July 24 (SeeNews) - Bosnia scored lowest among the countries of Southeast Europe in terms of estimated vulnerability to modern slavery, according to a new global report compiled by Australian non-profit organisation Walk Free Foundation.
Bosnia's overall weighted average vulnerability score was 46.4 points, the organisation said in the 2018 edition of its Global Slavery Index report, in which a higher score means higher rate of estimated vulnerability to modern slavery.
Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo performed slightly better, with overall scores of 45.6 points, 45.2 points and 43.8 points, respectively.
Vulnerability to modern slavery is measured through an analysis of data covering 23 risk variables across five major dimensions: governance issues, lack of basic needs, inequality, disenfranchised groups, effects of conflict. In the report, modern slavery is used as an umbrella term that focuses attention on concepts such as human trafficking, forced labour, debt bondage, forced marriage, and exploitation of children.
The index covers 167 countries whose vulnerability to modern slavery is estimated through the five dimensions. An overall weighted average score in the range of 1-100 points is then compiled for each country. Denmark scored 1.0 points, the best among all countries, while Central African Republic was at the opposite side, scoring 100.00 points and performing worst, globally. Saudi Arabia was almost at par with Bosnia with an overall score of 46.3 points, while Turkey and Russia scored worse, each at 51.6 points.
The index draws together findings from across estimates of prevalence, measurement of vulnerability, and assessment of government responses, alongside an analysis of trade flows and data on specific products.
In 2017, the Walk Free Foundation and the International Labour Organization, together with the International Organization for Migration, developed the Global Estimates of Modern Slavery, which provides information about the scale and regional distribution of modern slavery. These estimates provide the starting point for the Global Slavery Index report. The national estimates presented in the 2018 edition of the report were calculated by the Walk Free Foundation on the basis of a predictive model that accounted for individual and country-level risk factors, the organisation said.
Details on vulnerability to modern slavery follow:
Country: |
Index scores |
Albania |
45.2 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
46.4 |
Bulgaria |
31.3 |
Croatia |
32.7 |
Greece |
37.1 |
Kosovo |
43.8 |
Macedonia |
45.6 |
Moldova |
41.6 |
Montenegro |
35.8 |
Serbia |
33.9 |
Slovenia |
20.1 |
Romania |
33.9 |
Source: Walk Free Foundation