Legislative guarantees of the prohibition and risks of involvement of Ukrainians in forced labour

Abstract

The article analyses the legislative guarantees of the prohibition of forced labour, modern risks of occurrence and involvement of Ukrainians in martial law. International and national norms prohibiting the use of forced labour are revealed. Attention is focused on the fact that Ukraine is one of the states whose citizens suffer from this phenomenon the most in Europe. Researching the concept of "forced labour”, the authors note that it is absent in Ukrainian legislation, therefore, for a full understanding of this term, they use international practice. The article describes the main forms and manifestations of forced labour. The conditions of employment are defined, which are signs of danger for the employee and which should be paid attention to in the process of employment relations in order not to become a victim of labour exploitation. Political and socioeconomic factors that influence the increase in the number of cases of forced labour are analysed. In particular, political instability, a difficult economic situation, the inability of the state to guarantee a decent living standard, unemployment, labour migration, especially outside the state, the low level of legal culture of citizens, which is the reason for the poor awareness of Ukrainians with their rights and the principles of the prohibition of forced labour. The authors draw attention to the fact that under the conditions of martial law in Ukraine, the number of socially vulnerable sections of the population that suffered from military aggression and may be at risk of being involved in forced labour has increased. Statistics of criminal proceedings related to human trafficking for 2022­2023 are presented, as a significant part of the victims of this offense were subjected to forced labour. It is emphasized that in most countries of the world the phenomenon of imposing forced labour by the state has disappeared and such an activity is recognized as a criminal offense.