Conference "Combating forced labour and human trafficking in Africa - Current responses and a way forward"

On 19-20 November 2013, the ILO is organizing a tripartite conference to assess current responses, to document good practices and lessons learnt, to devise a strategy and build a coalition to champion the fight against forced labour and human trafficking in Africa

Two centuries after the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, at least 20.9 million people – of which 3.7 million in Africa – continue to work under coercion, largely in the informal and illegal economy. In terms of prevalence, at least four in every 1,000 people in Africa are in forced labour at any given time. Forced labour in Africa is diverse and complex however, the majority of victims are exploited in agriculture, street hawking, domestic work, and prostitution.

The objectives of the conference are to map current knowledge and data on the scope of forced labour and trafficking in Africa, including determinants and the profile of people most at risk; to share experiences, good practices and lessons learnt regarding prevention, protection and prosecution,; to facilitate a holistic discussion on the legal, practical and technical modalities needed to form an effective and coordinated strategy to prevent and combat forced labour and human trafficking in Africa and to provide recommendations that can form the basis for a plan of action in this respect.

Participants will include representatives of Governments and Workers and Employers representative organizations; researchers on forced labour, human trafficking and slavery-like practices in Africa; resource persons to share lessons learned from other regions/countries, as well as observers from other regional and international organizations, civil society and donor community.