Companies should put workers at centre of human rights due diligence to address forced labour in supply chains, says report; incl. co. response
Faceless casualties are generated every day through the purchasing decisions of unconscious consumption, and the blind eyes of a global economic system that offers little or no transparency in business supply chains. Knowingly or unknowingly, many in our families, our communities and societies are consuming the products, or benefiting from the labour, of human beings working against their will.Global Commission on Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking, “No country is immune: working together to end modern slavery & human trafficking”
A new report by the Global Commission on Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking analyses “causes of vulnerability” to modern slavery and human trafficking worldwide.
The report encourages governments to address modern slavery and human trafficking. It also calls on businesses to ensure their supply chains are “free of forced labour”, including through worker-driven social responsibility models, and the involvement of trade unions in HRDD.
The first chapters explores different forms of modern slavery and trafficking, highlighting the fact slavery and trafficking occurs worldwide. The report then explores the impact of climate change, conflict and organized crime on modern slavery and trafficking, and analyses which groups or communities are more vulnerable. The report also explores legislative developments in this area, highlighting shortfalls in the current legislative landscape.
The report includes several case studies, including a case study of labour rights violations experienced by a platform food delivery worker, a case study of children forced to become soldiers, and a case study of a Ugandan worker forced to work in an online scam operation after being recruited through LinkedIn (part of Microsoft), among other case studies.
In May, we invited Microsoft to respond to the case study in the report, and to outline how it monitors and removes content on LinkedIn that facilitates the recruitment of Ugandan migrants into exploitative scam compounds in Myanmar, including through seemingly "legitimate" job offers. Its response can be read in full below.