In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In doing so, member states signalled their commitment to collectively address global challenges in order to achieve peace and prosperity for all by 2030. There are no “easy” SDGs and achieving them requires that, as a global community, we aggressively pursue their implementation and monitor our progress.
“Without evidence of where we stand now, we cannot confidently chart our path forward in realizing the Sustainable Development Goals” — António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
The UN measures progress towards the SDGs with a global framework of indicators and Voluntary National Reviews, where governments report on their own activities against these indicators.
For SDG 8.7, this approach is hampered by a lack of indicators on all forms of modern slavery under SDG 8.7. Currently, there is only one indicator for child labour – the proportion and number of children aged 5 to 17 years engaged in child labour by sex and age – and none for all forms of modern slavery. These indicators are reviewed annually- the next review is in March 2020.
Without clear indicators to measure progress toward the 2030 goal, governments cannot report systematically and consistently, nor can they be held to account.
33 civil society organisations are calling for:
All governments to work together with the UN Statistical Commission to develop indicators and adopt these to track progress to eradicate all forms of modern slavery under SDG 8.7
The undersigned civil society organisations
African Network for the Prevention and Protection Against Child Abuse and Neglect Liberia
Anti-Slavery International
Awareness Against Human Trafficking (HAART)
Challenging Heights
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (UK)
Cotton Campaign
Devatop Centre for Africa Development
Engage Now Africa
Freedom Collaborative
Freedom Fund
Freedom Now International
Freedom United
Hope for Justice
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
International Justice Mission
Justice Centre Hong Kong
Liberty Shared
Lumos Foundation
Mekong Club
Migrant Care
Minderoo Foundation (Walk Free)
Mission for Community Development Program
National Freedom Network
Rahab Uganda
Rights Lab at University of Nottingham
Seefar
Survivor Alliance
Sustainable Development Solutions Network
Unseen Uganda
Utthan, a survivors’ collective in India
Voice of the Free
Willow International
The UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery also supports the need for indicators under SDG 8.7.