“Trade is not just a chain of suppliers. It is also a chain of credit lines, payment systems, currency markets and capital flows,” said UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan.
Developing economies face increasing pressures
Developing economies are growing faster than advanced ones, but high borrowing costs, financial market volatility and climate risks are limiting their ability to invest and sustain growth, the report highlights.
Climate vulnerability adds to financial pressures. Countries repeatedly exposed to extreme weather now pay about $20 billion more each year in interest because lenders perceive them as riskier, according to UNCTAD.
Dollar dominance
At the same time, the US dollar remains central to global finance, even as some diversification occurs.
Its share of cross-border payments through the SWIFT electronic transfer system has risen sharply – from 39 percent to around 50 percent in five years – and the United States continues to dominate global stock and bond markets.
While this may bring some stability during financial shocks, it also means that developing countries are increasingly exposed to US financial cycles that they have little power to shape, UNCTAD said.
Modern slavery in the world increases to 50 million
“Slavery is a horror from the history books and an unrelenting contemporary crisis,” said Secretary-General António Guterres as the UN marked the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, celebrated annually on December 2.
More than 15 million men, women and children were captured, chained and forced into slavery across oceans, UN chief said; Many lost their lives during the harrowing journey.
Today, an estimated 50 million people are trapped in contemporary forms of slavery, many of them women and children.
This day is dedicated to raising awareness and mobilizing action to end slavery and its modern manifestations, including human trafficking, sexual exploitation, child labor, forced marriage, and the recruitment of children in armed conflict.
Millions of exploited workers around the world
According to the UN, forced labor generates approximately $236 billion in annual global profits, representing wages effectively stolen from workers, particularly impacting those already struggling to support their families.
“Contemporary forms of slavery are perpetuated by criminal networks that prey on people struggling to cope with extreme poverty, discrimination or environmental degradation, and by traffickers who exploit people fleeing armed conflict or migrating in search of safety and opportunity. It deprives people of their rights and their humanity,” said Secretary-General António Guterres.
No region is exempt from the problem: Asia and the Pacific has the largest number (15.1 million), followed by Europe and Central Asia (4.1 million), Africa (3.8 million), the Americas (3.6 million) and the Arab States (0.9 million).
80 percent of agricultural jobs in Latin America operate in the informal sector
More than 80 percent of agricultural employment in Latin America continues to operate under informal labor arrangements, where workers lack formal protection and social security.
Women, young people and older people in rural areas continue to be disproportionately affected, according to a new report from the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The report reveals that 86.4 percent of women work in informal jobs, compared to 78 percent of men.
The informal sector also accounts for 46 percent of all child labor in the region, while more than half of the workforce has low levels of education.
Slow progress
While some progress has been made in Latin America, between 2019 and 2023, almost half of all young workers in the sector, along with the vast majority of women, remain employed informally, UN agencies noted.
The ILO and FAO continue to work with governments, employers and workers to design and implement integrated policies aimed at transforming the agricultural sector into a true driver of decent employment, food security and sustainability throughout the region.