The ILO estimates that at least 12.3 million persons worldwide are victims of forced labour, 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. 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: more than 2.4 million persons around the globe are subject to exploitation as a result of trafficking. Half of them are children. Wherever they occur, forced labour and trafficking hinder social and economic development and are a violation of basic human rights.

The ILO has the competence to combat forced labour and trafficking in human beings. It deals with forced labour through its forced labour Conventions. It addresses trafficking in human beings through the standards it has set to deal with forced labour, 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 the ILO’s 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 rehabilitate 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 Organization's knowledge and practical experience of forced labour and human trafficking, through capacity-building. We also produce training materials to assist governments, employers, workers, social partners’ organizations and civil society in the fight to eliminate forced labour and trafficking.

For further information, please visit the website of the Standards and Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work Programme.