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Workers load a sack of barley onto a truck at a grain market in Rewari, Haryana. (Representative picture) | Photographer – Anindito Mukherjee | Bloomberg
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There are 40 million people in slavery today. SDG 8.7 is a commitment to end modern slavery with the goal of reducing that number by 10,000 people daily. James Cockayne, director of the United Nations University’s Center for Policy Research, is confident that we are “far from close” to this goal.
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The reasons for this systematic and permanent failure are the result of the “misjudgment” of the work, in which the actual social costs are not quantified. Even worse, companies are rewarded for lowering their labor costs. It is a massive market failure that has occurred in almost every country in the world and is estimated to make a worldwide profit of $ 150 billion. It is the third largest crime in the world after drug trafficking and smuggling. Forced migration and natural disasters increase the risk of human exploitation, which is why the emerging specter of climate change focuses on this problem.
The price of modern slavery
Modern slavery is at the heart of efforts to change markets and create a cohesive and sustainable world. As Cockayne says, “We need to incorporate the risk of modern slavery into our market practices.”
As with so many global challenges, the success of a response depends on data: where are the world’s modern slaves, what global supply chains do they belong to, and how can we predict increased risks to human exploitation?
The University of Nottingham, UK, has applied artificial intelligence to satellite imaging to map forced labor patterns and predictions. One example is the mapping of brick kilns in South Asia, which have proven to be hotspots for forced labor and bondage in the past. This analysis is an example of innovation in the presentation on modern slavery developed by the United Nations University and Carnegie Mellon University at the 2020 annual meeting in Davos.
The technology is visually striking. It can show the nuances of modern slavery – regional patterns, involuntary work for adults against children, and even industry-specific statistics. However, more work needs to be done to develop a more accurate picture of the localized differences, which show greater differences within countries and regions. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recently published a report that tracks a sector-by-sector assessment that shows whether foreign or local supply chains are driving slave trade. Certain industries – construction, fisheries and palm – tend to cause labor rights violations. Conditions for workers in these sectors can be isolated and / or dangerous.
Use the data to take action
Equipped with this data, there are powerful examples of successful measures against modern slavery. These usually take the form of trade embargoes, e.g. B. Restrictions on access to European markets for a group of the 25 worst offended countries. US Customs may also confiscate goods for import that have an illegal supply chain history. There have been 17 such cases in the past few months alone. Another case concerned the sale of the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund to 33 palm oil companies that rely on illegal labor supply chains. The effects were profound. A number of leading US banks followed. When Australian financial services firm Westpac was linked to child trafficking funding, top jobs were lost and the bank was badly hit.
Multilateral action is also gaining momentum. Two years ago, 85 countries approved a collective pledge to work with companies that are transparent about the supply chain risk – a pledge that is supported by the G20. The EU is striving to introduce binding human rights practices. The Liechtenstein initiative is a collective framework for action that is intended to use financing as a lever to combat the market failure of modern slavery.
These examples give reason to hope that the goal of 10,000 people a day can be achieved. Ultimately, however, technology requires more development, more investment, and a holistic, political approach that focuses on survivors in risk reduction efforts. An approach that is limited to trade embargoes can shift the burden as companies stop operating and workers become more vulnerable. It is therefore crucial that the importers act responsibly so that ethical and legal supply chains become the norm and slavery is no longer “modern”.
This article was originally published in the World Economic Forum.
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