Protocol to ILO Convention No. 29: A Step Forward for International Labour Standards

Abstract

In June 2014, a new Protocol to ILO Convention No. 29 on Forced Labour was adopted. The purpose was to overcome implementation gaps for Convention No. 29. The Protocol is significant because it recognizes that all forms of forced labor, not just those that relate to trafficking, must be eradicated. Toward this end, it focuses on prevention, victim assistance, and international cooperation. The Protocol may also point to a way that international labour standard setting can be reinvigorated. In practical terms there is also reason for optimism given US support for the protocol and its leading role in rebalancing the focus on forced labour more equally to encompass trafficking and non-trafficked forced labour. This article examines the new Protocol and concludes that because of all the above reasons it is possible that real progress can be made toward combating all forms of forced labour.