A global agreement to map and count the victims of forced labour is a landmark that activists say will revolutionise efforts to free millions of people around the world from modern slavery. It will be the first time that the campaign to end slavery can join the dots between countries, though experts say global data will be costly to compile and the results slow to follow. "Having comparable measures will revolutionise our ability to track the prevalence of forced labour and begin to more robustly identify its causes and dynamics," said Kelly Gleason of the United Nations University's Centre for Policy Research. Tackling slavery is increasingly seen as a global priority, yet experts say the world is unlikely to meet a U.N. goal to end the crime by 2030 without access to reliable and uniform data.
Via EcoVadis
Much is being done in terms of international and national regulations to eradicate modern slavery, and businesses worldwide are becoming increasingly committed to sustainable procurement. However, to make a real difference, more emphasis needs to be placed on truly understanding the plight of the people who end up in forced labor.