By Matija Šerić
Forced Marriages
Forced marriages refer to situations in which individuals are compelled to enter into marriage without their own consent, often as a result of family pressure or economic dependence. Children are frequently involved in forced marriages, as they are unable to give consent but are coerced into marriage by parents or third parties. The vast majority of forced marriages—more than 85%—are driven by family pressure. Although around two-thirds (65%) of forced marriages occur in Asia and Oceania, when regional population size is taken into account, the rate of forced marriage is highest in Arab states, where 4.8 people per 1,000 are in a forced marriage. A quarter of all forced marriages take place in countries with upper-middle or high incomes.
Hereditary Debt Bondage
Hereditary slavery appears in some societies, particularly in certain parts of Africa, where it can be passed down from generation to generation. Individuals born into families of slaves inherit slave status, even though such practices violate international human rights law. Often this involves a father, as head of the household, who had to borrow money and must repay it through forced labor. Such debt repayment is typically lifelong and is transmitted from one generation to the next.
Child marriages in India
Slavery in the Name of Profit
Slavery can and does exist within global supply chains of certain goods and services, where workers—often in developing countries—are exposed to poor working conditions and low wages and are unable to leave their jobs. Large multinational corporations relocate their factories to countries such as China, India, Vietnam, and Bangladesh due to cheap labor. The low cost of labor often means that workers are denied dignity—such as the right to breaks and hot meals—as well as unpaid overtime. At the same time, workers cannot quit their jobs due to the costs of supporting their families.
When working in mines and quarries, workers are very often exposed to harsh conditions for low pay and may suffer penalties from employers if productivity declines or if they rebel. Digital slavery manifests itself in information and communication technologies, where workers are required to work long hours, receive low pay, and are not allowed to resign. Some of the major global companies that, according to sources, use slave labor include Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Zara, H&M, Adidas, Puma, Nike, Nissan, Toyota, and others.
Labour camps in North Korea
North Korea
With 2.6 million people subjected to forced labor (one in every ten people), North Korea is the leading country in the world in terms of modern slavery. It is the only country in the world that has not explicitly criminalized any form of modern slavery. In this case, the state itself is the primary driver of slavery, unlike in most countries where private companies are the main perpetrators. The exploitation of people takes many forms in the DPRK, such as mandatory participation in exhausting labor campaigns known as “battles,” which can last up to 100 days. Children are also forced to work in agriculture. Refusal to participate in such labor can result in punishments ranging from disciplinary measures against children at school to the confiscation of food rations from parents or the imposition of additional tax burdens.
Unemployment is also punished by imprisonment in a labor camp for a period of three months to up to three years. In many cases, workers have had to pay to obtain employment simply to avoid prison, while turning to black-market trading in order to survive. Conditions in the North Korean prison system are tantamount to slavery. North Korean women face the risk of becoming victims of human trafficking and being sold as brides in China. State officials force women into sexual slavery. On many occasions, North Korean migrants in China and elsewhere have been required to send most of their earnings back home to help sustain the Kim regime. In United Nations reports, slavery is listed among the crimes against humanity occurring in the “Hermit Kingdom.” Revenues from North Korean slave labor are diverted to finance and develop North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
Forced labour in Eritrea
Eritrea
In Eritrea, 90 people per thousand are subjected to modern slavery. The Eritrean Institute for Policy and Strategy (ERIPS) notes that, historically, “the Eritrean government has made minimal efforts to prevent human trafficking and has continued to subject its citizens to forced labor by compelling them under threat of punishment to serve indefinitely or otherwise in compulsory military service and the civilian militia.”
To be born in Eritrea under the rule of totalitarian president Isaias Afwerki is to risk a life in slavery. Afwerki’s regime has in the past even attempted to profit from the sale of children. The situation has worsened in recent years, as Afwerki sent not only men and children from Eritrea to the conflict-ridden Ethiopian region of Tigray, but also forced several thousand Somali men to fight in Tigray as part of an agreement between himself and Somali President Mohamed Farmaajo.
