Help end forced labor

Western Australian Minister for Industrial Relations Bill Johnston receiving our P29 petition

World Day Against Trafficking in Persons - Calling for an end to Forced Labor, Petition Hand In

Mind The Gap / Exposing the gaps between Int standards and lived experiences of modern slavery

Round-table at the French Mission to the United Nations

Ambassador Rodrigo A. Carazo of Costa Rica accepting our Forced Labour Protocol petition

January 2020: Round-table at the French Mission to the United Nations

December 2019: Panel discussion with the Costa Rica Mission to the United Nations

Act Now

Overview
Updates

Your country must act quickly to adopt and implement the international law¹ to prevent abuses, protect victims, as well as punish those that profit from forced labor.

We have already waited decades for this tough new global standard against forced labor. The people trapped on farms, in mines, in factories and in all the other places where forced labor flourishes shouldn’t have to wait while our policy-makers drag their heels to put this law into practice.

All countries must prioritize this effort to end forced labor: call on the Government of your country to adopt this law immediately.

This law — known as the Protocol of 2014 to Convention 29² — creates new responsibilities for governments in the fight against forced labor, the key measures cover:³

Prevention. Governments are obligated to create national action plans to tackle forced labor and support business to root out and respond to forced labor in their supply chains.
Better protection for victims. This includes the safeguarding of vulnerable migrant workers against fraudulent and abusive recruitment practices.
Justice. Victims are now protected from prosecution for crimes they may have committed as a direct result of their forced labor. They also have access to justice, including the ability to claim for compensation for the abuses they have experienced, where they occurred.

Our collective voice can keep forced labor on the agenda and ensure swift action by the Government of your country. Act now!

Learn more by visiting our landing page.

Ratified countries (59) as of March 2022:

Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Chile, Comoros, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czechia, Côte d’Ivoire, Denmark, Djibouti, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Thailand, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe.

Notes:

April 2, 2022: Big news! Australia finally ratifies the Forced Labour Protocol. We handed in 100,000+ Freedom United petition signatures to Australia’s UN Ambassador Mitch Fifield and sent our petition to the Western Australian parliament. They have responded to our collective voice! Now the Forced Labour Protocol is signed, we look forward to the benefits of stronger protections.
May 26, 2021: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has ratified the ILO Forced Labour Protocol. They are the first Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country to ratify the Protocol, which calls on all ILO Member States to eradicate modern slavery in all its forms.
March 18, 2021: Luxembourg became the 51st country to ratify the Forced Labour Protocol.
March 17, 2021: Today, the 50 for Freedom campaign reached its target! 50 countries have now ratified the ILO Forced Labor Protocol. Read about our activities under ‘Updates’ below.
January 19, 2021: Chile ratified the Forced Labour Protocol. The Protocol will enter into force for Chile on 19 Jan 2022.
December 23, 2020: Portugal ratified the Forced Labor Protocol. The Protocol will enter into force for Portugal on 23 Dec 2021.
December 2020: Despite our advocacy efforts, measures that would allow for Protocol 29 to be ratified in Australia did not pass in Western Australia. We will continue our work in 2021 and hope to move forward with the ratification process.
November 16, 2020: Campaign win! Costa Rica has officially ratified the Forced Labour Protocol. In a statement, Costa Rica’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Rodrigo Carazo, said that he had accepted Freedom United’s call to ratify at our petition hand-in. Read more about our work with Ambassador Zeledón here.
October 6, 2020: Kyrgyzstan ratified the Forced Labor Protocol. The Protocol will enter into force for Kyrgyzstan on 06 Oct 2021.
August 19, 2020: Western Australian Minister for Industrial Relations Bill Johnston received our petition calling on the Western Australian Parliament to pass the changes in the Industrial Relations Legislation Amendment Bill 2020! This bill would bring Western Australia in line with the requirements of Protocol 29. Read more here.
July 31, 2020: Freedom United alongside our partners Be Slavery Free organized a petition hand-in with Ambassador Mitch Fifield of Australia! Learn more about checking out our recap blog!
July 2, 2020: Freedom United hosted a webinar with the UN Special Rapporteur on slavery alongside survivor advocate Nancy Esiovwa and Joanna Ewart-James to speak about international standards. Watch here!
COVID – 19 Update: Low-paid migrant workers are already among the people most vulnerable to modern slavery. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, these risks are heightened to critical levels. As businesses are closing due to government-mandated lockdowns, the risk is even higher because immigration status is easily leveraged to trap migrants in forced labor, trafficking, and other forms of modern slavery.
March 5, 2020: Lithuania joined our call to action to end forced labor by becoming the 45th country to ratify the ILO Protocol 29.
January 30, 2020: Tajikistan has taken a strong commitment to eradicate modern slavery by becoming the 44th country to ratify the Forced Labour Protocol!
January 16, 2020: Today, UN staff and NGOs came together for a lively roundtable discussion on international commitments to ending forced labor. The event was organized by Freedom United and hosted by the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations in New York. Read more here
January 6, 2019: Thailand was the first country in Asia to ratify the Forced Labor Protocol. The International Labour Organization released a video reporting on Thailand’s implementation of the Protocol. View their progress here
December 16, 2019: New Zealand marks to be the 43rd country to sign the legally binding international law to end forced labor. By signing the Protocol, the government is making the commitment to upgrade the Plan of Action on People Trafficking to include protection against forced labor and modern-day slavery.
December 6, 2019: Freedom United and the Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the United Nation hosted an event with experts from the International Labor Organization (ILO) and Permanent Mission of Mexico to bring the issue of forced labor and human trafficking in Latin America to light.

