AUTHENTIC CULTURE NETWORK

AMNC19 Global Situation Space | The Big Picture on Modern Slavery

http://www.weforum.org/

40 million people are in slavery today, with SDG 8.7 pledging to reduce this number by 10,000 people every day
Modern slavery is a market failure that can be addressed with the use of AI and satellite imaging technology to identify global risks and violations
The technology needs more investment and a holistic-policy approach to ensure that modern slavery risk is priced into market practices

There are 40 million people in slavery today. SDG 8.7 is a commitment to end modern slavery, with the ambition to reduce that number by 10,000 people every day. James Cockayne, Director, Centre for Policy Research, United Nations University, is confident that we are “nowhere near” that target.

The reasons for this systemic and enduring failure are the result of the “mispricing” of labour, where true social costs are not quantified. Worse still, companies are rewarded for driving down their labour costs. It is a market failure of massive proportions, present in just about every country on earth, generating an estimated $150 billion of profit globally and is the third-largest global crime, after drug trafficking and counterfeit goods smuggling. Forced migration and natural disasters increase the risks of human exploitation, so the looming spectre of climate change puts the spotlight on this issue.