Forced labor, child labor and human trafficking

Forced labor, child labor and human trafficking is – as all types of illicit trades – a lucrative form of organized crime and a high-profit, low-risk activity. This human rights abuse represents a failure of nation states and the global community to ensure the security of their citizens. An estimated 27.6 million people are victims of forced labor globally (ILO/Walk Free/IOM, 2022) and trafficked forced laborers produce a total illicit proﬁt of US$150 billion per year (ILO, 2014). A 2019 report by ILO/OECD/IOM/UNICEF attempts to measure the total number of people in forced/child/trafficked labor in global supply chains, and provides a set of recommendations for governments and business.

Forced labor, child labor and human trafficking is an issue in a wide range of sectors that are vulnerable to illicit trade, including but not limited to fisheries, agriculture, manufacturing and mining. In terms of forced labor in the private economy, ILO/Walk Free/IOM found that 32% of forced labor exploitation took place in the services sector excluding domestic work, 18.7 percent in manufacturing, 16.3 percent in construction, 12.3 percent in agriculture, 8.2 percent in domestic work, 1.4 percent in mining and quarrying, and 11.1 percent in "other" defined as begging and involvement in illicit activities. The U.S. Department of Labor has identified 155 goods from 77 countries produced by forced and child labor, including everything from diamonds and cotton to garments and electronics.

Women, children and men across the globe are forced to labor in illicit sectors, where they are abused by organized criminals pursuing clandestine profits. In the process of running their illicit operations, they are also hurting legitimate business, slowing economic growth, and pushing the achievement of the SDGs further away. In addition to the severe human rights implications, legitimate businesses cannot compete on a level playing field against criminals that are not paying wages and are abusing their labor force. With illicit trade accounting for an estimated 8 to 15 percent of global GDP, Governments must urgently address the impact that these significant economic activities have on the demand for forced labor.

Featured reports

The Human Cost of Illicit Trade

Among the worst crimes associated with illicit trade is the demand it creates for forced and child labor. The TRACIT report, The Human Cost of Illicit Trade: Exposing demand for forced labor in the dark corners of the economy, studies an overlooked corner of the global economy, namely the incidence of forced labor in illicit market activities.

Occurrences of forced labor are examined in eight sectors where illicit practices are regularly reported. These activities include: (i) counterfeiting of apparel, footwear and luxury goods; (ii) counterfeiting of electronics machinery and equipment; (iii) substandard and falsified medical products; (iv) illegal mining; (v) illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing; (vi) illicit tobacco products; (vii) illegal pesticides; and (viii) illegal timber. The full report is available here.

All materials relating to the launch event, including video recording and media release, are available here.

Mapping the Impact of Illicit Trade on the Sustainable Development Goals

From smuggling, counterfeiting and tax evasion, to the illegal sale or possession of goods, services, humans and wildlife, illicit trade is compromising the attainment of the UN SDGs in significant ways, crowding out legitimate economic activity, depriving governments of revenues for investment in vital public services, dislocating millions of legitimate jobs and causing irreversible damage to ecosystems and human lives.

The TRACIT report Mapping the Impact of Illicit Trade on the Sustainable Development Goals investigates illicit trade in 12 key sectors that participate significantly in international trade and are most vulnerable to illicit trade. For each sector, the negative impacts of illicit trade are mapped against the 17 UN SDGs. The full report is available here.

Read the chapter: SDGs and trafficking in persons

Featured publications

A 10-Point Primer on Stepping Up the Fight Against Forced Labor, Child Labor and Human Trafficking

Progress on stopping child labor has been painfully slow. Let’s change that! In observance of the 2023 World Day Against Child Labor, TRACIT launched a 10-point primer to accelerate the fight against forced labor, child labor and human trafficking.

Affiliations

TRACIT is a member of the ILO Global Business Network Forced Labour (GBNFL), an umbrella network of networks offering a forum for collaboration convened by the International Labour Organization (ILO) where business and business networks come together behind a common objective of leveraging comparative advantages and collective action towards the elimination of forced labour and human trafficking. More information can be found at flbusiness.network

MEDIA CENTER

Featured podcast
Child and forced labour, human trafficking and illicit trade

TRACIT's Dr. Ulrika Bonnier joins the International Labour Organization's (ILO) Global Business Network on Forced Labour to discuss how child and forced labour are linked to crimes and criminal networks, as well as possible solutions. The podcast is part of ILO’s series that looks at how forced labour is linked to child labour, environmental degradation and illicit trade, and how these issues can be tackled successfully together. More...

Listen on: SoundCloud I Spotify I Apple Podcasts

Featured podcast
The Underground World of Fake Football Shirts

TRACIT's Dr. Ulrika Bonnier is interviewed in the New York Times / the Athletic's investigation of the illicit trade of counterfeits, highlighting the role that forced labor plays in these criminal organizations across the world and breaking down why buying that fake jersey is far from a victimless crime.

Listen: Apple Podcasts I The Athletic

Forced labor in counterfeit operations
Counterfeit football shirts - far from a victimless crime. TRACIT’s Dr. Ulrika Bonnier is interviewed in the New York Times / the Athletic's investigation of the illicit trade of counterfeits.

Inside the underground world of fake football shirts, The Athletic, March 10, 2025

Fake football shirts survey: 78% have bought one, 66% happy to stick with counterfeits, The New York Times, March 12, 2025

PODCAST: The Underground World of Fake Football Shirts, The Athletic FC Podcast

Trilateral statement against forced labor
TRACIT endorsed the Trilateral Statement by Trade and Labor Ministers of the United States, Japan and European Union to upgrade efforts to fight forced labor. The ministerial statement came in response to new global forced labor estimates from the International Labour Organization (ILO), Walk Free Foundation, and International Organization for Migration (IOM).

TRACIT media release on trilateral statement, October 18, 2022 

TRACIT letter to Ambassador Katherine Tai, United States Trade Representative, October 17, 2022

USTR Notorious Markets Report 2021
For the first time, the USTR Report focused on the adverse impact of counterfeiting on workers involved in the global production of counterfeits. The report cited research conducted by TRACIT and published in our report at the end of last year. Link to USTR Report

TRACIT media release in response to USTR report, February 17, 2022

Whenever we find poverty and lack of opportunity – wherever the rule of law is weak, where corruption is most ingrained, where minorities are abused, and where populations can’t count on the protection of government – we find not just vulnerability to trafficking, but zones of impunity where traffickers can prey on their victims. […] The magnitude of the challenge is real, but make no mistake: So are the opportunities for progress.
Former US Secretary of State John F. Kerry

The Human Cost of Illicit Trade