Are We All Complicit In Modern-Day Slavery?

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(OPINION) Dec. 3 marks the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery recognizing the adoption, by the U.N. General Assembly, of the U.N. Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others. The focus of the U.N. day is to strengthen efforts to eradicate contemporary forms of slavery (modern-day slavery), such as “trafficking in persons, sexual exploitation, the worst forms of child labor, forced marriage and the forced recruitment of children for use in armed conflict.”

According to the U.N. data: “An estimated 40.3 million people are in modern slavery, including 24.9 in forced labor and 15.4 million in forced marriage. There are 5.4 victims of modern slavery for every 1,000 people in the world. 1 in 4 victims of modern slavery are children. Out of the 24.9 million people trapped in forced labor, 16 million people are exploited in the private sector such as domestic work, construction or agriculture; 4.8 million people in forced sexual exploitation, and 4 million people in forced labor imposed by state authorities.” 

Money is the driver of slavery, and especially forced labor. Slavery is a lucrative business. The 24.9 million victims of forced labor are believed to contribute $150 billion worth of profit. As long as money remains the powerful incentive it is, the issue will remain unaddressed. There is a higher role business should play in countering slavery. Unfortunately, over recent months we have witnessed that many businesses do not want to play their role in addressing modern-day slavery. 

The Coalition to End Forced Labor in the Uyghur Region,  a coalition of civil society organizations and trade unions, reported that many of “virtually the entire apparel and footwear industry” are complicit in the forced Uyghur labor. According to a recent report published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), there are strong indications that some 80,000 Uyghurs have been forced to work in factories that form part of the supply chains of at least 83 global brands. The report suggests that these companies have been using forced Uyghur labor in their supply chains. The majority of the named companies have not addressed the accusations, whether to reject the accusations or explain their due diligence procedures.

To the contrary, as the New York Times reports, “Nike and Coca-Cola are among the major companies and business groups lobbying Congress to weaken a bill that would ban imported goods made with forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region, according to congressional staff members and other[s].” The bill, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, passed the House in September 2020. It now needs to pass the Senate before it is approved by the President. If successful, the bill would impose various restrictions related to China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous region, including by ensuring that “Goods manufactured or produced in Xinjiang shall not be entitled to entry into the United States unless Customs and Border Protection (1) determines that the goods were not manufactured by convict labor, forced labor, or indentured labor under penal sanctions; and (2) reports such a determination to Congress and to the public.”

According to the New York Times article, the bill “has become the target of multinational companies including Apple whose supply chains touch the far western Xinjiang region, as well as of business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.” If this is the case, the news is highly concerning as it would mean that not only the companies are unwilling to change anything about their own practice, but also, they want to prevent others from changing the situation. 

The question is then: now that we know that these companies are using forced labor in their supply chain, and we continue buying their products driving the market, are we complicit in this modern-day slavery?

Ewelina U. Ochab is a legal researcher and human rights advocate, PhD candidate and author of the book “Never Again: Legal Responses to a Broken Promise in the Middle East” and more than 30 UN reports. She works on the topic of persecution of minorities around the world. This piece was re-published from Forbes with permission