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Slavery act ‘fails to eliminate exploitation’

The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has called for urgent action from the British government on forced labour.

Ten years on, the Modern Slavery Act 2015 no longer holds up to scrutiny in the face of the persistent global prevalence of forced labour, IBAHRI states.

“While once hailed as a landmark achievement, the act has failed to eliminate exploitation from supply chains, allowing businesses to continue profiting from forced labour with minimal accountability,” IBAHRI said this morning (28 March).

Strengthening these measures was crucial, not only to uphold Britain’s international commitments, but also to protect taxpayers from indirectly funding exploitation, it added.

Legal loopholes

According to the European Parliament, 86% of all forced labour cases occur in the private sector, affecting 17.3 million people worldwide.

The human-rights body wants legal loopholes closed, with strengthened enforcement and greater corporate accountability to prevent modern slavery from thriving in its economy.