Climate displacement emerges as leading recruitment ground for forced labour

New research maps how climate-driven displacement in South Asia and the Sahel channels vulnerable populations into exploitative recruitment networks.

Researchers tracking displacement after floods and droughts document how climate shocks strip households of assets and drive distress migration, with traffickers systematically recruiting in relief camps and transit hubs.

The study calls on companies with supply chains in climate-vulnerable regions to treat displacement events as forced labour risk triggers, increasing monitoring when disasters strike sourcing areas.