Nouvelles du 24 Mai 2005
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Plus de 12 millions d’esclaves : Fides dénonce !
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ROME, Vendredi 13 mai 2005 (ZENIT.org) – Plus de 12 millions de personnes sont réduites en esclavage ou au travail forcé actuellement dans le monde: l’agence vaticane Fides relaye cette dénonciation de l’Organisation Internationale du Travail.

Actuellement, 12,3 millions de personnes au moins sont victimes du travail forcé dans le monde. C'est l'estimation faite par le Bureau international du Travail (BIT) dans un rapport publié le 11 mai, intitulé : « Une Alliance globale contre le travail forcé ».

Le directeur général Juan Somavia parle du travail forcé comme "d'un fléau social qui n'a pas sa place dans le monde moderne", annonce en effet aujourd’hui le site de l’organisation (http://www.ilo.org/public/french).

Le record appartient à l’Asie : sur les quelque 12 millions de personnes qui travaillent dans le monde dans des conditions de contrainte ou de semi esclavage, plus de 75% vivent et travaillent dans des conditions inhumaines dans le continent asiatique, souligne Fides.

L’Organisation Internationale du Travail (OIT), demande, signale Fides, « une nouvelle stratégie » et une « alliance globale » entre les gouvernements, les institutions internationales et les syndicats pour abolir le système du travail au noir et de l’esclavage.

De nombreux pays, déplore en effet l’OIT, n’ont pas de législation spécifique pour s’opposer aux violations et aux discriminations qui se font chaque jour contre des hommes, des femmes et des enfants, sur le marché du travail.

En Asie, toujours selon les chiffres de l’OIT, 9,5 millions de personnes sont réduites en esclavage. Viennent ensuite l’Amérique Latine et des Caraïbes (1,3 million ), l’Afrique subsaharienne (660.000), le Moyen-Orient et l’Afrique du Nord (260.000).

Mais le phénomène est répandu aussi dans l’ensemble des pays industrialisés (360.000) et dans ceux dont l’économie est en phase de transition (260.000 nouveaux esclaves).

L’OIT indique par ailleurs que les enfants mineurs de moins de 18 ans, représentent entre 40% et 50% des victimes du travail sous forme d’esclavage.

« Le travail forcé nie aux hommes leurs droits fondamentaux et la dignité » a dénoncé le directeur général de l’OIT, M. Juan Somavia qui ajoutait : « Pour construire une globalisation respectueuse de l’homme, il est impératif d’extirper le travail forcé ».

Il préconise d’adapter les législations des Etats et de combattre les racines « structurelles » du phénomène.

Les secteurs où le travail forcé est le plus répandu sont l’agriculture, l’industrie manufacturière, le textile, mais aussi l’exploitation sexuelle, qui accroît le phénomène du trafic d’êtres humains.

Enfin, on estime que 2, 5 millions de personnes sont contraintes de travailler pour des groupes paramilitaires ou pour des rebelles engagés dans les nombreux conflits.

ILO releases major new study on forced labour

Says more than 12 million are trapped in forced labour worldwide

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Wednesday 11 May 2005 (ILO/05/22)

GENEVA (ILO News) - At least 12.3 million people are trapped in forced labour around the world, the International Labour Office (ILO) said in a new study released today. ILO Director-General Juan Somavia called forced labour "a social evil which has no place in the modern world".

The new report, entitled "A global alliance against forced labour" (Note 1), says that nearly 10 million people are exploited through forced labour in the private economy, rather than imposed directly by states. Of these, the study estimates a minimum of 2.4 million to be victims of human trafficking.

The report also provides the first global estimate of the profits generated by the exploitation of trafficked women, children and men - US$ 32 billion each year, or an average of US$ 13,000 from every single trafficked forced labourer.

"Forced labour represents the underside of globalization and denies people their basic rights and dignity", Mr. Somavia said. "To achieve a fair globalization and decent work for all, it is imperative to eradicate forced labour."

The report is the most comprehensive analysis ever undertaken by an intergovernmental organization of the facts and underlying causes of contemporary forced labour. It was prepared under the Follow Up to the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work adopted by the ILO in 1998 and will be discussed at the Organization's annual International Labour Conference in June.

The new study confirms that forced labour is a major global problem which is present in all regions and in all types of economy. Of the overall total, some 9.5 million forced labourers are in Asia, which is the region with the highest number; 1.3 million in Latin America and the Caribbean; 660,000 in sub-Saharan Africa; 260,000 in the Middle East and North Africa; 360,000 in industrialized countries; and 210,000 in transition countries.

Forced economic exploitation in such sectors as agriculture, construction, brick-making and informal sweatshop manufacturing is more or less evenly divided between the sexes. However, forced commercial sexual exploitation entraps almost entirely women and girls. In addition, children aged less than 18 years bear a heavy burden, comprising 40 to 50 per cent of all forced labour victims.

Approximately one-fifth of all forced labourers globally are trafficked but the proportion varies widely from region to region, the report says. In Asia, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa, the proportion of trafficked persons is less than 20 per cent of all forced labour, while in industrialized and transition countries and in the Middle East and North Africa, trafficking accounts for more than 75 per cent of the total.

Most forced labour today is still exacted in developing countries where older forms of forced labour are sometimes transmuting into newer ones, notably in a range of informal sector activities, the report says. Debt bondage frequently affects minorities - including indigenous peoples - that have long experienced discrimination on the labour market, and locks them in a vicious cycle of poverty from which they find it ever more difficult to escape. Many victims are working in remote geographical areas, where labour inspection presents a particular challenge.

The report sheds new light on the emerging forms of forced labour affecting migrant workers, in particular irregular migrants in rich and poor destination countries alike. It also examines the labour market conditions under which forced labour is most likely to occur, such as where there are inadequate controls over recruitment agencies and subcontracting systems, or weak labour inspection.

The appearance of new forms of coercion in today's globalized economy also raises some difficult policy questions. The report examines the strong pressures to deregulate labour markets as part of the overall drive to reduce labour costs and thereby increase competitiveness.

"Forced labour is the very antithesis of decent work, the goal of the ILO", says Mr. Somavia. "There is critical need for devising effective strategies against forced labour today. This requires a blend of law enforcement and ways of tackling the structural roots of forced labour, whether outmoded agrarian systems or poorly functioning labour markets".

The report makes the case that forced labour can be abolished, but only if governments and national institutions pursue active polices, vigorous enforcement and show strong commitment to eradicating such treatment of human beings. It also presents the positive experience in selected countries that, with ILO assistance, are now tackling forced labour by adopting strong legislation and enforcement mechanisms, implementing policies and programmes to tackle the underlying causes, and helping victims rebuild their lives.

"Although the numbers are large, they are not so large as to make abolishing forced labour impossible", Mr. Somavia says. "Thus, the ILO calls for a global alliance against forced labour involving governments, employers' and workers' organizations, development agencies and international financial institutions concerned with poverty reduction, and civil society including research and academic institutions. With political will and global commitment over the next decade, we believe forced labour can be relegated to history."