Global Slavery Index: 18,000 Macedonian citizens live in modern slavery

Macedonia is ranked third, behind Turkmenistan and Belarus, on the list of countries from Europe and Central Asia according to this indicator. Luxembourg is the best-ranked country, with only 1,5 in 1,000 people in modern slavery.

Regarding the Government’s response to the problem, Macedonia is rated as BBB.

“The government has implemented key components of a holistic response to some forms of modern slavery, with victim support services, a strong criminal justice response, evidence of coordination and collaboration, and protections in place for vulnerable populations. Governments may be beginning to address slavery in supply chains of government procurement, or of businesses operating within their territory. There may be evidence that some government policies and practices may criminalise and/or cause victims to be deported,” reads the BBB rating explanation.

An estimated 40.3 million men, women, and children were victims of modern slavery on any given day in 2016. Of these, 24.9 million people were in forced labour and 15.4 million people were living in a forced marriage.

Women and girls are vastly over-represented, making up 71 percent of victims. Modern slavery is most prevalent in Africa, followed by the Asia and the Pacific region.

Although modern slavery is not defined in law, it is used as an umbrella term that focuses attention on commonalities across these legal concepts. Essentially, it refers to situations of exploitation that a person cannot refuse or leave because of threats, violence, coercion, deception, and/or abuse of power. For example, their passport might be taken away if they are in a foreign country, they might experience or be threatened with violence, or their family might be threatened.