Forced labor generates $236B in illegal profits per year: ILO

GENEVA

Criminals are generating $236 billion in illegal profits per year from forced labor in the private economy, a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) said on Tuesday.

Noting that the number has "dramatically" risen by $64 billion, 37%, since 2014, the report - which covers the tally for 2021- estimated that traffickers and criminals are generating close to $10,000 per victim, up from $8,269 a decade ago.

Total annual illegal profits from forced labor are highest in Europe and Central Asia ($84 billion), followed by Asia and the Pacific ($62 billion), the Americas ($52 billion), Africa ($20 billion), and the Arab States ($18 billion), according to the report.

The report said there were 27.6 million people engaged in forced labor on any given day in 2021.

Meanwhile, forced commercial sexual exploitation accounts for 73% of the total illegal profits.

"Forced labor perpetuates cycles of poverty and exploitation and strikes at the heart of human dignity. We now know that the situation has only got worse," ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo said in the report. "The international community must urgently come together to take action to end this injustice."

Houngbo also urged the international community to "urgently come together to take action to end this injustice, safeguard workers' rights, and uphold the principles of fairness and equality for all."