"How does a company ensure there is no association with human trafficking in its operations or supply chains when these extend into areas where trafficking is common in terms of the procurement of people, their transportation or their use as labour?"

Human trafficking is not a straightforward human rights challenge for companies to address. Indeed it is an illicit and hidden issue, which many businesses struggle to identify.

In this context, the dilemma for business is how to identify and address human trafficking in accordance with the international conventions and national laws relating to prohibition of human trafficking. While companies can take relatively clear steps to ensure their own workforces are free of trafficked persons, this can be more of a challenge when addressing trafficking in the value-chain. This is particularly the case with respect to trafficking risks in the lower tiers of the supply chain and/or amongst suppliers and sub-contractors operating in countries that pose high levels of risk around human trafficking. Similarly certain sectors (such as transportation, hospitality and tourism) are more likely to come into contact with human trafficking via their customer base/service users.

Even where human trafficking is successfully identified, remediation will not always be straightforward given the vulnerability of victims and the circumstances that resulted in them being trafficked in the first place. As a result, it is recommended that companies take a multi-faceted approach, potentially in cooperation with their suppliers, civil society organisations and governments, to ensure they are able to navigate the challenge of human trafficking effectively.

See human trafficking case studies

Back to top

Trafficking defined

Human trafficking is defined under the relevant Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime as: "the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation." This can be distinguished from the smuggling of willing and voluntary migrants, which does not necessarily entail human rights violations.

In its Trafficking in Persons Report 2017, the US Department of State lists seven major types of human trafficking, including trafficking related to:

• Sex-trafficking
• Child sex trafficking
• Forced labour
• Bonded labour or debt bondage
• Domestic servitude
• Forced child labour
• Unlawful recruitment and use of child soldiers

The relationship between human trafficking and business

According to the UN.GIFT and EHTN! Campaign e-learning course on human trafficking the three main ways in which companies can become involved with this issue are:

1. Traffickers' use of a company's products, facilities or services in the process (e.g. the transport of trafficking victims via international airlines, shipping companies and others in the transportation sector)

In 2013, the US government announced plans to partner with four US commercial airlines to train employees to recognise human trafficking indicators in the airport and in in flight. The US Transportation Secretary stated that the US transportation system is at risk of being an enabler of criminal acts. By working in partnership with major airlines the US government aims to raise awareness of and combat human trafficking. The four companies participating in the partnership include: Delta Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Allegiant Air and North American Airlines.

2. Through the exploitation of trafficking victims within a company's supply chain (e.g. the use of forced labour by suppliers or sub-contractors)

In 2017, the New York Times reported on the death of a 49 year-old women from a heart attack whilst working in grape fields in southern Italy in 2015. According to the report, a two year investigation into her death unveiled an intricate system of human trafficking and forced labour linked to the agricultural industry in southern Italy — involving more than 40,000 women and both migrant and seasonal workers. The women had been made to work picking and sorting grapes for up to 12 hours and earning just EUR27 (USD30.64) per day. Middlemen, paid by farm owners, would transport the women and other workers to the farms every day and then take up to a third of their earnings for transportation costs.

A report from Human Rights Watch Are You Happy to Cheat Us? notes that in Russia, migrant workers are trafficked into the relatively unregulated construction sector through the confiscation of their passports and a range of physical and administrative threats. According to the World Bank, about 40% of migrant workers are employed in the building sector. Typical source countries include those post-Soviet states without visa regimes with Russia.

3. Utilisation of personnel supplied by third party agents (domestic or overseas), over which the company has limited oversight (e.g. labour brokers whose unscrupulous treatment of workers amounts to trafficking).

In 2016, Human Rights Watch published a report detailing the abuse and exploitation of migrant domestic workers in Oman. Many of these workers were originally recruited from Asian and East African countries by third party agents for work in the UAE. However, they were then subsequently trafficked into Oman where they were forced to work in conditions amounting to modern slavery. Many of the workers interviewed told Human Rights Watch that their Omani employers confiscated their passports, beat them and said they could only leave if they paid back the fees that the employer had paid to the agent for domestic help. In many cases, these fees amounted to between 1,000 – 1,500 Omani rials (USD2,597 – 3,896) which is impossible to pay for many workers, particularly when employers regularly withhold wages or do not pay on time.

