New Report: Combatting Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking in Allied Defence Strategies

An analysis of 171 armed conflicts between 1989 and 2016 revealed that 87% involved some form of enslavement by armed groups. This is not a marginal issue, it is widespread, deliberate, and devastating. Terrorist organisations such as ISIS and al-Shabaab, and even state-backed forces like those in Somalia and Russia, have systematically used trafficking and exploitation to fund operations, terrorise populations, and advance military aims.

MSHT strengthens adversaries and undermines allied missions. It fuels instability, sustains extremist groups, and inflicts lasting harm on communities. At the same time, there are well-documented cases where international forces have, often unintentionally, contributed to demand whether through sex trafficking linked to military bases in South Korea or the rise in trafficked women and girls during UN and NATO operations in Bosnia and Kosovo.

This dual reality presents two urgent concerns for our armed forces:

• First, we must ensure service members do not knowingly or unknowingly contribute to the problem.
• Second, we must treat MSHT as a core threat to security and operational success.

That is why I commissioned this new report in partnership with the Rights Lab at the University of Nottingham. It brings together insights learnt from the approaches of the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD), the US Department of Defense (DoD), NATO, and the OSCE, and highlights ways in which we can better combat MSHT.

Our findings

The research found that across allied militaries, training on MSHT is often fragmented, inconsistent, and reactive. Without shared standards and operational guidance, gaps persist that leave both victims and service members at risk.

Service members need practical, scenario-driven training to identify trafficking, respond appropriately, and prevent further harm. They must be equipped not just with knowledge, but with survivor-informed, victim-centred tools that embed human security into the heart of military operations.

What Needs to Change

The report sets out several recommendations on strengthening the UK’s leadership on countering MSHT including increasing the number of trained Human Security Advisors and investing in specialised training and tools. It also calls for closer collaboration with international partners to standardise definitions, share resources, integrate victim-centred, simulation-based training, and develop tactical guidance supported by a centralised digital hub. It also highlights the importance of building strategic research partnerships, such as the newly formed Leverhulme Centre for Research on Slavery in War, to ensure policy, operations, and training are informed by robust evidence.

Looking Ahead

My research looking at emerging patterns of exploitation is already showing modern slavery is evolving at pace — shaped by climate change, mass displacement, digital exploitation, and even the misuse of artificial intelligence. If we fail to anticipate how MSHT will adapt to these new realities, our responses will remain reactive and insufficient.

This is why the report calls for a fundamental shift: moving away from fragmented, short-term measures toward strategic, coordinated, and preventive action. Defence actors cannot remain passive observers in this space; they have the potential to be powerful agents of change.

Slavery is increasingly being deployed as a weapon of war. It is therefore essential that our armed forces are equipped to recognise it, confront it, and ensure that in protecting security, they also uphold and defend human dignity.

You can read the full report here.