Globally, it is estimated that there are over 40 million men, women and children in modern slavery today. Two thirds of these victims are in Asia. These victims, who can be found in factories, construction sites, fisheries and sex venues, are forced to work for little or no pay, deprived of their freedom and often subjected to unimaginable suffering. Many of them are trapped in supply-chain slavery. Despite the efforts of governments, the United Nations, and NGOs around the world, only 0.2% of the victims of slavery are helped each year. For the world to make a difference in addressing this problem, the private sector needs to engage in this fight. Fighting slavery is the right thing to do, and the private sector is increasingly being scrutinised by both the public and the powers that be. New laws related to modern slavery see a rising number of lawsuits against corporations that fail to act. Wider media attention to the problem of slavery, provides further impetus for companies to take up the fight. Gradually, good businesses are stepping up to fight the business of slavery. With this in mind, the Mekong Club will launch the “ESG” project as the community leader in the fight against modern slavery. We will produce a set of quantified indicators of modern slavery in an effort to facilitate investment into companies that are making significant efforts to address the problem.

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Strengthening protections against trafficking in persons in federal and corporate supply chains: Research on risk in 43 commodities worldwide
Guidance

More than twenty million men, women and children around the world are currently believed to be victims of human trafficking, a global criminal industry estimated to be worth $150.2 billion annually. As defined in the US Department of State’s ...Read More

Model Contract Clauses to Protect Workers In International Supply Chains
GuidanceStandards & Codes of Conduct

The American Bar Association (ABA) Business Law Section Working Group undertook an extensive project to help buyers and suppliers redesign their contracts to better protect human rights in supply chains, with a focus on a cooperative approach with s...Read More

TAGS:
Business: It’s time to act – decent work, modern slavery & child labour
Guidance

Decent work cannot exist where modern slavery and child labour persist. Forced labour, modern slavery and child labour are complex problems associated with poverty, governance failures and inequalities in the global labour market. Tackling them requ...Read More

Women in the workplace: FLEX’s five-point plan to combat exploitation
GuidanceGood Practices

SUMMARY The aim of this guide is to help labour market enforcement agencies to build a gender-sensitive approach to tackling labour exploitation. It outlines the specific problems faced by women workers in high-risk feminised labour sectors such ...Read More