Many of the workers interviewed had signed contracts in their home countries which were then changed upon arrival in the Gulf. This often meant that workers were forced to work for wages far below what they had initially agreed to, as well as work hours far beyond legal limits. As part of the recruitment process in their home countries, private recruitment agencies also charged workers excessive fees for their flights to the Gulf and for medical tests, leading to many becoming indebted and therefore unable to exit the relationship with the agent and the employer.

Third party recruitment agents are also used in a variety of industries including manufacturing, agricultural work and construction. In China, for example, the widespread use of labour outsourcing means that businesses face a risk of association with human trafficking and forced labour. As suppliers increasingly turn to recruitment agencies to provide low-cost, temporary labour, more and more workers are receiving lower rates of pay, fewer benefits and less legal protections. High levels of rural to urban migration in China also means that many people in rural areas pay agents to help them secure work in cities, often resulting in high levels of debt.

UN.GIFT has published a guide, Human Trafficking: Everybody's Business, which further examines how human trafficking relates to business.

The relationship between human trafficking and migrant workers

The cross-border movement of labour is strongly associated with human trafficking, as it can increase the vulnerability of migrant workers to labour exploitation, including forced labour and debt bondage. A variety of "push" and "pull" factors encourage cross-border migration, including economic opportunity, increased freedom of movement between states, insecurity and social networks.

In this context, migrant workers can be subject to exploitative recruitment conditions – including the provision of false or deceptive information by labour brokers or the charging of excessive recruitment fees. Furthermore, many migrants travel as ‘undocumented' workers, meaning they have limited legal alternatives but to work in undesirable jobs characterised by poor working conditions. In addition they may not be in position to avail themselves of union membership, may fear deportation if they report exploitative practices and may be subject to workplace discrimination.

Relevant sectors

In its Combating Forced Labour: A Handbook for Employers & Business, the ILO identifies the following as sectors in which human trafficking (and associated forced labour) is a serious problem:

• Agriculture and horticulture
• Construction
• Garments and textiles (under sweatshop conditions)
• Hospitality and catering
• Mining and logging
• Food processing and packaging
• Transportation
• Domestic service and other care and cleaning work
• Sex industry and prostitution

Although the developing world accounts for many victims of trafficking, its often transnational nature means that there are strong links with destination countries in the developed world. For example, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)'s Trafficking in Persons: Analysis on Europe report, found that in France, trafficking victims were employed involuntarily in the following sectors: construction (35%), garment industry (19%), agriculture (18%), hotels and catering (15%), commerce (5%), services (3%) and others (5%). According to the UNODC: "This trend suggests that trafficking for forced labour is likely to exist in other countries in the region, although it is currently undetected."

For further and detailed information, see the ILO's Combating Forced Labour: A Handbook for Employers & Business, which provides comprehensive guidance for companies.

See human trafficking case studies

Back to top

Real-world examples

World Bank lending linked to forced labour in Uzbek cotton industry

A 2017 report by Human Rights Watch has linked the World Bank and its private investment arm, the International Finance Corporate (IFC) with forced labour in the Uzbek cotton industry. The report claims that the World Bank has been financing a USD337 million irrigation project since 2015 to support the growth of cotton as well as other commodities. As part of the deal, the World Bank secured a commitment from the Uzbek government that the use of the land would comply with international forced labour and child labour laws. However, the government continues to force both adults and children to work in the cotton sector within the bank's project area. At the same time, the IFC has also invested in a government joint venture with a subsidiary of Indonesia's Indorama Corporation; a leading producer of cotton yarn in Uzbekistan. However, the company has been found to have an inadequate due diligence system which does not align with the IFC's Environmental, Social and Performance Standards, which are designed to prevent the IFC from investing in projects which harm people or the environment. This case demonstrates the challenge that occurs for businesses sourcing from a country where state-sponsored forced labour is widespread.

