Akiko’s Blog No. 18 “40 million modern-day slaves and 152 million child labourers”

September 28, 2017

We reported the cabinet was reshuffled in August; now, Prime Minister Abe announced he would dissolve the House of Representatives at the beginning of the extraordinary Diet session convened on 28 September. The oppositions were united in their protest against this. The public announcement will be made on 10 October, followed by the voting on 22 October. Currently, preparation for election campaigns is in full swing at both the ruling parties and oppositions. Also, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, who had a sweeping victory at the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election held in July, formed a new political party called Kibo-no-to (Party of Hope), becoming its leader. Seiji Maehara, the president of the main opposition, the Democratic Party of Japan, revealed the party’s decision to join forces with the Party of Hope.

So much for what’s been happening in Japan, this month, we will discuss the latest global estimates on modern slavery and child labourer released by Alliance 8.7 on September 19 during the United Nations General Assembly. Alliance 8.7, for which the ILO plays an integral part, is a partnership formed to advance aligned actions on a global scale towards achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target 8.7[1].

The current situation surrounding slavery was revealed by “Global estimates of modern slavery: Forced labour and forced marriage” prepared jointly by the ILO and an international human rights organization, the Walk Free Foundation, in partnership with the International Organization for Immigration (IOM). As of 2016, over 40 million people are trapped in modern slavery; approximately 25 million people are in forced labour, and approximately 15 million in forced marriage. Women and girls account for 71 % of modern-day slaves -- approximately 29 million females -- and 99 % of those forced to work in the commercial sex industry, and 84 % of those subject to forced marriage. Also, one in four of the modern slaves, or approximately 10 million, are children, while approximately 37 % of the victims of forced marriage, 5.7 million people, are thought to be children at the time when marriage took place.

According to “Global estimates of child labour: Results and trends, 2012-2016” by the ILO, almost one in 10 children aged between 5 and 17, or 152 million children (88 million boys and 64 million girls), are engaged in child labour globally. Child labour remains concentrated on agriculture (70.9 %), followed by the services sector (17.1 %) and industry (11.9 %). Previously, Asia and the Pacific saw the largest number of children in labour, but this time, Africa has the largest number (72.1 million), followed by Asia and the Pacific (62 million), the Americas (10.7 million), Europe and Central Asia (5.5 million) and the Arab States (1.2 million). Nearly one third of children aged 5 to 14 in child labour are outside the educational system. As much as 38 % of children in hazardous work are aged between 5 and 14, and about two thirds of child labourers aged between 15 and 17 work over 43 hours per week.

　The ILO Director-General Guy Ryder said, “The message the ILO is sending today -- together with our partners in Alliance 8.7 -- is very clear”, insisting that “the world won’t be in a position to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals unless we dramatically increase our efforts to fight these scourges”. He hoped that these global estimates would help shape and develop interventions to prevent both forced labour and child labour.

[1] Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms.