The ILO estimates that at least 12.3 million women, men and children across the world are victims of forced labour today, trapped in exploitative work which they are unable to leave, suffering at the hands of unscrupulous employers, labour contractors or agents. They may be victims of trafficking into commercial sexual exploitation but, more often, they are working in "mainstream" economic sectors like agriculture, construction or informal manufacturing, frequently labouring under the burden of a debt which they can never repay. Women and girls in domestic work, irregular migrant workers and indigenous peoples are among the most vulnerable. Moreover, a significant number of people suffer from forced labour imposed by the State or its representatives.

Trafficking in human beings has reached epidemic proportions over the past decade: at least 2.45 million persons across the globe are today subject to exploitation as a result of trafficking. Half of them are children.

Wherever they occur, forced labour and trafficking are a brake on social and economic development and a violation of basic human rights.

The ILO has a broad mandate to promote social justice and decent work. It has the competence to combat forced labour and trafficking in human beings. The ILO deals with forced labour through its forced labour Conventions. It deals with trafficking in human beings through the standards it has set to deal with forced labour, the abuse of migrant workers, discrimination at work and the worst forms of child labour.

The ILO's Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour (SAP-FL) and its International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) work with other international organizations to:

• conduct action research on forced labour and trafficking;
• support the efforts of governments, employers' organizations, workers' organizations and civil society to prevent forced labour and trafficking;
• rescue and repatriate the victims and restore their rights;
• strengthen the capacity of the judiciary and police to prosecute offenders.

We work closely with SAP-FL and IPEC to share the ILO's knowledge and practical experience of forced labour and human trafficking, through capacity-building activities. We develop training materials to assist government officials, employers' organizations, workers' organizations and civil society in the fight to eliminate child labour and trafficking.

The following training units run activities in this area of expertise:

Standards and Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work

Employment and Skills Development

Social Protection

Employers' Activities

Workers' Activities