Ana Paula Marra
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Brasília - The International Labor Organization (ILO) calculates that there are 12.3 million people in the world who perform forced labor. In Latin America, according to the document, "Decent Labor in the Americas: A Hemispheric Agenda for 2006-2015," released yesterday (2), the number of workers subjected to these conditions amounts to around 1.3 million, equivalent to 10.7% of the global total.

To combat the practice of forced labor and encourage the creation of quality jobs, the ILO suggests that governments take legal measures to make punishments more severe and to enforce them. The ILO report also states that special programs are needed for the rural sector, where forced labor is most intense. and that national and regional campaigns are in order to make employers and workers more conscious of the fact that this kind of work needs to be totally eliminated.

According to the ILO, if government officials, employers, and employees get on the bandwagon, it will be possible to reduce the number of workers subjected to forced labor by 20-35% within 10 years.

The agenda announced yesterday by the director-general of the ILO, Juan Somavia, acknowledges that Brazil is a model of this type of policy. An important change introduced in the country, according to the ILO, was the fact that forced labor, besides being considered a crime, is now also treated as a human rights violation.

Translation: David Silberstein