Acting against forced labour: An assessment of investment requirements and economic benefits

The results of the study are preliminary and should be interpreted accordingly. Data gaps and methodological challenges mean it is not yet possible to quantify the full investment requirements towards ending forced labour or fully measure its economic impact. These are areas where more research is needed, and it is hoped that this discussion paper will help spur this research.

Yet the results emerging from this initial analysis are encouraging. They suggest that substantive action against forced labour is well within our collective means, and that the cost of this action is likely to be considerably outweighed by the resulting economic benefits to society. In addition to the clear and inarguable human rights case for ending forced labour, the results of the study point to a compelling economic one.

The discussion paper is organized in two parts. Part 1 assesses the magnitude of the investment requirement – the cost of action towards ending forced labour. It looks specifically at the cost of implementing a package of targeted forced labour interventions identified through a process of consultation with stakeholders and experts within the broad framework provided by the ILO Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 and the ILO Forced Labour (Supplementary Measures) Recommendation, 2014 (No. 203).

Part 2 of the discussion paper analyses the economic returns to ending forced labour. It focuses specifically on the aggregate demand-driven impact on the level of gross domestic product (GDP) that would result from freeing all workers from forced labour and reintegrating them into the regular labour force.