Forced labour, slavery and criminal trafficking in human beings - especially women and children — are on the rise worldwide and taking new and insidious forms, according to a new study by the International Labour Office (ILO) released on Monday.

The study, entitled Stopping Forced Labour, was prepared as part of the follow-up to the ILO's Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and will be discussed by the ILO's 175 member states at the 89th session of the International Labour Conference.

"The growth of forced labour worldwide is deeply disturbing. The emerging picture is one where slavery, oppression and exploitation of society's most vulnerable members — especially women and children — have by no means been consigned to the past. "In light of these findings, the entire world needs to re-examine its conscience and instigate action to abolish forced labour and the often terrible living and working conditions that accompany it. There is no excuse for forced labour in the twenty-first century," the ILO said.

According to the report, although such ancient, barbaric practices as slavery and feudal bondage would appear to be declining under the impact of national and international legislation and government action, they are still present. And the phenomenon of trafficking for forced or compulsory labour is growing so fast that most countries in the world fit into one of three categories — "sending countries, transit countries and receiving countries".

"Main destinations may be the urban centres of the richer countries — Amsterdam, Brussels, London, New York, Rome, Sydney, Tokyo — and the capitals of developing and transition countries. But the movement of trafficked persons is highly complex and varied. Countries as diverse as Albania, Hungary, Nigeria and Thailand can act as points of origin, destination and transit at the same time."

The report notes that outright slavery, though increasingly rare in the modern world, is still found in a handful of countries and the wholesale abduction of individuals and communities in such conflict-torn societies as Liberia, Mauritania, Sierra Leone and Sudan is not uncommon. The forced recruitment of children for armed conflict, deemed one of the worst forms of child labour is also on the rise.

Slavery-like conditions and debt bondage await many workers who fall prey to coercive recruitment practices in rural areas, especially for work on agricultural plantations or in domestic work. Indigenous peoples as diverse as Pygmies and Banuts in Africa and the Aymara and Exnet in Latin America are especially vulnerable to such forms of forced labour, the report notes. It cites the case of forced labour in Myanmar, which has spurred an exceptional reaction by the international community. But it also details successful efforts to combat bonded labour in India, Nepal and Pakistan.

The Report highlights the ILO's International Programme on the Elimation of Child Labour (IPEC) which has been working with governments, trade unions, employers organisations and NGOs to address the problems of child labour and trafficking of children. Programmes that involve women, through education, training, credit and other empowerment tools have been crucial to an effective strategy in combatting the trafficking of children.

The report examines the important role played by law enforcement agencies and United Nations bodies which have joined forces to coordinate efforts and tackle the problem on multiple fronts (such as the Global Programme against Trafficking in Human Beings). Additional, workers and employers organisations as well as individual corporations, have taken some concrete steps such as ascribing to the Global Compact, the United Nations system business partnership agreement, which includes freedom from forced labour as one of its principles.

The ILO report concludes by calling upon governments and social partners in all countries "to deepen understanding and redouble efforts to eliminate this terrible blight on human freedom in all its forms".