Topic: 2024-Forced Labour
Country: Germany
Delegate Name: Aanya Dogra
Committee: International Labor Organization
Topic: Forced Labour
Country: Germany
Delegate: Aanya Dogra, Forest Hills Northern High School
Forced Labor is a violation of human rights and is a significant impediment to reaching equitable prosperity. Germany has extreme familiarity with forced labor. Many countries around the world do as well, with an estimated 25 million people currently experiencing forced labor. The definition provided for Forced Labor by the International Labor Organization (ILO) states that “all work or service which is exacted from any person under the threat of a penalty and for which the person has not offered himself or herself voluntarily.” However, Germany especially has majorly faced this when previously under Nazi rule.
Nazi Germany had about 12 million forced laborers. These people were put to work mainly in concentration camps, supplied with inadequate rations for food and constant violence. Many women also experienced additional harassment. Though this treatement was inexplicably horrifying, it made up over one fourth and in some factories up to 60% of the workforce in some departments. They created the supplies and arms that the population needed during this time in World War 2. Currently, more than 25 million people live in modern slavery, with 167,000 of them in Germany. Much of labor exploitation takes place in low wage sectors- specifically the meat processing industry, agricultural sector, and many more. In the meat processing industry during COVID-19, 2,000 workers were infected due to poor working conditions. Most workers exploited are migrants due to the jobs needing minimal to no qualifications.
To mitigate the harmful effects of forced labor and to stop it as well, Germany has taken multiple steps. The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has prepared a law that regulates work contracts and temporary employment of migrant workers in Germany, while also not restricting people to migrate to Germany. To attempt to correct past wrongs, in the 1990s, the German Parliament passed the German Foundation Act which established the German Foundation “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future,” striving to establish compensation for slave and forced laborers of the National Socialist regime. In January 2023, the Human Rights Due Diligence in Supply Chains Act became effective and required companies with 3,000+ employees to exercise due diligence to ensure they did not use forced labor. Methods used included risk analysis, risk management, and a complaints mechanism. The Federal body overseeing this has the power to conduct inspections, document retrieval, and fines for noncompliance.
Germany believes that this issue needs to be combated to ensure human rights are not violated. One thing that must be kept in mind, is higher power corruption seeing as law enforcement authorities tend to regard victims as offenders of the residence and labour law. Protection must be acquired for our people, and people all around the world. Germany looks forward to collaborating with all countries on this topic.
