Musings From Abroad

Sex trade dominates as UN warns criminals making billions from forced labour

Published

8 months ago

March 20, 2024

The United Nations Labour Agency has reported that global illegal profits from forced labour have reached an “obscene” $236 billion annually, with sexual exploitation accounting for three-fourths of this profit.

This business deprives migrants of money they can send home, takes jobs away from legal workers, and allows the criminals behind it to evade taxes.

According to the International Labour Organisation, the total for 2021—the most recent year included in the exhaustive global investigation—showed a 37% rise, or $64 billion, over its last estimate, which was released ten years prior.

ILO said this is a result of both more individuals being taken advantage of and more money being made from each victim.

$236 billion. The report’s opening paragraph stated, “This is the outrageous amount of yearly profit made from forced labour in the world today.”

This amount includes money taken from migrant remittances, lost tax revenue for governments, and wages that are “effectively stolen from the pockets of workers” by those who force them to work.

The ILO further revealed that forced labour can promote corruption, bolster criminal organisations, and encourage more exploitation. Gilbert Houngbo, its director-general, wants worldwide assistance in the fight against the racket.

“People in forced labour are subject to multiple forms of coercion, with the deliberate and systematic withholding of wages being amongst the most common,” he said. “Forced labour perpetuates cycles of poverty and exploitation and strikes at the heart of human dignity.”

“We now know that the situation has only got worse,” Houngbo added.

According to the organisation, forced labour is defined as work that is demanded of an employee against their choice and done so under threat of punishment. It can occur at any stage of the employment process, including hiring, housing arrangements related to the job, and coercing someone into staying in a position when they would prefer to quit.

There were an estimated 27.6 million forced labourers on any given day in 2021, a 10% increase from the previous five years. Of them, the Asia-Pacific area accounted for over half, with the Americas, Africa, and Europe/Central Asia making up the remaining 13–14% apiece.

Related Topics:Africa Featured United Nations

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Musings From Abroad

Nigeria, India to strengthen counterterrorism, maritime security cooperation

Published

2 days ago

November 18, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

During a state visit to Nigeria on Sunday, Indian Prime Minister, Narendra, Modi reached an agreement, on behalf of his country, to strengthen cooperation in counterterrorism, intelligence, and maritime security.

President Bola Tinubu invited Modi to visit Nigeria, the first Indian prime minister to do so in 17 years.

Tinubu is looking for investments from some of the largest economies in the world.

In addition to discussing economic development, defence, healthcare, and food security, Modi and Tinubu met at the presidential mansion on Sunday after arriving in the capital, Abuja, on Saturday night, according to a joint statement.

The two nations decided to work together to protect maritime trade routes and fight piracy in response to the mounting risks in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea.

The most populous country in Africa, Nigeria, is looking to attract more Indian investment and lower-cost credit lines in order to strengthen its economy and generate employment.

Nigeria announced last year that it had obtained about $14 billion in pledges from Indian businesses, including Jindal Steel and Power, which promised to spend $3 billion in Nigeria’s steel industry, during the G20 conference.

Over 200 Indian businesses are present in Nigeria.

Modi was scheduled to go to Brazil for this year’s G20 conference after Nigeria.

Nigeria and India have a long-standing and cordial bilateral relationship. Nigeria, home to more than 200 million people, and India, home to 1.3 billion people, are both sizable emerging nations with multilingual, multiethnic, and multireligious communities.

Musings From Abroad

Military advisors from Russia arrive Equatorial Guinea

Published

3 days ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Russian military advisors are in Equatorial Guinea training indigenous soldiers.

Anonymous sources cited by Reuters during the week claim that between 100 and 200 Russian instructors are training with elite guards in charge of guarding the President and the first family.

The males had been seen in Malabo, the country’s capital, and Bata, its second city. Reports of Russian forces stationed in the nation initially appeared in August.

Oil-rich Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has maintained close relations with Moscow.

Nguema travelled to Moscow in September to attend the Russian Energy Week International Forum.

Russia has strengthened military connections with African countries, sending advisors and combat soldiers to the Central African Republic, Mozambique, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.

Faced with an Islamist terrorist insurrection, three Sahel countries have turned to Moscow for support, expelling French and American troops.