Active Stocks
Thu Mar 28 2024 15:59:33
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 155.90 2.00%
  1. ICICI Bank share price
  2. 1,095.75 1.08%
  1. HDFC Bank share price
  2. 1,448.20 0.52%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 428.55 0.13%
  1. Power Grid Corporation Of India share price
  2. 277.05 2.21%
Business News/ Politics / Policy/  North Korea tops slave labour list, global index finds
BackBack

North Korea tops slave labour list, global index finds

Nearly 46 million people globally are victims of forced labour, slavery, trapped in debt bondage, born into servitude or sold for sex, finds 2016 Global Slavery Index

Heavyweight exporters India and China had an ‘extreme risk’ of using slaves in their supply chains, along with DRC and Ivory Coast, a leading cocoa bean producer, the report said. Photo: Priyanka Parashar/MintPremium
Heavyweight exporters India and China had an ‘extreme risk’ of using slaves in their supply chains, along with DRC and Ivory Coast, a leading cocoa bean producer, the report said. Photo: Priyanka Parashar/Mint

London: Almost 60% of countries are at high risk of using slave labour in their supply chains, according to a new global index launched on Thursday, which also ranked North Korea as having the worst record of slave labour in the world.

By assessing incidents of human trafficking or slavery, national laws, and the quality of law enforcement across 198 countries, risk analytics company Verisk Maplecroft found that 115 countries were at high or extreme risk of using slaves.

“Few countries in the world are actually immune to modern slavery," said Alex Channer, lead analyst for human rights research at Verisk Maplecroft.

Nearly 46 million people around the world are living as slaves, forced to work in factories, mines and farms, sold for sex, trapped in debt bondage or born into servitude, according to the 2016 Global Slavery Index by rights group Walk Free Foundation.

Modern slavery has become a catch-all term to describe human trafficking, forced labour, debt bondage, sex trafficking, forced marriage and other slave-like exploitation.

Channer said Verisk Maplecroft’s index aims to help businesses identify countries most at risk of slave labour.

The issue has received increasing attention in recent years with exposes in sectors as diverse as fishing, mining and textiles.

Last year, Britain passed an anti-slavery law requiring companies with a turnover of $47 million or more to report what they are doing to eradicate slavery from their supply chains.

After North Korea, the report ranked South Sudan, Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), one of the world’s largest producer of cobalt, which is used in electronics, as countries with the most slave labour.

Heavyweight exporters India and China had an ‘extreme risk’ of using slaves in their supply chains, along with DRC and Ivory Coast, a leading cocoa bean producer, the report said.

The European Union had a ‘medium risk’ of using slaves, while Britain, Germany, Denmark and Finland were the only four major European economies that had a low risk of slave labour.

“In general, most countries have moderate to excellent legal framework. But where they vary is how effective they are at actually implementing those laws," said Channer.

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Politics News and Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
More Less
Published: 11 Aug 2016, 10:26 AM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App