN organizations ILO (International Labor Organization) and IOM (Organization for Migration) as well as the private Walk-Free Foundation, which works against slavery.
More cases as a result of Corona
According to the study, almost a quarter of those affected are sexually exploited for commercial purposes, and most are women. A good two-thirds of those who are forced into marriage are women and girls. The number has increased by 6.6 million in five years, partly due to the economic hardship caused by the corona pandemic.
Forced labor of prisoners and strikers
While most forced labor occurs in the private sector, there is also state forced labor. 3.9 million people are affected. The report mentions the Xinjiang region in China, for example. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has just presented a report according to which hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs and other members of Muslim minorities have been held in camps against their will and forced to work.
China denies all allegations. The report states that there is also state-mandated forced labor in North Korea and Pakistan. He names numerous other countries in which prisoners or strikers are used for forced labour, including Botswana, the Republic of Moldova and the Philippines.
improvement in Qatar
The report also mentions Qatar, which is due to host the men’s soccer World Cup in November. The organizers have been accused for years of violating the human rights of the migrants who work there. However, according to the report now available, the situation is said to have improved – since the ILO opened its own office in the capital, Doha, in 2018.