Slavery identified in the West African cocoa sector, the main source of supply for global chocolate manufacturers

West Africa accounts for approximately 70% of the world's cocoa output, meaning the region forms part of the supply chain for the significant majority of confectionary companies, reportedly including companies such as Cadbury, Nestlé and others. Cocoa is generally grown on smallholdings and reports indicate that a significant number of children are involved in the cultivation of the crop in these settings. The informal nature of employment facilitates the trafficking of children; many are confined in conditions tantamount to forced labour. In 2010, this prompted considerable media interest and demands from activist groups such as Stop the Traffik that action was taken to address the issue. Since then, a number of companies have adopted – or have committed to adopting – the use of certified cocoa as a means of helping address the issue. This includes Cadbury, which announced that its popular Dairy Milk product would be Fairtrade certified from 2009, as well as Mars, which has committed to a target of sourcing all of its cocoa from certified sources by 2020. Likewise, in 2009, Nestlé launched the Nestlé Cocoa Plan, which to eliminate child labour from – and improve working conditions within – its cocoa supply chain. This example demonstrates the challenge that can be posed to an entire sector as a result of potential association with human trafficking, as well as the often complex social, economic and cultural contexts that often underpin human trafficking in developing countries.

Global brands linked to Thai seafood sector accused of human trafficking and forced labour

Thailand is one of the world's largest seafood exporters and deeply integrated into global food supply chains. In 2016 and 2017, Thailand received sustained international attention over labour rights violations in its fishing industry, including forced labour and human trafficking. Seafood caught by Thai fishing vessels has entered the supply chains of multiple companies for global export.

Since the allegations, a number of companies have made commitments to ensure that seafood sourced from Thailand is slavery-free. A number of UK retailers, such as Marks & Spencer, now ensure that all of the suppliers that they work with in the fishing industry are certified by the Responsible Fishing Scheme (RFS), which has been developed to improve standards in the fishing sector through compliance audits of fishing vessels.

See human trafficking case studies

Back to top

Legal risks

Risk posed to business by trafficking – whether they are directly involved or indirectly complicit through their supply chain – include the violation of national civil and/or criminal legal requirements. This may result in custodial sentences, fines and/or civil claims.

Sanctions related to trafficking are particularly grave in situations where a company has knowingly assisted or benefited from trafficking. Any legal actions are likely to affect staff morale, the ability to attract and retain talent, operational efficiency, cash flow and management focus. They are also likely to require potentially costly remedial actions.

For example, in 2016 a group of Cambodian villagers filed a civil lawsuit against four companies supplying American supermarkets. The lawsuit claimed that the workers were trafficked into conditions of forced labour at a Thai seafood factory, and that the companies were knowingly profiting from exploitation at their supplier sites. In November 2016, a California federal court ruled the lawsuit can go to trial. The case is ongoing and four companies, - Rubicon Resources, Wales & Co. Universe, Phatthana Seafood Co. and SS. Frozen Food - will face trial for alleged breaches of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 2008.

US legal framework further strengthened for the prevention of trafficking in persons

In the past few years, the US government has tightened regulations relating to trafficking and forced labour at both federal and state level, creating new legal obligations for business. In addition, there is a growing push for transparency within supply chains, and companies face increased pressure to undertake supplier due diligence in this regard. These new legal obligations create further legal risks to business if found to be directly or indirectly involved or complicit in human trafficking.

Federal initiatives

The US government's federal initiatives have come about as the government seeks to ensure that, as the largest purchaser of goods and services in the world, it does not contribute to human trafficking. Two primary pieces of legislation have been passed, alongside an Executive Order, issued by President Obama.

Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act 2013: This came into force in March 2013 and was passed as an amendment to the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act 2013. The Act:

• Renews the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 which addresses human trafficking through a threefold approach, which enables the prosecution of abusers, the protection of victims and the prevention of trafficking
• Establishes programmes and strengthens the existing framework to counter the purchasing of services and products made or suspected to be made by human trafficking, by requiring the Bureau of International Labour Affairs to create a list of goods produced by forced/child labour
• Makes it easier to prosecute and charge traffickers through the strengthening of local and state law enforcement collaboration
• Contains further emergency response provisions to help in addressing situations that place people at a heightened risk of trafficking.

The National Defence Authorization Act of 2013: Sections 1701–1708 of this Act seek to limit the association of government contractors with human trafficking practices. The Act:

• Provides government agencies with the right to terminate contracts and grants with both individuals and organisations engaging in human trafficking, without penalty
• Establishes measures to allow for the investigation and reporting of violations of human trafficking law associated with government grants and contracts
• Requires contracts worth more than USD500,000 to include certification that no party involved in the contract will practice or be associated with human trafficking practices

Executive Order: Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking in Persons in Federal Contracts: President Obama's Executive Order, issued in September 2012, lays out new requirements for US government contractors and subcontractors (for supplies or services) to prevent human trafficking and forced labour. The Executive Order requires that government contractors:

