Slavery still exists. On this there is not much conflict, if any. But the scale is what many experts call modern slavery?

Estimates range from about 1-30000000, as politicians, activists, journalists and researchers.

The International Labour Organization, a United Nations agency that focuses, among other rights at work, put the number at a "conservative estimate" of 12.3 million in a report from 2005.

Kevin Bales, a sociologist who works as a United Nations consultant and author of several books about slavery today, said the number was 27 million people in his book "Disposable People:. New Slavery in the Global Economy "The book was published in 1999.

Is another estimate. Siddharth Kara, a man on the trafficking of Harvard University and author, recently told CNN that his calculations put the range between 24 million and 32 million. This issue was ongoing at the end of 2006, "he said.

There are several reasons for the discrepancy in numbers, "said Ben Skinner, who published a book on modern slavery -". A crime so monstrous face of modern slavery "

"There are two major problems with the count, Skinner, Senior Fellow at the Institute Schuster for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University, said in a telephone interview." The first is that people we agree is, by definition, a hidden population.

"Another problem is more theoretical in nature, in which definitions are not enabled. We do not have a common definition of what is left is slavery."

'Hidden population

Slave labor was part of civilization for much of the story. It is practiced openly and their legality has not been much of a problem. At the height of the transatlantic slave trade, its size has been carefully documented.

Today, slavery is illegal in all countries. But he persists, in secret, to exploit the poor and marginalized - which represent enormous challenges for the legal authorities, activists and experts working to find the problem.

Skinner said he had had a conversation with John Miller - former State Department's ambassador at large on modern slavery from 2002 to 2006, during George W. Bush - of course, it is difficult to count a population that is difficult to find.

"These are not people queuing up, raise your hand and wait for the census to do," Miller said Skinner.

And even if it was found that did not want to be identified, said Skinner. "They are victims of a crime, and is still often missed as a criminal," he said.

Slaves could be involved in prostitution or perhaps a country illegally as a result of trafficking - activities that might land in trouble with the law. So they prefer to keep silent about their condition, Skinner said.

"These are individuals who are seen as perpetrators of a crime against the state and not as victims of a crime against humanity," he said. "They are aware of this so they do not identify themselves."

It is not the easiest thing for observers to obtain data from the countries of the magnitude of the problem is slavery within their borders.

For example, South Asian countries recognize the problems in the sex trade because of the perception that it is not just a southern issue, Skinner said, echoing a theory of John Miller.

However, they may not be as forthcoming about their problems with debt slavery - when someone has to repay a loan by the work and can be taken in the situation because the amount earned too little to pay the borrowed money.

"There is a perception of himself that debt bondage is a shameful underdevelopment continues in some parts of the country," said Skinner.

Definitions and divisions

Before you can calculate something, you must define, and the generally accepted definition of what is modern day slavery is difficult to cover.

In 1926, a treaty signed in Geneva under the auspices of the League of Nations, forerunner of the United Nations, described slavery as "the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers associated with ownership are exercised .

The ILO, in 1930, used the term "forced or compulsory labor" to describe "all work or service exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty for which said person has not offered himself voluntarily."

Roger Plant, who worked at the ILO from 2002 to 2009, during a telephone conversation that forced "to enter the work or service without the freedom of choice and can not go without punishment or threat of punishment."

Kevin Bales offered this description: "For me, slavery means a person who is totally under the control of another person, they use violence to maintain this control, they are exploited to make money on them, and that the person can simply not walk. "

It is, therefore, the term "human trafficking", which is sometimes used interchangeably with "slavery" word. According to the U.S. Department of State, "Trafficking in terms of 'image' of the people, when a person acquires or holds another party responsible for the service."

The Foreign Ministry says that the word belongs to the sex trade, forced labor and forced labor. It also includes, among other things, the use of child soldiers and forced child labor.

The terms and their meanings seem simple, but divisions emerged when lawmakers try to reconcile the definitions of the situation in his country.

"In the community of traffic, there really is no consensus about what it means slavery," Skinner said. "It's dangerous, it is harmful."

The major consequence of erroneous information, not knowing the magnitude of the problem, or if it is concentrated can lead to poor decisions about where to focus resources and how we can better solve the problem, Skinner said.

"Slavery in its own terms, is monstrous," he said. "I think it's important to be motivated by emotion, but soon reached a point to get companies for hard to calculate the best way to free as many slaves as possible.

"It is partly to understand how the slaves there are and understand where they are."

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