The International Labor Organization (ILO) and Walk Free Foundation will begin work to determine the scale of modern slavery globally. The two will begin the effort jointly in order to reach a single global estimate to serve as a benchmark for SDG Target 8.7.
Drawing on thousands of responses from face-to-face interviews, the global estimate will provide further insights into the numbers behind slavery, with break-downs by region, age group and gender. The work will be undertaken in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), who will provide important support for research on migrants in crisis and data from their global victim assistance database.
Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General said, “the estimates are a significant research undertaking that is essential if policies, interventions and resources are to be targeted effectively in the fight against modern slavery, forced labor, human trafficking and child labor. The ILO, Walk Free Foundation, IOM and other Alliance 8.7 partners are aligned in our objective to achieve Target 8.7.” World leaders, under Target 8.7 of the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), should be committed to: “Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labor in all its forms”.
This initiative (Alliance 8.7) is a worldwide partnership that was established to help reach goals by accelerating timelines, sharing knowledge, driving innovation and leveraging resources.
Andrew Forrest, Founder of the Walk Free Foundation: “Through our collaboration, Walk Free Foundation and the ILO have assembled the largest ever data set on modern slavery, including ground-breaking survey data from more than 50 countries. Combined with a comprehensive data set about the experiences of victims of trafficking, our research is making an enormous breakthrough in this sector. We are all working for a common purpose: understanding the scale of modern slavery, to ensure world’s governments, businesses, trade unions and the civil society are equipped with the information required to end slavery for once and for all.”
The findings will be presented alongside the 2017 Global Estimate of Child Labor to the IV Global Conference on the Sustained Eradication of Child Labor. The Conference is scheduled for 14-16 November 2017 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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