• Are prohibited from engaging in illegitimate labour practices
• Are required to cooperate with government audits
• Have a duty to inform the Inspector General where violations are suspected
• Must apply compliance plans to overseas federal contractors and subcontractors

State initiatives

A majority of states have also passed anti-human trafficking laws. In 2014, the Polaris Project, a NGO that combats modern day slavery and trafficking, noted progress made by the majority of US states in passing legislation to combat human trafficking in its report, ‘State Ratings on Human Trafficking Laws'. The report finds that in 2014, all 50 states had enacted the minimum legal framework to combat human trafficking. In addition, 39 states are within the Tier 1 category (where Tier 1 indicates best performance, and Tier 4 indicates worst), indicating that the state has ‘passed significant laws to combat human trafficking'.

One of the most notable state initiatives comes from California – one of the largest economies in the world. California's Transparency in Supply Chains Act (SB-657), which came into force in January 2012, requires businesses with annual worldwide gross receipts of over USD100 million to disclose efforts to eliminate trafficking within their supply chain, including the degree to which they:

• Engage in the verification of product supply chains
• Conduct audits of suppliers
• Require direct suppliers to certify that materials used in products comply with the laws
• Maintain internal accountability standards and procedures
• Provide company employees and management training on human trafficking and slavery

Reputational risks

Even if a company does not face legal sanction, it may face serious reputational consequences if it is somehow implicated in human trafficking. Even if unfounded, these claims may have equal – or even greater – potential to harm the interests of the company via reputational damage.

Consequences can include brand contamination due to the psychological or emotional association of the company with what can be considered a particularly exploitative and distasteful practice that generally involves vulnerable people. This can be particularly damaging when the issue is taken up by activist groups who are often adept at using media and consumer pressure on companies they are seeking to influence.

Tarnishing of the corporate image in this way can result in:

• Reduced consumer demand for a company's products
• Loss of share price due to concerns over brand erosion and lower sales, as well as divestment by ethical investors
• Workforce disaffection, including low morale, reduced ability to attract and retain talent, and poor motivation
• Strategic restrictions as a result of dissociation from industry associations, government censure and a reduced ability to forge and maintain profitable commercial partnerships

In April 2010, the NLC published a report, Dirty Clothes, in which it accused retailers Nygard, Dillard's, J.C. Penney and Walmart of sourcing clothes from the International British Garments factory in the Ad Dulayl Industrial Park, Jordan. The report claims "1,200 guest workers from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India - 75% of whom are young women - have been trafficked to Jordan, stripped of their passports and held under conditions of indentured servitude". The report says that the factory is owned by multi-national security services company G4S (Group 4 Securicor).

Administrative, legal and procedural measures put in place to prevent trafficking - whether public or private - may also have cost implications for business as a result of business interruption, administrative requirements imposed by authorities and/or precautionary procedures (whether internal or external).

See human trafficking case studies

Back to top

For a company to ensure it is responsibly addressing human trafficking within its own operations and supply chains, it should first look to comply with relevant national laws on this and related issues such as forced labour. Where national laws are set lower than international standards on human trafficking, then a company should strive to meet these higher standards.

The UN ‘Protect, Respect and Remedy' Framework for Business and Human Rights provides guidance on how to protect individuals and communities from corporate related human rights harm.

The framework is comprised of three key principles:

• Protect: The state duty to protect against human rights abuses by third parties, including business;
• Respect: The corporate responsibility to respect human rights; and
• Remedy: Greater access by victims to effective remedy, both judicial and non-judicial.

The framework states that in addition to complying with national laws businesses have a responsibility, in the context of the countries where they operate, to respect human rights through their own business activities and through their relationships with third parties – such as business partners and entities in their supply chains. To meet this responsibility, the framework notes that businesses should engage in human rights due diligence and specifies the main components of the process:

Policies: Including a human rights policy containing broad commitments, supported by more detailed guidance in specific functional areas

Impact assessment: Including assessments that explicitly reference internationally recognised human rights and are used by companies to avoid potential negative human rights impacts on an ongoing basis

Integration: Including the embedding of respect for human rights throughout a company

Tracking performance: Including regular updates of human rights impact and performance

The Guiding Principles for the Implementation of the UN "Protect, Respect and Remedy" Framework aim to provide "concrete and practical recommendations" about how businesses can operationalise their responsibility to respect human rights. According to the Guiding Principles, the responsibility to respect human rights requires responsible companies to:

• Implement a human rights policy
• Apply human rights due diligence
• Provide for remediation

The UNGPs apply to all States and to all business enterprises, both transnational and others, regardless of their size, sector, location, ownership and structure.

