Bangkok--20 Jun--TQPR MEDIA 1
An estimated 45.8 million men, women and children around the world are today trapped in modern slavery - 28% more than previously estimated. They are enslaved through human trafficking, forced labour, debt bondage, forced or servile marriage or commercial sexual exploitation. This is revealed in the 2016 Global Slavery Index, the flagship research report published today by the Walk Free Foundation.
425,500 people or 0.63% of Thailand's population is estimated to be trapped in slavery, putting it in ninth place for highest prevalence in Asia Pacific and 20th place globally. This can be attributed to high levels of migrant workers, significant discrimination against minorities, a burgeoning fishing sector and conflict on its southern border. Thai government support response ranks eighth in Asia Pacific due to the progressive legislative steps it has taken to combat unregulated fishing, human trafficking and Thai citizenship application process.
In terms of absolute numbers, Asian countries hold the top five positions for highest number of modern slaves, accounting for almost 58% of the world's modern slaves, or 27.3 million enslaved people. India remains top of the list with an estimated 18.35 million enslaved people, followed by China (4.06m), Pakistan (2.13m), Bangladesh (1.53) and Uzbekistan (1.23m). Thailand is 16th on the list.
The 2016 Global Slavery Index estimates that 28% more people are enslaved than reported in the 2014 edition. This significant increase is due to enhanced data collection and research methodology. Survey research for the 2016 Global Slavery Index included over 42,000 interviews conducted in 53 languages across 25 countries, including 15 state-level surveys in India. These representative surveys cover 44% of the global population.
Government response
The Global Slavery Index also tracks government actions and responses to modern slavery. Of the 161 assessed[2], 124 countries have criminalised human trafficking in line with the UN Trafficking Protocol and 96 have developed national action plans to coordinate government response. The governments leading the charge against modern slavery are The Netherlands, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Australia, Portugal, Croatia, Spain, Belgium and Norway.
The Thai government has reportedly accelerated its efforts to combat exploitation and avoid trade sanctions, including the creation of the Command Centre for Combating Illegal Fishing in May 2015 to address IUU fishing. The first major reform of fishing legislation in over 50 years – the Royal Ordinance on Fisheries – came into force on 15 November 2015 with the objective of eliminating illegal fishing and promoting sustainable fishing. Thailand has also taken steps to combat the commercial sexual exploitation of children, particularly their abuse for pornography.
Countries such as Croatia, Montenegro, Brazil, Macedonia, the Philippines, Georgia, Moldova, Albania and Jamaica are taking positive steps to respond to modern slavery relative to their wealth.
Some significant progress has been made by many governments since the publication of the 2014 report. The UK Government introduced the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and has appointed an Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Mr Kevin Hyland. President Barack Obama closed a loophole in US law to now ban the importation of goods made with forced or child labour.
Call to action
Mr Andrew Forrest, Chairman and Founder of Walk Free Foundation, said eradicating slavery makes sense, morally, politically, logically and economically, and called on the governments of the world's leading economies to provide an example to others by enacting and implementing robust anti-slavery measures.
"We call on governments of the top 10 economies of the world to enact laws, at least as strong as the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015, with a budget and capability to ensure organisations are held to account for modern slavery in their supply chains, and to empower independent oversight. Leaders of the world's major economies must bring the power of business to this issue, by requiring a focus on supply chain transparency."
"I believe in the critical role of leaders in government, business and civil society," Mr Forrest said. "Through our responsible use of power, strength of conviction, determination and collective will, we all can lead the world to end slavery."
Mr Forrest emphasised the key role that business needs to play in eradicating slavery: "Businesses that don't actively look for forced labour within their supply chains are standing on a burning platform. Business leaders who refuse to look into the realities of their own supply chains are misguided and irresponsible." The Global Slavery Index report can be found at www.globalslaveryindex.org