Modern day slavery is a brutal reality around the world.
GLOBAL SLAVERY
Recent events in Libya draws the world's attention on slavery, causing global leaders to condemn actions by rebel groups carrying out slave auctions across Sub Saharan Africa.
Football star Paul Pogba posted on his social media accounts praying for the victims of slavery, while Villa Real striker Cedric Bakambu could not hold his disgust for such cruelty, he posted a photo on his twitter page, captioned f**k slavery.
However, Libya is not the only region where these callous acts occur. according to global slavery index published by the walk free foundation in 2016, at least 45.8 million people are in some form of slavery in 167 countries across the world.
More than 58 percent of people in slavery are living in just five countries: India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan. Nonetheless, slavery is most prevalent in countries producing consumer goods through low-cost labour.
SLAVERY IN ASIA
Asia pacific has the highest number of enslaved people with over 30 million people exploited or forced to work and according to global statistics 66.4 of global slavery can be found in Asia Pacific alone.
When it comes to the sheer number of enslaved people, no country comes close to matching india. According to estimated figures, India has the highest number of modern day slaves with some 18.4 million people having to work by force or willingly.
Additionally, more than 3.4 million people in China are into slavery, and some 2.1 million in Pakistan. The number of slaves in Bangladesh and Uzbekistan sums to at least 2. 7 million people.
Reports estimate North Korea to have the world's highest prevalence of slavery at 4.4 percent of its population, while Uzbekistan sees about 4.0 percent of its population suffering from exploitation and 1.6 percent of Cambodian people suffer from apparent slavery.
Majority of slaves in Eurasia are women, while some 11, 800 victims are of bride kidnapping which occurs annually in Kyrgyzstan.
Approximately 3 million people are enslaved in the eurasia region, accumulating to 6.1 percent of global slavery.
SLAVERY IN THE AMERICAS
Politically stable countries with high levels of economic wealth have few people living in slavery with low rates recorded in Canada, Germany, Singapore and the United States.
The Americas is not an exception as 2,168,600 people are estimated to have been enslaved, this is double the percentage of slavery in Europe, as about 4.7 percent of global slavery are based in the Americas.
Global leaders condemn the continuing human rights abuses against innocent people and migrants who are tortured, raped and sold as slaves.
SLAVERY IN EUROPE
Slavery across the world is a sad reality, 1, 243,400 people are estimated to be the number of slaves in Europe, consisting of about 2.4 percent of the global slavery. European slavery victims are either trafficked or exploited sexually.
Slavery generates about 150 billion us dollars annually, however, the mournful reality is most of the victims are women and girls with some 5.5 million children.
SLAVERY IN AFRICA
French President Emmanuel Macron said he would ask European leaders to help evacuate Africans in danger in Libya after reports appearing to show African migrants being traded for less than 400 dollars sparked international outcry.
Migrants are sometimes vulnerable to slavery and exploitation, North Africa and Middle East are estimated to have approximately 3 million slave workers.
Most migrants travelling through Libya towards Europe come from Sub-Saharan African countries where they have fled poverty, repression or conflict.
More than 13.6 percent of global slavery are Sub-Saharan Africans, the region also records the largest proportion of child labour globally.
African Union chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat called on all member states and global leader to pool their resources for financial contributions to alleviate the suffering of the migrants and end slavery ones again.
FACTORS THAT CAUSES SLAVERY?
Vulnerability to modern slavery is affected by a complex interaction of factors related to the presence or absence of protection and respect for rights, physical safety and security, access to the necessities of life such as food, water and health care, and patterns of migration, displacement and conflict.
Statistical testing grouped 24 measures of vulnerability into four dimensions covering civil and political protections, social health and economic rights, personal security, and refugee populations and conflict.
WHAT ARE GOVERNMENT DOING TO PREVENT SLAVERY?
According to global slavery index, the Netherlands, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Australia, Portugal, Croatia, Spain, Belgium and Norway are the governments that have the strongest response to modern slavery. These countries are characterised by strong political will, sufficient resources, and a strong civil society that holds governments to account.
Even though some countries are taking measures to prevent these abhorrent acts from occurring, a lot more needs to be done to prevent the vulnerable from exploitation and forced labor.
