Standards Development

Scope

This document will provide organizations with guidance for managing the risk of human trafficking, forced labour and modern slavery including prevention, identification, response, remediation, mitigation, and reporting in its operations, supply chains and its wider operating environment. It will include:

- overview of governance issues (direction, oversight and accountability);

- terms and definitions;

- preparing statements for reporting requirements or providing voluntary statements;

- advice and how to respond to issues.

It is intended to help organizations ensure they are acting responsibly and ethically by providing:

• a holistic approach to addressing human trafficking, forced labour and modern slavery (HTFLMS) that puts people at the heart of an organization;

• effective management of the risk of HTFLMS.

The potential benefits of this standard include:

• demonstration of organizational commitment to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) which helps build confidence in your organization’s governance and ethics;

• positive business reputation;

• increased confidence and customer loyalty, as consumers seek businesses with higher ethical standards;

• greater ability to attract talent and staff retention;

• protecting workers’ mental and physical health and their ability to earn a livelihood;

• improved investor, insurer, and regulator confidence;

• helping direct investment to socially responsible endeavours;

• more responsive and stable supply chains.

This guidance would be applicable to all types and sizes of organizations

Purpose

The severe exploitation of people for personal or commercial gain by means of human trafficking, forced labour, and modern slavery (HTFLMS) is sometimes referred to as “modern slavery” and often described as a crime “hidden in plain sight” due to the difficultly of identifying victims.

People can become entrapped making clothes, serving food, picking crops, working in factories, or working in houses as cooks, cleaners or nannies. While it can appear to be a legitimate job, victims are often subjected to forms of control which prevent them from leaving or escaping exploitative conditions. This includes violence or threats, debt bondage, withholding of wages, confiscation of passports and being threatened with denouncement to authorities if working illegally. Traffickers often take advantage of vulnerable individuals desperate to escape circumstances such as poverty, economic hardship, discrimination and conflict. Workers in these situations can be at risk of work-related injury, illness and death.

According to the latest Global Estimates of Modern Slavery (2022) from Walk Free, the International Labour Organization and the International Organization for Migration:

- 49.6 million people live in modern slavery

– in forced labour and forced marriage

- roughly a quarter of all victims of modern slavery are children

- 22 million people are in forced marriages. Two out of five of these people were children

- Of the 27.6 million people trapped in forced labour, 17.3 million are in the private economy, 6.3 million are in commercial sexual exploitation, and nearly 4 million are in forced labour imposed by state authorities

- the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the conditions that lead to modern slavery

- migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to forced labour. Source: Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage, Geneva, September 2022 https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/forced-labour/publications/WCMS_854733/lang--en/index.htm

In September 2022, BSI published BS25700

– Organizational responses to modern slavery – Guidelines. This document could serve as a valuable source and can be freely downloaded at: https: //www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/standards/bs-25700/.

By developing an international, up-to-date and authoritative guidance, organizations of all types and sizes can better understand, prevent and respond to forced labour, labour exploitation and human trafficking. It can be helpful to particular sections of an organization (such as the procurement, legal, compliance, human resources, and finance departments) where these concerns are more likely. As well as assisting organizations, it can also help guide public policymakers, regulators and investors.