An estimated 45.8 million people live in modern slavery. The ILO estimates that global profits from forced labour surpass $150 billion per annum, suggesting that slavery, forced labour and human trafficking are more profitable than the global arms trade. Today, non-state armed groups like Da’esh/Islamic State and Boko Haram actively promote slavery both as a means to finance themselves and as a method of war.

With the UN Security Council about to receive a report from the Secretary-General on Trafficking in Persons in Conflict, there is a unique opening for action on this issue. A new report, Fighting Human Trafficking in Conflict: 10 Ideas for Action by the United Nations Security Council reviews the tools available to the UN Security Council and member states and suggests 10 Ideas for Action, providing concrete steps for the UN Security Council and its partners to take to sever the link between conflict and slavery.

The report distills insights from a two-day workshop organised by United Nations University with the support of the Permanent Missions of the United Kingdom and of Liechtenstein to the United Nations, Thomson Reuters and the Grace Farms Foundation. The Freedom Fund was honoured to join representatives from Permanent Missions to the United Nations, UN entities, national law enforcement agencies, Financial Intelligence Units, the technology sector, the financial sector, media and civil society for this workshop.

The Freedom Fund is committed to ensuring that fighting human trafficking and slavery is a top priority for the United Nations. The release of the report is accompanied by a short film, which features interviews with the Freedom Fund’s Kate Kennedy, Managing Director for North America, alongside other experts.

Photo: REUTERS/Finbarr O’Reilly