At the event, Ambassador Rodrigo A. Carazo of Costa Rica accepted our petition calling on his government to ratify the Forced Labor Protocol.

Learn more about the event here
November 7, 2019: Malawi ratified the Forced Labour Protocol making it the 42nd country to sign! Malawi has a large tobacco industry where many are forced to work and the Protocol is a significant step towards ending forced labor.
November 1, 2019: Côte d’Ivoire has ratified the Forced Labour Protocol making it the 41st country to sign! Côte d’Ivoire is one of the largest suppliers for cocoa in the world, all too often produced with forced labor. The legally binding Protocol will help ensure protection and prevention measures clean up the cocoa supply chain.
September 16, 2019: Uzbekistan has now ratified the Forced Labour Protocol.
September 12, 2019: Austria has now ratified the Forced Labour Protocol.
September 10, 2019: Belgium has now ratified the Forced Labour Protocol.
August 22, 2019: Lesotho has ratified the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention
June 2019: Great progress! Suriname, Madagascar, Canada and Germany ratify the forced labor protocol.
May 22, 2019: Zimbabwe ratifies the forced labor protocol
April 10, 2019: Sri Lanka ratifies the forced labor protocol
February 04, 2019: Ireland ratifies the forced labor protocol!
January 2019: Malta and the Russian Federation ratify the ILO Forced Labor Protocol.
October 11, 2018: Israel becomes the 27th country to ratify the ILO Protocol to C29! Add your name today to call on your country to show their commitment to tackling forced labor and exploitation.
Jun 17, 2014: Campaign Launches

Freedom United is interested in hearing from our community and welcomes relevant, informed comments, advice, and insights that advance the conversation around our campaigns and advocacy. We value inclusivity and respect within our community. To be approved, your comments should be civil.

A few things we do not tolerate: comments that promote discrimination, prejudice, racism, or xenophobia, as well as personal attacks or profanity. We screen submissions in order to create a space where the entire Freedom United community feels safe to express and exchange thoughtful opinions.

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Judy

3 years ago

Corporations only exist to make profits and are not required by our leaders to take any responsibility for their impacts on people’s lives or the environment. Sadly, they can continue to do business because we continue to buy their “edible food-like substances” and their cheap consumer goods. We want to have all the latest fashions, newest gadgets and drive around in gas guzzling vehicles. If we all stopped buying their crap it would get their attention pretty quickly.

Steve Barton

Reply to Judy

Absolutely agree Judy.

Denise

Just thinking in the same way. We, the consumers, have a big responsibility but this will take a long time till we can stop slavery for ever on this world. Through actions like FREEDOMUNITED we can at least cooperate to end slavery in our own country and when more and more governments will act in this way, we can hope that modern slavery will end sooner all over the world. This is a long way to beginn firmly, honestly and together!

Marilynn

Couldn’t have said it better!

Roger Penney

Many years ago Britain stopped the slave trade (1807). in 1834 we stopped slavery itself in the British Empire. To our shame it is all coming back in every vile and ugly form, with some more even more disgustingly vile features.

Maureen A Absten

5 years ago

STOP sex slave trade all over the world

Lyn Spraggons

Its just reprehensible that in 2017 we still enslave,torture and put humans to work like “pit ponies” and we managed to rescue most of the ponies but these unfortunate people are mislead into a life of hell,through no fault of their own!! Its sickening and must be stopped at all costs!!!