Travail forcé en Thaïlande

19 Juin 2014 , Rédigé par Laurence B Publié dans #Politique

Thailand votes against international forced labour* protocol

Qatar and most Gulf states abstain* on treaty that requires* countries to help victims and punish perpetrators* of forced labour

Forced labour = travail forcé
To abstain = s’abstenir
To require = demander, requérir
Perpetrator = auteur

Perpetrators of forced labour, which is estimated to affect 21 million people globally, will be punished in most countries under a UN* treaty agreed on Wednesday, though* Thailand voted against* the treaty and nearly all* Gulf countries – including Qatar – abstained. More than half* of those caught up* in forced or compulsory* labour are women and girls and the practice reaps* an estimated $150bn* (£89bn) in illegal profits across agriculture, fishing*, mining, construction, domestic services and the sex industry, among others*, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), a UN agency, said.
UN = United Nations
Though = bien que, même si
Against = contre
Nearly all = presque tout
More than half = plus de la moitié
To be caught up = être pris dans
Compulsory = obligatoire
To reap = récolter, moissonner
Bn = billion = milliard
Fishing = la pêche
Among others = parmi tant d’autres

The new, legally binding, treaty, a protocol to the ILO's Forced Labour Convention of 1930, aims to* halt* the practice by requiring countries ratifying it to identify and release* victims, ensure them access to compensation and punish perpetrators. "It is a strong indication of the global community's commitment to work toward the effective elimination of forced labour," David Garner, president of the annual International Labour Conference's committee on forced labour, told a briefing.
To aim = viser, aspirer à
To halt = stopper
To release = libérer

Thailand's new military government was the only nation to vote against the treaty at the ILO's annual ministerial conference, ILO officials said. Bahrain, Brunei, Iran, Kuwait, Omar, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Yemen were among those abstaining. The Middle East* is home to an estimated 600,000 people deemed* to be forced labourers, according to* Beate Andrees, head of the ILO special action programme to combat forced labour.
The Middle East = le Moyen Orient
Deemed to be = destiné à
According to = selon

Garner said forced labour, which includes slavery* but also deceptive* recruitment practices, was a significant practice, all around the world. "It's very large-scale*, much of it very well organised and sophisticated. Obviously*, significant criminal elements are involved in it as well."
Slavery = esclavage
Deceptive = trompeur
Large-scale = à grande échelle
Obviously = visiblement

Some victims were prey* to "deceptive recruitment practices where potential workers sign a contract in one country and then arrive in another country and are presented with a different contract in another language they don't necessarily understand," Garner said. "And passports are confiscated so they don't have identity papers, which, of course, places anyone in a difficult situation, which can give rise to* different forms of forced labour." An ILO study revealed a problem in Thailand of forced labour in the agriculture and fishing industries as well as among* domestic workers, often involving migrant workers from Myanmar, Indonesia and Bangladesh, Andrees said.
to be prey to = être la proie de
To give rise to = donner lieu à
Among = parmi

Countries that adopt the protocol will now protect victims forced into criminal activities. "There is one important provision now in the protocol to protect victims from being punished from criminal activities they may have been forced to carry out* while* they were in forced labour," Andrees said.
To carry out = se livrer à, exécuter
While = alors que, pendant que

"Some victims, for instance, are forced to plant drugs or to traffic drugs, some are smuggled* across borders* without knowing what is happening."The protocol will come into effect after being ratified, a process that is expected to take a few months.
To smuggle = faire de la contrebande
Borders = les frontières

Reuters
theguardian.com, Friday 13 June 2014