http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/12/international/12labor.htmlForced Labor Said to Bind 12.3 Million People Around the World
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE
Published: May 12, 2005
At least 12.3 million people worldwide work as slaves or in other forms of forced labor, the International Labor Organization, the labor arm of the United Nations, said in a report issued yesterday.
In the first estimates of overall forced labor ever made by an international organization, the report said that 2.5 million people were in forced labor as a result of cross-border trafficking, with 1.2 million of them in the sex trade.
The report, "A Global Alliance Against Forced Labor," estimated that profits from trafficked forced labor totaled $32 billion a year, or $13,000 per trafficked worker. Profits from forced commercial sexual exploitation totaled $27.8 billion annually, or $23,000 per worker.
"Forced labor represents the underside of globalization and denies people their basic rights and dignity," said Juan Somavia, the director general of the International Labor Organization.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1481724,00.html12.3 million in forced labour
Felicity Lawrence
Thursday May 12, 2005
The Guardian
At least 12.3 million people are trapped in forced labour around the world, according to estimates in a report by the UN agency the International Labour Organisation.
More than three-quarters of these are subjected to forced labour by private companies or individuals rather than being victims of the state, the ILO study suggests.
The report, A Global Alliance Against Forced labour, estimates that 2.4 million people worldwide are the victims of human trafficking.
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