Slavery in the 21st century
In countries that lack education and the rule of law, poor societal structure can create an environment that fosters the acceptance and propagation of slavery.
Tens of thousands toil in slave-like conditions in industries such as mining, farming, and factories, producing goods for domestic consumption or export to more prosperous nations.
[20] Since the 2014 Civil War in Libya, and the subsequent breakdown of law and order, there have been reports of enslaved migrants being sold in public, including open slave markets in the country.
[25] Additionally, North Korea's army of 1.2 million conscripted soldiers is often made to work on construction projects unrelated to defense, including building private villas for the elite.
In Uzbekistan, for example, the government coerces students and state workers to harvest cotton, of which the country is a main exporter, every year, forcing them to abandon their other responsibilities in the process.
[50] In addition to both of these, China is also reportedly operating forced labor camps in Xinjiang, imprisoning hundreds of thousands (possibly as many as a million) of Uyghurs, as well as a smaller number of Tibetans and political dissidents.
[61] The country has a kafala system, which is associated with outdated laws and procedures, which ties migrant workers to local Emirati sponsors with very little government oversight.
[70] The men were paid around ten percent of what they were promised, worked far longer days than they were contracted to, and would be deported if they quit their job, as this would be a violation of their visas.
[71] A 2021 multi-agency federal investigation dubbed Operation Blooming Onion revealed that a years-long human trafficking ring forced migrant workers from Mexico and Central America into "modern day slavery" on various agricultural sites in southern Georgia.
They were held in work camps surrounded by electrified fences and subjected to squalid and crammed living conditions, with no access to safe food or water.
[72] Reports of migrant abuse and neglect surfaced in Kenya in early September 2022, when pictures of a frail looking young Kenyan worker from Saudi Arabia, Diana Chepkemoi went viral.
Among those rescued was Joy Simiyu, who went to Saudi Arabia to work as a domestic help, but within months returned to Kenya with a harrowing but known tale of abuse by her employer.
[74] Sexual exploitation can also become a form of debt bondage when enslavers insist that victims work in the sex industry to pay for basic needs and transportation.
[77] Mainly driven by the culture in certain regions, early or forced marriage is a form of slavery that affects millions of women and girls all over the world.
[93] Human Rights Watch conducted interviews with 248 fishermen, it documented the forced labor of trafficked workers in the Thai fishing industry.
Fraud factory victims are forced to scam internet users around the world into fraudulently buying cryptocurrencies or withdrawing cash, via social media and online dating apps.
[103] The European Parliament condemned, 386 — 236 with 59 abstentions, the humanitarian practice of sending Cuban doctors to fight the COVID-19 pandemic around the world as human trafficking and modern slavery.
A 2017 Reuters report discusses how a woman is suing Facebook for negligence as she speculated that executives were aware of a situation that occurred back in 2012 where she was sexually abused and trafficked by someone posing as her "friend".
In the last two decades, as slavery has become more widely recognized as a formidable global epidemic, multiple governmental organizations have begun taking action to address the problem.
Several British charities have claimed this puts the deportees at risk of being subject to control by slavery gangs a second time, and deters child victims from coming forward with information.
The July 2022 ruling concerned the case of a London-based Saudi diplomat, Khalid Basfar, who allegedly treated a Filipino staff member hired by him, to slavery, forcing her to wear a bell throughout the day to be available at for his "family's beck and call".
The court was requested to judge the issue and determine whether Basfar's treatment of Wong was protected by diplomatic immunity or not, if the case did amount to modern slavery.
As of December 2019, the Freedom Fund is reported to have impacted 686,468 lives, liberated 27,397 people from modern slavery and helped 56,181 previously out-of-school children to receive either formal or non-formal education, in Nepal, Ethiopia, India and Thailand.
Meanwhile, in October 2014, the Freedom Fund, Polaris and the Walk Free Foundation launched the Global Modern Slavery Directory, which was the first publicly searchable database of over 770 organisations working to end forced labor and human trafficking.
[129] Various jurisdictions now require large commercial organizations to publish a slavery and human trafficking statement in regard to their supply chains each financial year (e.g. California,[130] UK,[131] Australia[132]).
Andrew Forrest, founder of the organisation, was quoted as saying that "the United States is one of the most advanced countries in the world yet has more than 400,000 modern slaves working under forced labor conditions".
[136] Self-isolation and social isolation is a major aspect of the pandemic, and it may increase the chances for young people being vulnerable to grooming and abuse due to a lack of contact with friends and family.
[136] Wealthy families in Mauritania have exploited the pandemic as well, by firing Haratine domestic workers, or allowing them to work on the condition that they are confined within the workplace to avoid travel.
A lack of government support for citizens has led to an increase of human trafficking[138] as a result of people turning to bonded labor for survival.
[136] The Home Office has stated the number of suspected modern slavery victims in the UK has fallen for the first time in 4 years, as a result of the pandemic.
