The Global Slavery Index 2023

Global Findings (Part 5)

​There is some progress on measures to hold businesses more accountable in tackling modern slavery. Four countries have implemented mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence (mHRDD) legislation, which holds businesses accountable
for failing to identify, and act upon, the actual and potential risks for workers in their operations and supply chains, including the risk of forced labour. Norway, France,and Switzerland, have established mHRDD legislation, with Germany’s coming into force in early 2023. The Netherlands is currently exploring mHRDD as an alternative to its child labour due diligence legislation. The strongest mHRDD legislation includes penalties for a company’s failure to prevent forced labour in supply chains and includes a right of action for those who have been impacted. 
 
Increasingly, mHRDD is seen as part of a suite of measures implemented by governments to hold both business and public procurement accountable. Import controls, such as the Tariff Act and the 2021 Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act in the US, prevent the entry of goods produced by forced labour, and specifically by Uyghurs held in state- imposed forced labour in the latter case. The UK has used Magnitsky legislation to impose travel bans and sanctions on individuals who commit forced labour. Other countries have identified high risk sectors and work collaboratively with the private sector to tackle exploitation; the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), for example, created a regulatory authority to tackle child labour in cobalt and coltan mines.
 
The countries taking the least action to respond to modern slavery remain as in 2018 — Somalia, Libya, Iran, Eritrea, and North Korea. These countries continue to be characterised by conflict and/or active involvement from the government in modern slavery either through corruption and complicity or state-imposed forced labour. Those countries with some of the weakest responses have been excluded — Afghanistan, Palestine, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen — due to ongoing conflict and extreme disruption. 
 
Alleged complicity in modern slavery crimes was reported in 90 countries in our assessment. This ranged from active involvement in committing modern slavery crimes to turning a blind eye to the action of criminals. In Zimbabwe, for example, those working in the judicial system, including police, magistrates, prosecutors, clerks, and court messengers, allegedly take bribes for not arresting artisanal mine operators, or swiftly releasing those in custody, who have purportedly kidnapped workers and forced them to work. In Tajikistan, there are allegations that endemic corruption among government officials facilitates trafficking of victims across borders.
 
State-imposed forced labour is practiced in 17 countries in the GSI, and this greatly undermines any other aspect of a government response. The figure is likely much higher — our assessment is based on legal loopholes that enable forced labour to occur and publicly available evidence that this has occurred since 2018. 
 
When correlated against GDP per capita, Luxembourg, Singapore, Qatar, Hong Kong, Brunei Darussalam, Kuwait, South Korea, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have taken limited action despite larger resources at their disposal. The kafala, or sponsorship program, in the Gulf states has long been criticised for exacerbating the vulnerability of migrant populations that these countries have long relied upon. The World Cup in Qatar and Dubai World Expo in UAE spurred reforms, many of which have largely remained on paper rather than being fully implemented. Migrants also working in countries in Southeast Asia, such as Hong Kong, South Korea, and Singapore, face discrimination and limited protections alongside tied visas, which prohibit migrant workers from leaving their jobs and finding employment elsewhere in the country. Tied visas are not unique to these countries, as shown by a growing hostile environment across Europe to asylum seekers fleeing persecution and discrimination. Many wealthy countries across the Index are failing in their duties to protect the most vulnerable. 
 
Walk Free 2023. Global Slavery Index 2023. Minderoo Foundation Ltd. Australia.