How We Present the News
WORLD NEWS
Positive Trends
Success Stories
Flops
Agriculture
Business
Culture
Education
Government
Health
Science
World Peace
News by
Country
Maharishi in the World Today
Excellence in Action
Consciousness Based Education
Ideal Society
Index
Invincible World
Action for
Achievement
Announcements
WATCH LIVE
Maharishi® Channel
Maharishi TV
Maharishi Darshan Hindi Press Conferences
Maharishi's Press Conferences and Great Global Events
ULTIMATE GIFTS
Maharishi's
Programmes
Maharishi's
Courses
Maharishi's
Publications
Scintillating
Intelligence
Worldwide Links
Transcendental
Meditation
RESEARCH
Album of Events
Celebration
Calendars
Musicmall ♬
Search
|
Almost 21 million people worldwide are victims of forced labour, UN finds
UN News Centre Translate This Article
1 June 2012
Almost 21 million people worldwide are trapped in jobs into which they were coerced or deceived and which they cannot leave, according to new estimates released today [1 June] by the United Nations labour agency.
Released by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the 2012 Global Estimate of Forced Labour found that the Asia-Pacific region accounts for the largest number of the 20.9 million forced labourers in the world - 11.7 million, or 56 per cent, of the global total. This is followed by Africa at 3.7 million and Latin America with 1.8 million victims.
According to ILO, forced labour takes different forms, including debt bondage, trafficking and other forms of modern slavery, with the victims normally the most vulnerable - women and girls—migrants trapped in debt bondage, and sweatshop or farm workers kept there by clearly illegal tactics and paid little or nothing.
In the new estimates, 18.7 million people—90 per cent of the total—are exploited in the private economy, by individuals or enterprises. Of these, 4.5 million are victims of ... exploitation and 14.2 million are victims of forced labour exploitation in economic activities, such as agriculture, construction, domestic work or manufacturing.
Another 2.2 million people are in state-imposed forms of forced labour, such as in prisons under conditions which violate ILO standards, or in work imposed by the state military or by rebel armed forces.
The ILO also found that 5.5 million forced labourers, or 26 per cent, are below 18 years of age.
'We have come a long way over the last seven years since we first put an estimate on how many people were forced into labour or services across the world,' the head of the ILO's Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour, Beate Andrees, said in a news release. 'We have made good progress in ensuring most countries now have legislation in place which criminalises forced labour, human trafficking and slavery-like practices.'
She noted that it is now necessary to focus on better identification and prosecution of forced labour and related offences such as human trafficking.
'The successful prosecution of those few individuals who bring such misery to so many remains inadequate—this needs to change,' Ms. Andrees said. 'We must also ensure that the number of victims does not rise during the current economic crisis where people are increasingly vulnerable to these heinous practices.'
The ILO hopes that the availability of more accurate information on the problem will enable the international community to take more effective measures to end the crime of forced labour.
Global Good News comment:
For Maharishi's Vedic Approach to solving the problems of today's news, please visit: http://maharishi-programmes.globalgoodnews.com
For the good news about Maharishi's seven-point programme to create a healthy, happy, prosperous society, and a peaceful world, please visit: Global Financial Capital of New York
Translation software is not perfect; however if you would like to try it, you can translate this page using:
|
|