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.

post

page

attachment

revision

nav_menu_item

custom_css

customize_changeset

oembed_cache

user_request

wp_block

acf-field-group

acf-field

ai1ec_event

Technical Note: COVID-19 and Child Labour
COVID-19 resourcesGuidance

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

TAGS: Global
Forced Labor: Actions Needed to Prevent the Availability of At-Risk Goods in DOD’s Commissaries and Exchanges
Guidance

The Department of Defense (DOD) has some policies and processes in place to prevent the resale of goods produced through forced labor in its commissaries and exchanges. However, despite their generally common business of providing reduced- priced gr...Read More

Tackling labour abuse and modern slavery in the hand car wash sector
Guidance

It has been said that modern slavery is hidden, but often in plain sight. Hand car washes are a good example of this and have been a particular area of focus. In recent years, the sector has become common in our high streets and communities, but loc...Read More

International Labor Migration: The Responsible Role of Business – BSR, 2008
GuidanceStandards & Codes of ConductGood Practices

In today’s globalized economy, the issue of international labor migration in supply chains is one of the most critical – yet largely unexplored – issues for our member companies and all businesses operating globally. Labor migrants now repr...Read More