On 11 May 2005, the International Labour Office (ILO) will launch “A Global Alliance against Forced Labour”, a comprehensive report on forced labour. It is for the first time an international organisation estimates forced labour in the world today, both globally and regionally.

The report provides global and regional data on the scope of forced labour, an estimate of the profits derived from trafficking in people and propose a new global initiative to abolish such practices. A press release from ILO also states that the report has looked into the number of people affected by forced labour and also the number of people who are victims of trafficking.

The report has been prepared as a follow-up to the ILO’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. The study looks into the major categories of forced labour and provides an overview of main policy points that show the abolition of forced labour presents significant challenges for virtually every country in the world – industrialised, transition and developing countries alike. In addition, it will assess the experience at the national level in taking up this challenge, with particular emphasis on the importance of sound laws and policies and their rigorous enforcement, as well as effective prevention strategies.

Finally, the report reviews the actions in a number of countries against forced labour over the past four years by the ILO and its tripartite partners – governments, employers and workers – and calls for a global alliance against forced labour.