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Around 50 million people around the world are stuck in forced labor or forced marriage, reports the UN. The organization also warns that the number has increased dramatically in recent years.
The UN has set a goal that all forms of what is described as modern slavery should be eradicated by 2030. But between 2016 and 2021, the number stuck in forced labor or forced marriage has increased by 10 million, according to a report that, among other things, the UN: s migration agency IOM is behind it.
According to the report, 28 million people are stuck in forced labor and 22 million live in forced marriages.
The corona pandemic, climate change and armed conflict have contributed to “unprecedented disruptions to work and education, increases in extreme poverty and forced and insecure migration”, exacerbating the threat, the report says.
“It is shocking that the situation of modern slavery is not improving,” said International Labor Organization ILO Director-General Guy Ryder in a statement.
“Nothing can justify the persistence of this fundamental violation of human rights,” he continues.
Women and children are the most vulnerable, and according to assessments, one can be stuck in forced labor for several years. Forced marriage is often “a life sentence”, according to the UN report.