COMMENT | Out of the 40 million victims of modern slavery worldwide, almost two thirds, or 25 million people, are exploited in Asia and the Pacific, making the region host to the largest number of victims of modern slavery today.

Further breakdowns of the modern slavery figure reveal that the region accounts for 73 percent of all victims of forced sexual exploitation, 68 percent of those subjected to state-imposed forced labour, and 64 percent of those in forced labour exploitation.

And although the share of persons living in extreme poverty in Asia and the Pacific has been cut by about 70 percent over the past 10 years, 62 million children still must work, so they and their families can survive.

Fighting these unacceptable forms of work is part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by world leaders in 2015. An agenda whereby all countries committed to achieving 17 inter-related goals and 169 associated targets to guide global development, which is collectively known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Target 8.7 calls for “immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour”...