***EMBARGO: 2 December 2001, 00:01 GMT***

MILLIONS OF SLAVE LABOURERS CASTS SHADOW
OVER UN DAY

As the United Nations marks today, 2 December, the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, a report - Forced Labour in the 21st Century¹ - recently published by Anti-Slavery International¹ and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)¹ , confirms that millions of people around the world are forced to work in modern forms of slavery like bonded labour, trafficking in people and the worst forms of child labour.

The Anti-Slavery/ICFTU report highlights cases in a variety of countries including Nepal, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, India, Gabon, Haiti, Burma and the United Kingdom. It also quotes figures which reveals the scale of the problem, including a 1999 United Nations estimate that there were 20 million bonded labourers world-wide. It also refers to a report by the United States Center for the Study of Intelligence in 2000 which calculates that at least 700,000 women and children are victims of cross-border human trafficking each year.

"The 1926 Slavery Convention requires all signatories to abolish all forms of slavery as soon as possible, but 75 years later this is still no nearer to being achieved. Trafficking in people and other forms of slavery affect every continent in the world and all governments need to prioritise action to prohibit these unacceptable practices and provide protection and support to victims. Tackling the root causes of slavery such as poverty and discrimination is also essential to achieving a world without slavery," said Mike Dottridge, Director of Anti-Slavery International.

The ICFTU, the world's leading umbrella body for national trade union centres, highlighted that trade unions around the world had a specific responsibility to combat slavery and other forms of forced labour.

"As one of the core labour standards promoted by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the world-wide elimination of forced labour and slavery ranks among our top priorities", said ICFTU General Secretary Bill Jordan.

The ICFTU is currently involved in fighting forced labour in Burma, Pakistan, Mauritania and the UAE and is planning further action concerning a number of countries in Africa and Latin America.

Notes to editors:
For more information or an interview contact Beth Herzfeld, Anti-Slavery Press Officer, on 020 7501 8934 or email: b.herzfeld@antislavery.org or the ICFTU's Press Officer, Louis Bélanger on 32 2 224 0232 or e-mail: louis@icftu.org

¹The report Forced Labour in the 21st Century is published in English, French and Spanish. To obtain a copy please contact Anti-Slavery (for English copies) or the ICFTU (for French or Spanish).

¹Anti-Slavery was set up in 1839 and is the world's oldest international human rights organisation. It is committed to eliminating slavery throughout the world.

¹The ICFTU was set up in 1949 and campaigns on issues such as trade union and workers rights and the eradication of forced and child labour. It has a membership of 155 million people.