The COVID-19 crisis has exposed once more the vulnerabilities in value chains and precarity of global business operations – and the weakness of voluntary corporate action in addressing these issues. The devastating consequences are felt most by millions of workers and communities around the world. However, there are signs this could change. There has been growing momentum worldwide among governments, companies, investors and civil society, for mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD).
Cross-sectoral regulation is already in place or under discussion in a number of European countries, including France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, Sweden and Germany, paving the way towards regional harmonisation. Earlier this year, the European Commission committed to introducing such legislation within the European Union (EU), and has just launched a public online consultation on ‘sustainable corporate governance’, including mandatory HREDD. ‘Legislation on sustainable corporate governance’ is also part of the Commission’s work progamme for 2021.
In 2017, the Local Government Association (LGA) worked with the Office of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner to develop the first council guidance on tackling modern slavery. The development of the guide followed a presentation by the first C...Read More
The purpose of this guide is twofold. The first is to document lessons learned from using Feminist Participatory Action Research (FPAR) to study the experiences and drivers of labour exploitation – and advocate for change – with workers from thr...Read More
The United Nations declared 2021 the International year for the Elimination of Child Labour, an effort to eradicate this form of abuse and exploitation, a milestone in reaching the Sustainable Development Goal target 8.7. Worldwide, an estimated 152...Read More
This guidance is for company staff who want to understand what “doing business with respect for human rights” means. It is for anyone who faces – or could face – scenarios in which their function, department or company could be connected to ...Read More
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