Economic Opportunities and Labour Rights

Modern slavery is a scourge that affects every region of the world. The latest Global Estimates indicate that 50 million people were living in modern slavery in 2021. Of these people, 28 million were in forced labour and 22 million were trapped in forced marriage. Unfortunately, the number of people in modern slavery has risen significantly in the last five...

According to the 2016 ILO global estimates, there are a total of 152 million children in child labour and 25 million children and adults in forced labour in the world today. Governments, business, the financial sector and civil society must take strong action to address the root causes and determinants of these human rights violations. The Alliance 8.7...

Afghans engage in migration through irregular means due to a multiplicity of factors such as the continued and worsening security and economic situation in Afghanistan, lack of rights, high unemployment and environmental hazards. The Afghan Safe Migration project supported Afghan diaspora organisations in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands to deliver...

The third edition of IOM’s Promoting Safe Migration publication showcases lessons and achievements from awareness raising under the Cooperation on Migration and Partnerships to Achieve Sustainable Solutions (COMPASS) initiative and related interventions, such as Migrants as Messengers and IOM X. The work of the Media, Communications and Awareness Raising...

This booklet is based on the evaluation and lessons learnt of the programme “Supporting Young Entrepreneurs in The Gambia” (#Standing4Youth), a comprehensive entrepreneurship support project implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) between 2019 and 2021. The programme incorporated the best incubation and acceleration practices for...

This report presents the joint research findings and conclusions on child labour, forced labour and human trafficking linked to global supply chains from the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the United Nations Children’s...

Sudan is at the centre of the East African migration route towards North Africa and Europe. Over the past decade, hundreds of irregular migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees have been transiting through Sudan every month, with some choosing to seek asylum in the country. Those on the move are mostly young Eritrean Tigrinya speakers from urban areas, but they...

The coronavirus is not only claiming hundreds of thousands of lives, but is also causing a global economic crisis that is expected to rival or exceed that of any recession in the past 150 years. Although decisive action and containment measures are helping flatten the curve of infection, such measures inevitably deepen and lengthen the economic recession.In...

Although there is consensus among different actors regarding the seriousness and significance of re-trafficking as a problem, there has been very little research conducted into its incidence, cause or consequence. This research paper, funded by United States Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking (G/TIP), aims to address this gap...

Migrant workers often experience precarity in their migration journeys, and the state structures and programs designed to ‘protect’ migrants have the potential to increase migrant vulnerability to exploitation; financial exploitation, enduring physical harm, rights abuses or various forms of coercion. The increased use of managed migration programs to...

Global assessments suggest that a substantial proportion of labour migrants ends up in situations of extreme exploitation, some of whom are identified as victims of human trafficking. Because large numbers of migrant workers fall into a “grey area” between trafficking (as defined by international and national law) and exploitative labour situations, there is...

International migration is at the core of the international debate. However, while a major part of the discussions focus on migration policies in receiving countries, it is important to recall that most people are not willing to migrate permanently to another country. It is thus crucial that policymakers also support those who prefer to remain in their...

Migrant smuggling is seen as antithetical to safe, orderly and regular migration. In fact, the fight against migrant smuggling stands out as a point of agreement in an otherwise fractured policy field. This apparent unity obscures disparate motivations for counter-smuggling measures. Traditionally, concerns about illegal work and residence have been...

This brochure presents an overview and introduction to human trafficking and the role that business can play in addressing it. It explains in practical terms what human trafficking is, why it is an issue for business and what companies large and small can do to take action against it. Divided into two parts, this brochure presents a section that gives an...

This Convention was adopted in June 1999 by the General Conference of the International Labour Organization at its eighty-seventh session, and it entered into force in November 2000. Each ratifying Member agrees to "take immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency."

The General Assembly adopted Resolution 69/149 in December 2014, issuing a call for action against trafficking in women and girls, who face increased risk.

Ratifying Members undertake "to suppress the use of forced or compulsory labour in all its forms within the shortest possible period." The text linked below reflects the Protocol to Convention No. 29 that was adopted in 2014, which acknowledges that the "transitional provisions" in the original text of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) were no...

This snapshot explores the links between extortion, internal displacement and forced migration in the North of Central America (NCA) and the migration route in Mexico. Extortion is one of the main drivers of displacement in the region, and it transcends international borders as one of the main human rights violations committed against displaced people and...

The estimates herein are the result of a collaborative effort between the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Walk Free Foundation, in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM). They benefited from inputs provided by other UN agencies, in particular the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). In the...