No Escape: Assessing the relationship between slavery-related abuse and internal displacement in Nigeria, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2023 (ILO, IOM, AND WALK FREE)

The report provides prevalence estimates of slavery-related abuse among internally displaced people. Surveys on recent experiences of forced labour, abduction, forced recruitment by armed groups or forces, and forced marriage were conducted among Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) residing in displacement sites in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), South Sudan, and North-east Nigeria. Survey results show slavery-related abuse is common among (IDPs). Experiences of slavery-related abuse are characteristically violent and are often perpetrated by armed groups or forces to further the conflict. Results also indicate that displacement sites, such as camps, do not always offer protection from slavery-related abuse.

The report concludes that there is an urgent need to improve funding and capacity-building for the early detection of at-risk individuals and victims, to improve access to reporting mechanisms and referral pathways, to continue and enhance data collection on slavery-related abuse in these contexts, and to ensure victims have access to justice through strengthened accountability and justice mechanisms.