There are an estimated 50 million people living in conditions of modern slavery globally. Despite a blanket ban on such practices, modern slavery remains a highly profitable crime, generating an estimated USD 236 billion in illicit profits each year. Financial institutions may be connected to modern slavery and human trafficking through their own operations or through their business relationships. Because the financial sector is deeply intertwined with the broader economy, financial action can help shift incentives across markets and supply chains. At this critical juncture, the financial sector has a unique opportunity to contribute to transforming economic systems to better prevent and address modern slavery and human trafficking.
FAST pursues an innovative, ambitious strategy to accelerate action to address modern slavery and human trafficking. Grounding its work in evidence-based approaches and rigorous analysis, it provides tools and training to financial sector stakeholders to take meaningful, sustained action against modern slavery and human trafficking. FAST runs global initiatives and campaigns to raise awareness and build momentum on these issues while incubating projects, strategies and coalitions for long-term impact.
At the heart of this work is FAST’s signature report, the Blueprint for Mobilizing Finance Against Slavery and Trafficking. The Blueprint, the culmination of a year-long global consultation by an expert Commission (the Liechtenstein Initiative for a Financial Sector Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking), provides a shared collective-action framework that different financial sector actors can implement in their own ways and at their own speeds. It includes 5 Goals and 30 Actions that together provide a roadmap for the whole financial sector and its stakeholders, including governments, regulators and the multilateral system, to demonstrate their commitment to accelerating action to end modern slavery and human trafficking.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FAST BLUEPRINT