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Forced labour

Forced labour

According to the ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) , forced or compulsory labour is "all work or service which is exacted from any person under the threat of a penalty and for which the person has not offered himself or herself voluntarily”.

40.3 million people were victims of modern slavery in 2016. On any given day there were likely to be more than 40 million men, women, and children who were being forced to work against their will under threat or who were living in a forced marriage that they had not agreed to.

Ending modern slavery will require a multi-faceted response that addresses the array of forces that contribute to vulnerability and enable abuses. There can be no one-size-fits-all solution; responses need to be adapted to the diverse environments in which modern slavery still occurs.