Richard Branson's note on putting an end to Slavery

A good piece

Today is International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. Modern slavery is a scourge that just doesn’t go away. In fact, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has estimated that more people, at least 21 million worldwide, are victims of forced labour now than at any other time in human history.

Modern slavery can be found on every continent. Contrary to widespread misperceptions, it is not just a problem of the developing world. There are at least 1.5 million victims of slavery in the EU, North America, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Roughly one fifth of all those subjected to conditions of slavery are victims of sexual exploitation, but the vast majority are people in forced labour in many different industry sectors, from agriculture to fisheries, from construction to domestic work. Every single one of these victims has a unique and sad story to tell. Very often it’s a shocking tale of constant abuse, threats and intimidation, of unpaid wages and crushing debt, of isolation and confinement. It’s both appalling and unacceptable.
In April this year, I applauded the UK government for passing the Modern Slavery Act, which requires businesses to report on their efforts to detect and eliminate forms of modern slavery in their supply chains. Globalised business, with supply chains spanning the world, has a huge role to play in addressing and resolving this problem, and I am encouraged to see that so many UK businesses, including Virgin, are taking the issue very seriously but there is more work to be done. In 2014, the International Labour Conference adopted the Protocol on Forced Labour, an international treaty that requires governments to take broader measures to tackle slavery. So far, only two countries, Niger and Norway, have ratified the Protocol. That’s far too few. Governments set the tone on slavery. They hold the power to pass, enact and enforce legislation to end it. They can hold those engaging in and benefitting from slavery to account. The ILO hopes to get at least 50 more government ratifications by next year. I think we all can and should help make that happen.