A/HRC/31/32 such as cooperative work and self-employment, without undermining the protection of salaried workers.22 2. Freedom to choose work and to practise a profession 19. Article 23 of the Universal Declaration and article 6 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights emphasize that freedom to work is a fundamental component of the right to work. The freedom to work involves both prohibitions (such as those on forced labour and unjustified or discriminatory obstacles to work) and positive duties (including the adoption of measures of promotion of conditions conducive to freedom and opportunity). 20. While freedom to work does not imply an absolute right to a specific job, it does entail the right to pursue professional options under equal conditions without unjustified barriers that prevent those choices. The freedom to exercise a profession requires that any limitation must be objectively justified, proportional, strictly necessary and provided for by law. 21. The right to freely choose a job involves a prohibition on being compelled to accept work. Forced or compulsory labour is defined as “all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which said person has not offered himself voluntarily”,23 which includes being forced to remain in employment against one’s will even if the initial acceptance was voluntary. States have an immediate obligation not to trade in forced labour and to abolish, eradicate and punish the use of forced labour in all its forms. It is one of the most extreme forms of human rights violation and it affects millions of people, especially vulnerable populations, such as migrant workers. 24 When reviewing States parties’ reports, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has identified forced labour practices in many countries. 25 The ILO Committee of Experts has called for increased resources for labour inspection services, for law enforcement and judicial authorities to combat forced labour practices and for the imposition of administrative, criminal and economic sanctions to ensure that victims receive support and compensation.26 22. There are strong links between forced labour and trafficking in persons. Employment agencies can perpetrate abuses by promoting or facilitating the forced labour of migrant workers. Consequently, States must cooperate to regulate, license and monitor labour recruiters and employment agencies and eliminate the charging of recruitment fees to workers to prevent debt bondage and other forms of economic coercion.27 The exploitation of immigrants forced to work illegally, including in domestic work, merits special attention and inspection. 22 23 24 25 26 27 6 Ibid., para. 44, underlining that employment policies should respect and protect self-employment as well as employment with remuneration that enables workers and their families to enjoy an adequate standard of living. ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), art. 2 (1); ILO Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105). ILO, Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, preamble. See concluding observations on Paraguay (E/C.12/PRY/CO/4), Peru (E/C.12/PER/CO/2-4), Brazil (E/C.12/BRA/CO/2), the Plurinational State of Bolivia (E/C.12/BOL/CO/2), Ecuador (E/C.12/ECU/CO/3), Mauritania (E/C.12/MRT/CO/1), Ukraine (E/C.12/UKR/CO/6) and Serbia (E/C.12/SRB/CO/2). Concern about forced labour of detainees in the Russian Federation (E/C.12/RUS/CO/5) and the Netherlands (E/C.12/NDL/CO/4) was mentioned. ILO, General Survey on the fundamental Conventions concerning rights at work in light of the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization, 2008, Report III (Part 1B) (2012), Part III, para. 326. Malta highlights that its inspectorate is empowered. ILO, Forced Labour (Supplementary Measures) Recommendation, 2014 (No. 203), para. 4 (i).