The UNGPs have experienced widespread uptake and support from both the public and private sectors, and numerous companies have publicly stated their commitment to the Guiding Principles. The UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework is also used by companies to report on how they respect human rights.

Companies can seek specific guidance on this and other issues relating to international labour standards from the ILO Helpdesk. This aims to help company managers and workers understand the ILO approach to socially responsible labour practices and to assist in the development of good industrial relations.

While designing its Human Rights Impact Assessment, businesses may wish to consult existing guidance documents, such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC), UN Global Compact and International Business Leaders Forum's (IBLF) Guide to Human Rights Impact Assessment and Management. This latter guide provides companies with a ‘process to assess their business risks, enhance their due diligence procedures and effectively manage their human rights challenges.' The online guide takes users through different stages of the impact assessment process, including Preparation, Identification, Engagement, Assessment, Mitigation, Management and Evaluation.

In addition, the ILO's Combating Forced Labour: A Handbook for Employers & Business provides a range of comprehensive guidance for companies, including "10 Principles for Business Leaders to Combat Forced Labour and Trafficking". These include:

• Establishment of clear and transparent company policies
• Training of auditors, human resource and compliance officers to identify forced labour
• Promotion of products and services where there is a clear link to ethical business practice, including the prevention of forced labour
• Promotion of sectoral codes of conduct
• Ensuring migrant workers are treated fairly and monitor recruitment agencies for abusive practices and forced labour
• Provision of written contracts to all workers in a language workers understand and that sets out their rights with respect to payment of wages, overtime, retention of identity documents and other relevant issues
• Encouragement of cooperation between business actors, including the sharing of good practice
• Contributing to programmes assisting victims of trafficking
• The pursuit of multilateral cooperation with governments, workers and other actors
• The use of innovative means to reward good practice, in conjunction with the media

The Handbook also provides a dedicated section on 'Tips for Taking Action', offering practical means by which these Principles can be implemented.

Similarly, UN.GIFT (amongst others) has published Human Trafficking and Business: Good Practices to Prevent and Combat Human Trafficking. This examines the role business can play in addressing human trafficking – including practical advice around (for example):

• Risk assessment and policy
• Training
• Monitoring and measuring impact
• Corrective action
• Community initiatives
• Communications and reporting

In addition, companies can seek specific guidance on this and other issues relating to international labour standards from the ILO Helpdesk. This aims to help company managers and workers understand the ILO approach to socially responsible labour practices and to assist in the development of good industrial relations.

Other specific actions for responsible business might include:

1. Anti-human trafficking management system

If operating in a high risk sector or region, a company should consider implementing specific policies to prevent and respond to human trafficking violations in line with international standards and best practice. These should specifically address the different forms in which trafficking can manifest itself, including forced labour, bonded labour, forced child labour and debt bondage amongst migrant workers.

Any policy should be supported, where appropriate, by a full suite of anti-human trafficking procedures to ensure continuous improvement. These might include, for example, procedures relating to implementation, monitoring and reporting.

According to a Private Sector Survey on Human Trafficking by the UN Global Compact, the ILO, and UN.GIFT, around 60% of surveyed companies had policies in place that addressed human trafficking.

2. Implement supply chain and contractor controls

It might be recommended that a company ensure that the terms of human trafficking policy are reflected in contracts with suppliers and subcontractors in the form of legal conditions, or through its Supplier Code of Conduct. These stipulations would ideally be supported by a meaningful system to check that business partners are not contravening company policy.

