anti-slavery international and forced labour

At least 12.3 million people are being forced to work through the threat or use of violence. This is such a serious violation that under international law forced labour is a criminal offence, yet it continues throughout the world.

Anti-Slavery International has undertaken research into the largely unreported issue of North Koreans, who fleeing hunger and poverty, are caught crossing the border and deported by the Chinese authorities. When returned to North Korea they are subject to forced labour in prison camps. Our widely circulated report Forced Labour in North Korean Prison Camps NK 2007.pdf (7679.03KB) has heightened awareness of the issue both diplomatically, and amongst the general public and other NGOs, and it is hoped will increase pressure on the Chinese and North Korean governments to act.

In Sudan, abductions and slavery remain a serious problem. To draw attention to the crisis in Darfur, we helped initiate the Darfur Consortium, a coalition of African and International organisations. Under it, we jointly organised missions to the province and to refugee camps in Chad. While the Sudan authorities refused the mission entry, it successfully reached Chad and gathered  accounts of abduction and attacks by government-backed militia. We raised the issue at the United Nations, African Commission on Human and People’s Rights and as part of the Consortium, we successfully lobbied the UN Security Council to refer the crisis to the International Criminal Court. We will Continue working to end abductions in Darfur and ensure slaves in other parts of the country are returned and helped so they can live freely.

Find out more about our work to eradicate forced labour in supply chains.

Take action

• Take action on  forced labour in North Korea
  
  
• Take action on forced labour in Philippines
  
  
• Take action on trafficking for forced labour into the UK
  
  
• Take action on forced labour in the production of cocoa