A/HRC/45/8 actors. The Special Rapporteur wishes to thank all of the stakeholders who responded to his call for submissions and welcomes the engagement demonstrated in this process. 3 B. Impacts of coronavirus disease on contemporary forms of slavery 1. Multifaceted social and economic impacts of the pandemic 15. The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures adopted to contain the spread of the disease through quarantines, travel restrictions and lockdowns have had a sweeping impact on the economy. This has resulted in the reduction of economic growth, 4 a global recession,5 and historical levels of unemployment, which will likely have long-term consequences. 16. Labour markets have dramatically worsened and will take years to recover because the reopening of economies is likely to remain tentative. Around 38 per cent of the global workforce are employed in manufacturing, hospitality, tourism, trade and transportation and other service sectors that are facing a collapse in demand, a sharp fall in revenue and potential bankruptcies.6 17. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that, relative to the situation in 2019, 4.8 per cent of working hours were lost globally during the first quarter of 2020 (equivalent to approximately 135 million full-time jobs) and in the second quarter, that number increased to 10.7 per cent (equivalent to 305 million full-time jobs).7 The harmful effects of this pandemic have not been distributed equally. 18. The massive losses of employment and income due to the crisis will exacerbate global poverty and inequality, disproportionally hurting those with no adequate social protection coverage, especially in the poorest countries and in the poorest neighbourhoods. 8 Globally, only 20 per cent of unemployed people are covered by unemployment benefits, which leaves at least 152 million unemployed workers without income security during the pandemic.9 These make people more vulnerable to coercion into exploitative employment, particularly in informal or even illegal economies. 19. The World Bank estimates that the impacts of the pandemic could push up to 60 million people into extreme poverty in 2020 alone,10 causing the first increase in global poverty since 1998. Globally, acute hunger could double in 2020, affecting more than 260 million people.11 The rise in extreme poverty and inequality is likely to reinforce disparities, magnify social and economic tensions and generate more migration flows.12 These are wellknown factors which increase peoples’ vulnerability to slavery, including trafficking in persons, debt bondage, forced labour, worst forms of child labour, forced marriage and other contemporary forms of slavery (A/HRC/42/44, para. 10). 2. Exacerbated risks of slavery and impacts on specific groups 20. The Special Rapporteur has received multiple submissions raising concerns about the worsening situation of people who were already in situations of or at risk of 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 For both the call for submissions and the submissions themselves, see ww.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Slavery/SRSlavery/Pages/callCovid19.aspx. World Bank, Global Economic Prospects, June 2020 (Washington, D.C, World Bank, 2020), p. 6. International Monetary Fund, “World economic outlook update, June 2020”, p. 2. United Nations, “World economic situation and prospects as of mid-2020”, June 2020, p. 6. ILO, “ILO monitor: COVID-19 and the world of work. Fourth edition: Updated estimates and analysis”, 27 May 2020, pp. 1 and 4. UN News, “COVID-19: impact could cause equivalent of 195 million job losses, says ILO chief”, press release, 8 April 2020. ILO, “Social protection responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in developing countries: strengthening resilience by building universal social protection”, Social Protection Spotlight, May 2020, p. 8. World Bank, “100 countries get support in response to COVID-19”, press release, 19 May 2020. World Food Programme, “COVID-19 will double number of people facing food crises unless swift action is taken”, press release, 21 April 2020. World Bank, Global Economic Prospects, June 2020, p. 144. 5