Stopping forced labour : global report under the follow-up to the ILO Declaration on fundamental principles and rights at work. Report of the Director-General, 2001
Stopping forced labour reviews the history behind the ILO’s and the United Nations response to the problem of forced labour, starting in the 1920s. The ILO adopted the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), following work that had been undertaken at the request of the League of Nations. The 1950s saw renewed attention to other forms of forced labour, either for punishment for political views or as vestiges of agrarian feudalism widespread at the time.
The United Nations responded in 1956 with a Convention aimed at abolishing slavery, and the ILO with its Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105). While universally condemned in these and other instruments, the practice nonetheless persists.
Within each category of forced labour identified, the Report provides information that sheds light on the disparate factors that bear on it. In several cases, the ILO and other international organizations have succeeded in helping reduce or eliminate the practice. The Report demonstrates that with a combination of political will and concerted efforts on the part of the international community, a range of ministries, the social partners and nongovernmental organizations, forced labour can be abolished.
The United Nations responded in 1956 with a Convention aimed at abolishing slavery, and the ILO with its Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105). While universally condemned in these and other instruments, the practice nonetheless persists.
Within each category of forced labour identified, the Report provides information that sheds light on the disparate factors that bear on it. In several cases, the ILO and other international organizations have succeeded in helping reduce or eliminate the practice. The Report demonstrates that with a combination of political will and concerted efforts on the part of the international community, a range of ministries, the social partners and nongovernmental organizations, forced labour can be abolished.