A new investigative report reveals strong evidence connecting a lack of documentation to an increased risk of trafficking and modern slavery. As shared on reliefweb, without any official identity documents it is difficult if not impossible for people to access basic support services. According to the evidence, this leads to vulnerable populations being forced into informal, dangerous and exploitative work.

Invisible and locked out of support

An estimated 850 million people globally do not have any legal identity. That means they have no official documents like a passport, divers license or government issued I.D. card. Research done by the United Nations University Center for Policy and Research (UNU-CPR) in collaboration with the Freedom Fund points to this fact as a causal issue for people to become trapped in modern slavery or being trafficked. 

Professor Heaven Crawley, Senior Fellow at UNU-CPR said: 

“Without legal identity, people remain invisible and excluded from basic rights and services. This lack of documentation not only denies them access to healthcare, education and formal employment but also strips away the legal protections needed to escape abuse.”

Lack of access to formal employment means the only work possible is informal and pays extremely low-wages. It also means abuse and exploitation at work often go unreported due to fear of approaching authorities. All of that together can easily lead to modern slavery conditions. The research found the majority of people without an ID are migrants, stateless minorities and those affected by discriminatory nationality laws, frequently in the MENA region, Sub-Saharan Africa, followed by Asia-Pac. 

Learn more