20 richest countries account for over half of 50 million people in 'modern slavery': Report
United Nations(AP/PTI): The world's 20 richest countries are fuelling forced labour and account for over half the estimated 50 million people living in "modern slavery," according to a report released Wednesday.
The report by the Walk Free foundation, a rights group that focuses on modern slavery, said six members of the Group of 20 nations have the largest number of people in modern slavery either in forced labour or forced marriage.
India tops the list with 11 million followed by China with 5.8 million, Russia with 1.9 million, Indonesia with 1.8 million, Turkey with 1.3 million and the United States with 1.1 million.
"Most of the countries with lowest prevalence of modern slavery Switzerland, Norway, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Ireland, Japan, and Finland are also members of the G20," the report said.
"Yet, even in these countries, thousands of people continue to be forced to work or marry, despite their high levels of economic development, gender equality, social welfare, and political stability, as well as strong criminal justice systems."
Last September, a report by the U.N.'s International Labour Organization and International Organization for Migration and Walk Free estimated that 50 million people were living in "modern slavery" 28 million in forced labour and 22 million in forced marriage - at the end of 2021. That was a 10 million increase in just five years from the end of 2016.
"Modern slavery permeates every aspect of our society," Walk Free Founding Director Grace Forrest said in a statement. "It is woven through our clothes, lights up our electronics and seasons our food" and it "is a mirror held to power, reflecting who in any given society has it and who does not."
This is most evident in global supply chains, where G20 nations import 468 million worth of products annually considered "at risk" of being produced by forced labor including electronics, garments, palm oil, solar panels and textiles, the report said.
Australia-based Walk Free said its 172-page report and estimates of global slavery in 160 countries draw on thousands of interviews with survivors collected through nationally representative household surveys and its assessments of a nation's vulnerability.
It said the increase of nearly 10 million people forced to work or marry reflects the impact of compounding crises "more complex armed conflicts, widespread environmental degradation, assaults on democracy in many countries, a global rollback of women's rights and the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic."
These factors have significantly disrupted education and employment, leading to increases in extreme poverty and forced and unsafe migration, "which together heighten the risk of all forms of modern slavery," the report said.
The countries with the highest prevalence of modern slavery at the end of 2021 were North Korea, Eritrea, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, it said.
The report stressed that forced labour occurs in every country, across many sectors and at every stage of the supply chain. It cited the demands for fast fashion and seafood as spurring forced labour that was hidden deep in those industries, while "the worst forms of child labour are used to farm and harvest the cocoa beans that end up in chocolate."
And while the United Kingdom, Australia, Netherlands, Portugal and United States were noted for having strong government responses to combat slavery, the report said those improvements were fewer and weaker than required.
"Most G20 governments are still not doing enough to ensure that modern slavery is not involved in the production of goods imported into their countries and within the supply chains of companies they do business with," it said.
In 2015, one of the U.N. goals adopted by world leaders was to end modern slavery, forced labor and human trafficking by 2030. But Walk Free said the significant increase in the number of people living in modern slavery and stagnating government action highlight that this goal is even further from being achieved.
"Walk Free is calling on governments around the world to step up their efforts to end modern slavery on their shores and in their supply chains," director Forest said. "What we need now is political will." (AP)
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
