Xinhua, United Nations :
The United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) Wednesday adopted a new legally binding protocol to intensify global efforts in eradicating forced labor.
“The Protocol creates new obligations to prevent forced labor,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.
The 2014 Protocol to ILO Convention 29 on Forced Labour, adopted with 437 votes in favor, 8 against, and 27 abstentions, comes as a renew commitment to eradicating slavery following the main convention which was adopted in 1930.
“It requires governments to take measures to better protect workers, in particular migrant laborers, from fraudulent and abusive recruitment practices and emphasizes the role of employers and workers in the fight against forced labor,” Dujarric said.
The treaty is aimed at advancing prevention, improving protection and compensation measures, as well as intensifying efforts to wipe out contemporary forms of slavery. The accompanying Recommendation provides technical guidance on its implementation.
“There are currently an estimated 21 million forced labor victims worldwide,” he noted. “A recent ILO report estimates that 150 billion U.S. dollars in illegal profits are made in the private economy each year through modern forms of slavery.”
According to ILO, more than half of the victims of forced labour are women and girls, primarily in domestic work and commercial sexual exploitation, while men and boys were primarily in forced economic exploitation in agriculture, construction, and mining.
