U.N. Agency Sees Rise in Forced Labor and Slavery
By ELIZABETH OLSON
Increased efforts are needed to "stamp out the scourge of forced labor
once and for all," the labor agency said in a report that examined the
issue, which is set for debate by its 175 member nations at an annual
meeting next month. Although the report, "Stopping Forced Labor," did not quantify the
problem, it said compelled work -- slavery, debt bondage or bonded labor --
was found worldwide. "The emerging picture is one where slavery,
oppression and exploitation of society's most vulnerable members,
especially women and children, have by no means been consigned to the
past," said Juan Somavia, the agency's director general. By far the fastest growing form of forced labor is trafficking in
people, which is so pervasive that most nations are either sending,
transit or receiving countries, the report said. The workers are sent to
richer countries, with the United States believed to be the destination
for 50,000 such women and children every year. Most are destined for the
sex trade or domestic work. Many from the former Soviet Union end up in
Western European sweatshops. Yet traffickers, who are usually part of a criminal network, are rarely
caught, and penalties are lighter than for drug smuggling. Traditional forms of forced labor, like slavery and bonded labor, also
ensnare vast numbers of people. In South and Central America, the
Caribbean and South Asia, millions of people "are tied to their work
through a vicious circle of debt," the report said. Burma has been cited by the labor agency for compelling villagers to
toil on public works. The country has outlawed the practice, but human
rights groups and trade unions said this year that they had evidence that
it was continuing. The report also pointed to the use of prisoners by private companies.
It said about 30 American states had legalized the practice of contracting
out prison labor since 1990. 
ENEVA,
May 28 -- Forced labor, slavery and criminal trafficking in people are
increasing globally, with women and children most at risk, the
International Labor Organization says.
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