DRAFT REPORT ON FORCED LABOUR AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY Sub-regional Conference on the Ratification and Implementation of the new ILO Protocol on Forced Labour, Lusaka, Zambia 17-18th November, 2015 Introduction This background report on forced labour and human trafficking prepared for the Sub-Regional conference on the Ratification and Implementation of the New ILO Protocol on Forced Labour to be held in Lusaka, Zambia on 17 and 18 November 2015 and convened by the ILO Country Office for Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. It provides information and data (to the extent available based on desk review of available literature), on the forms and manifestations of these violations of fundamental human rights in the fifteen Member States of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The purpose of the report is to enable participants of the conference to evaluate progress made in eradicating forced labour and combatting human trafficking, and to identify further efforts that need to be undertaken in order to achieve measurable progress in the implementation of obligations under the ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) and the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No.105) (“the Forced Labour Conventions”). It does not provide an exhaustive evaluation of root causes and socio-economic factors, nor does it provide any in-depth analysis of the scope and prevalence of forced labour and human trafficking. Such an exercise should be undertaken however, as the dearth of data and empirical studies in the region reflect a key challenge that needs to be addressed. The SADC members are: Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. All SADC members have ratified the ILO Forced Labour Conventions and some have also ratified the United Nations Optional Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially 1 Women and Children, adopted in 2000 and which came into effect in 2003 (“the Palermo Protocol”). This review and conference occur against the backdrop of a key development in the strengthening of the international labour standards framework in order to enhance the struggle to eradicate the scourge of forced labour and human trafficking. In June 2014 the International Labour Conference voted overwhelmingly to adopt the new Protocol 29 (“the Protocol”) and Recommendation 203 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No.29). The Protocol (binding once it is ratified by two ILO member states) and Recommendation (non–binding) complement the Forced Labour Convention (C.29) and call for effective measures to eliminate forced labour, in particular through prevention, protection of victims and effective remedies, including compensation. In May 2015 Niger became the first member state to ratify the new Protocol. It is significant that the first ratification is not only an African country but also one in which forced labour in the form of vestiges of traditional slavery and other slavery-like practices continue to exist. Given the decision of the ILO Governing Body to endorse a follow-up strategy to promote rapid ratification and implementation of the new instruments (GB.322/INS/4/2), raising awareness of the new instruments will provide a basis for more African member states to ratify and implement the concrete guidelines. This makes it imperative to understand the current forms in which forced labour manifests itself in Southern Africa. It is necessary also to identify the socio-economic root causes for these practices, their apparent ease of existence in a global economy where borders to trade and investment are falling but to people are increasing, and the continued generation of illicit profits that drives their growth. SADC member states face many complex challenges in the region, of which forced labour is but one, but addressing the elimination of forced labour and combatting human trafficking can meet other challenges such increased economic growth, enhanced security and development cooperation, the creation of decent work, as well as in the longer 2 term, the achievement of the goals and targets of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (in particular goal 8 and target 8.7 which calls for the elimination of forced labour, modern slavery and child labour by 2025). In this context, the SADC member states are making express commitments to develop legislative and policy frameworks that best give effect to their obligations under Convention 29 and recognize the new forms of coercion that are emerging in the global economy. Those states that already have a legal and institutional framework in place that enables them to effectively address forced labour and human trafficking, are seeking to increase law enforcement and enhance access to justice for victims of forced labour and human trafficking, whilst those that have yet to develop legal frameworks that comply with international labour standards face the challenge of addressing this as an urgent imperative. This emerges from the specific country profiles. The persistence of forced labour and human trafficking in the global economy The gross violations of human rights that occur in situations of forced labour are compounded when they occur as a result of human trafficking, which has emerged as a pernicious mechanism to compel the supply of work and services, mainly through moving people from their communities, cities or countries. The new ILO instruments were adopted in the recognition that the context and forms of forced or compulsory labour have changed and that trafficking in persons for the purposes of forced or compulsory labour or forced prostitution, is the subject of growing international concern and requires urgent action for its effective elimination. The nexus between forced labour and human trafficking ilustrates that while globalisation has brought new opportunities for movement of people and products, access to economic opportunity, investment and markets, it has also created opportunities for coercion, abuse and exploitation which are harder to follow across borders and remain hidden in the informal sector or in global supply chains. 3 The staggering scale of the problem revealed by the ILO 2012 Global Survey of Forced Labour, that 20.9 million people are exploited in forced labour globally, with 3,7 million in Africa alone1, is a stark reminder that global efforts to eradicate the problem need to increase in intensity and scale. In Africa this figure reflects a prevalence rate of 4 out of every 1000 inhabitants. The vast majority of these people are exploited in the private sector (90% or 18.7 million) and 10 % (2.2 million) are in state-imposed forms of forced labour such as in prisons or in work imposed by military or paramilitary forces. The continued exploitation of labour occurs because of a confluence of factors such as opportunity, poverty and profitability. The ILO report “Profits and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labour” 2 (based on data in the 2012 Global Survey of Forced Labour) provides startling estimates of the illegal profits generated through the use of forced labour, as well as new evidence of the key socio-economic factors that increase the risk of falling victim to coercion and abuse. It estimates that profits in excess of US $150 billion are generated annually from the exploitation of forced labour in the private sector. It also provides clear data for the links between household vulnerability to sudden income shocks and the likelihood of ending up in forced labour. In Africa alone, the illegal profits made are 13.1 billion. The estimates also provide a picture of the impact of migration on forced labour. Of the total, an estimated 9.1 million people (44 per cent) moved either internally or internationally, while the majority, 11.8 million (56 per cent), was subjected to forced labour within their place of origin or residence. The study also showed that cross-border movement is strongly associated with forced sexual exploitation, while a majority of victims of forced labour exploitation, and almost all those in state-imposed forced labour, have not left their home areas.3 1 See 2012 Global survey referred to in 2014 report, Profits and Poverty : The Economics of Forced Labour, ILO, Geneva, 2014, page 7. 2 Ibid, page 8. 3 Ibid, page 8. 4 The UNODC Global report 2014 confirms that sexual exploitation is by far the most commonly identified form of human trafficking (79%), followed by forced labour (18%). This may be the result of statistical bias. By and large the exploitation of women tends to be visible, in city centres, or along highways. Because it is more frequently reported, sexual exploitation has become the most documented type of trafficking in aggregate statistics. In comparison, other forms of exploitation are under-reported: forced or bonded labour; domestic servitude and forced marriage; organ removal; and the exploitation of children in begging, the sex trade, and warfare. However, the scenario is not all doom and gloom. As noted in the ILO’s 2014 report, the Economics of Forced Labour, progress is being made in the struggle against forced labour. State-imposed forced labour is declining in importance when compared to the extent of forced labour in the private economy, although vigilance is needed to prevent state-imposed forced labour from resurging. However, the high prevalence rate of forced labour in certain regions (for example Africa and the CSEE) means that increased scrutiny is required of the factors that create the demand, supply of forced labour, the opportunities for exploitation and the profitability that continues to be a driving force in the open markets of the global economy. In particular, the hidden and often invisible forms of forced labour in transnational supply chains, mainly in constituent businesses of global brands, needs further investigation and exposure.