The struggle against modern slavery is a new priority in Norwegian development assistance. Through an entirely new grant scheme, Norad has entered into eight new agreements with civil society organizations that are working to eradicate modern slavery.
‘Slavery is not just something that belongs in the history books. More than 40 million people worldwide still work under conditions akin to slavery. And the pandemic has made vulnerable groups even more susceptible to ending up in modern slavery,’ relates Ritika Dhall at Norad‘s Department for Civil Society and the Private Sector. That makes this new development aid effort more important than ever,’ she stresses.
In 2020 a separate Norwegian aid programme was established with the primary aim of reducing the prevalence and scope of modern slavery. Among other things, the programme is intended to help bring about necessary changes among both the authorities and the business sector in selected partner countries, so that they take the steps that are necessary to eradicate modern slavery.
“Our goal is also to strengthen the resistance of vulnerable groups to recruitment to modern slavery”, says Dhall.
The new programme opens the way for cooperation with different actors at the national level, and cooperation with civil society is singled out as particularly important for achieving good results.
NOK 190 million to eight organisations
A total of NOK 190 million has been earmarked for 2020–2023 for the anti-slavery work of civil society actors. These funds were announced in an open international call for proposals targeting civil society, with a deadline of 1 October 2020.
The announcement gave the highest priority to the agricultural sector and to Ghana, Ethiopia, Malawi and Uganda.
By the deadline, Norad received 56 applications for amounts totalling NOK 1.3 billion. Eight of these applications have now been granted, and agreements for NOK 190 million signed, six with international and two with Norwegian organisations. The duration of all the agreements extends until the end of 2023.
The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) and Caritas Norway are among the eight grant recipients. The other agreements have been signed with Woord en Daad in the Netherlands, ActionAid International, Rainforest Alliance, Freedom Fund, Anti-Slavery International and APT Action on Poverty.
Increase under Covid-19
Covid-19 has had an especially negative impact on already vulnerable groups, and it is assumed that the vulnerable have increased in numbers and scale because of the pandemic. This is largely due to increased poverty and economic crises. School closures have also led to a substantial increase in children’s vulnerability to exploitation.
Especially vulnerable groups are migrants, women and girls, persons with disabilities, ethnic and religious minorities, and people who live in areas of crisis and conflict.
‘Many have lost their jobs, and large numbers of migrant workers have returned to their home countries because of the pandemic. This has given employers increased access to cheap labour and less incentive to provide decent working conditions,’ explains Ritika Dhall.
