We are pleased to invite you to the global launch of a new ILO report entitled “Profits and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labour”.
This report estimates the profits generated from forced labour in the world today. These profits reflect the wages effectively stolen from the pockets of workers by the perpetrators of forced labour through their coercive practices. Understanding and addressing these illicit profits is critical to achieve progress in the fight against forced labour.
This high-level event will be co-hosted by MEP Bernd Lange, who is also the Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade and ILO Assistant Director-General for Governance, Rights and Dialogue, Manuela Tomei.
28 million people were trapped in forced labour on any given day in 2021. Forced labour is a criminal offence and a serious violation of fundamental human rights. Beyond the individual consequences for the victims, forced labour comes with economic and social costs for the entire society. The ILO report, which is funded by the government of France, will shed light on the link between forced labour and the economic incentive structures driving it.
The event will also provide a unique opportunity to discuss key measures needed to tackle the root causes of forced labour and to take stock of the progress on the negotiations on the EU’s ban on products made with forced labour.