Forced labour

Finland joins renewed fight to end forced labour

News | 27 January 2017
Finland has renewed its commitment towards the fight against forced labour by becoming the eleventh country to ratify the 2014 Forced Labour Protocol. It joins five other European countries to have ratified the Protocol since it was adopted with overwhelming majority by the International Labour Conference in 2014 (France, Czech Republic, Estonia, Norway and the United Kingdom).

The Protocol supplements the Forced Labour Convention, (No. 29) 1930. It requires member States to take steps to prevent forced labour as well as to provide victims with protection and access to effective remedies, including compensation.

On depositing the instrument of ratification, Ms Terhi Hakala, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Finland to the UN and other international organizations in Geneva recalled that “forced labour and in particular trafficking in persons constitutes a severe violation the of human rights of workers. The victims of forced labour and trafficking in persons are often migrant workers. Many of them are women and girls, primarily in domestic work and commercial sexual exploitation. It is urgent to strengthen the ILO work as well as the commitment of its constituents to prevent forced labour, to protect the 21 million victims and to provide access to remedy for them. The Forced Labour Protocol supports action to protect the most vulnerable victims of modern slavery worldwide. The Protocol requires governments to take measures to better protect workers, in particular migrant workers, from fraudulent and abusive recruitment practices. It also stresses the role of employers and workers in the fight against forced labour. Finland is committed to global cooperation and national action in this respect”.

ILO research has shown that forced labour generates approximately US$150 billion a year in illicit profits. These profits are the highest in developed economies and the European Union. On receiving the instrument of ratification of the Protocol, ILO Director-General Guy Ryder declared that the Office is delighted that Finland has signalled its determination to join the global drive to end this scourge once and for all. Finland has a strong record in combatting forced labour. It was among the first countries to ratify the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), in 1936, and the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), in 1960. Finland has developed a strong legal and institutional framework to combat trafficking in persons. The criminalization of trafficking in human beings in 2004 was followed by the adoption in 2005 of the first National Strategy to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings. More recently, a National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings was appointed who submits annual reports to the Government and an extensive report with recommendations to the Parliament every four years.