UN rights experts welcome new international deal on forced labour

A group of United Nations independent experts on slavery, migrants, trafficking, sale and sexual exploitation of children, and internally displaced persons Friday welcomed the adoption by the International Labour Conference of a legally binding international Protocol to respond to today’s challenge of forced labour worldwide, according to a news agency.
The experts are Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and its consequences Urmila Bhoola, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants François Crépeau, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography Maud De Boer-Buquicchio; and Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons Chaloka Beyani, according to a statement received in the city from Geneva.
“An international legally binding Protocol is essential to fight forced labour and hold perpetrators accountable, so its immediate implementation will be crucial,” the human rights experts said, noting that the agreement will enter into force after its second ratification by a UN Member State. “Now we call on states to ratify the Protocol and ensure its full implementation.”
“We hope this new Protocol will assist more than 20 million people who are victims of forced labour today. These victims include migrants and persons who have been trafficked, including children.”