(MENAFN) Aidan McQuade, a leading antislavery advocate, suggests that Western Europe has a "state model for slavery." He points to the UK's Modern Slavery Act, which introduced new offenses and protections in 2015, followed by the Immigration Act in 2016, which made illegal working an offense. McQuade argues that most people who are enslaved in the UK would come under the category of illegal working, giving their enslavers additional control over them. He believes that the UK's policy on slavery is becoming more coherent, but at the same time, it is becoming more supportive of slavery due to xenophobic policies.
Migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to forced labor, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO). In fact, migrant workers are more than three times as likely to be in forced labor than non-migrant adult workers. Guy Ryder, a former ILO director-general, finds it shocking that the situation of modern slavery is not improving and that nothing can justify the persistence of this fundamental abuse of human rights.
Many people who are trying to cross the Mediterranean and come out of Africa are passing through Libya, where little rule of law exists. Multiple militias in Libya are enslaving migrants from sub-Saharan Africa and the Horn of Africa, as well as those from other parts of the world who are trying to transit through Libya into Europe. McQuade notes that the European Union is supporting Libyan authorities in keeping migrants from traveling across borders. This lack of sufficient routes for migrants is facilitating exploitation in countries such as Libya.
The policies of Western European countries, such as the UK, and the lack of sufficient routes for migrants are contributing to the issue of modern slavery. Migrant workers, already vulnerable to forced labor, are being further exploited due to these policies. The persistence of modern slavery is a fundamental abuse of human rights that requires urgent action from governments, businesses, and individuals.
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