This might include, for example:

• Unannounced visits to factories using a risks-based approach
• Implementation of an anonymous whistle blower hotline, with details posted within, for example, supplier facilities, local media etc.
• Auditing of suppliers by third party specialists
• Monitoring of local media for adverse news stories

3. Implement employee training programmes

It may be advisable that a company work with third-party specialists (NGOs, international organisations and consultants) to educate management and staff regarding the identification and prevention of human trafficking. This should be focused on personnel that are more likely to come into contact with the issue, including for example:

• Procurement personnel
• Supply chain managers
• Construction project managers
• Facility cleaning, security and maintenance teams

Training should focus on issues such as:

• Why it is important to address the issue (for example, the criminal and moral aspects of human trafficking)
• How to identify the signs that human trafficking is taking place (for example the withholding of passports and other essential documents, non-payment of wages, signs of coercion)
• What to do if you identify human trafficking (for example reporting procedures, legal requirements, sensitive approaches to addressing the issue)
• Understand the procedures to address trafficking when it is discovered (e.g. reporting lines, remedies and sanctions)

Where relevant and possible, such training should be extended to suppliers, contractors and other business partners. Where it is considered to be particularly necessary, the company should consider making training a condition of contract.

Internal training is likely to be particularly important for companies, where employees are likely to come face to face with trafficking on a regular basis. Reflecting this, hospitality companies Accor, Carlson Companies and Kuoni train their staff on the identification of child sex tourism.

4. Awareness raising campaigns

To responsibly address human trafficking, a company might implement or support awareness raising amongst:

• Communities from which trafficking victims are drawn (e.g. in order to reduce "supply" by educating potential victims of the risks posed by human trafficking and how to identify and avoid potential trafficking situations)
• Communities to which victims are trafficked (e.g. in order to reduce "demand" by making potential direct and indirect beneficiaries aware of the realities, consequences and human costs of human trafficking - including relevant legal sanctions)
• Victims (e.g. in order to help victims to escape from trafficking situations through the provision of information about their legal rights, sources of potential assistance and any available rehabilitation programmes)

Campaigns might take the form of, for example, community meetings, posters or radio broadcasts. In some cases, they can be highly targeted, for example at ports of entry into the relevant country or at workplace facilities. Ideally (i.e. for maximum impact and cost effectiveness) initiatives should be carried out in collaboration with other stakeholders including public bodies, NGOs and other companies.

5. Sectoral standards and initiatives

Where appropriate and feasible, work with peer companies and external specialists to develop sector-specific certification standards.

These might include, for example:

• Common policies and procedures
• A sectoral human-trafficking code of conduct
• The pooling of resources to implement anti-trafficking initiatives in major sectoral supplier locations that represent a high human trafficking risk - including auditing
• The marketing of 'trafficking-free' products
• Joint advocacy activities

The advantage of sectoral partnerships is that they allow companies to pool their resources and exploit the economies of scale offered through joint action against a common challenge. This is particularly important in the case of sectors in which human trafficking is perceived to be a particular problem – for example in agriculture, constriction, domestic work, manufacturing, hospitality and travel. Many companies have a significant amount to lose if their sector becomes tainted by association with human trafficking – even if they are in no way complicit in this human rights abuse.

For example, The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism is an industry driven responsible tourism initiative developed in collaboration with ECPAT International, funded by UNICEF and supported by the UNWTO. It requires members to commit themselves to six criteria:

• Establish an ethical policy regarding commercial sexual exploitation of children
• Train personnel in the country of origin and travel destinations
• Introduce a clause in contracts with suppliers, stating a common repudiation of commercial sexual exploitation of children
• Provide information to travellers by means of catalogues, brochures, in-flight films, ticket-slips, home pages, etc.
• Provide information to local "key persons" at the destinations
• Report progress annually

Members, which include Kuoni, Radisson, Park Inn, Accor, Carlson Marketing and Park Plaza, report on their meeting of the above criteria, and collectively maintain a Good Practice Database through which they can share knowledge and experience.

End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT) International is a global network of organisations and individuals seeking to encourage the world community in the fight against the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). ECPAT International follows government action on CSEC and publishes the results, explores and shares models for prevention. The organisation has also developed training modules for caregivers, in addition to learning tools for police training. The organisation provides advice and information for groups trying to develop or implement national CSEC plans and develops and implements research methodologies.

6. Multilateral partnerships

A company may choose to develop and/or join multilateral partnerships with public bodies, peer companies, unions, NGOs and other interested stakeholders to address human trafficking through:

• Information sharing, cooperation and collective action
• The improvement of socio-economic conditions in source locations for human trafficking
• The establishment of recognised principles and codes of conduct
• Programmes to help rehabilitate trafficking victims

The advantage of multilateral partnerships is that they can deliver a high degree of legitimacy and shared expertise, due to the involvement of different actors. This - as well as the additional resources that can be provided by multilateral partners - can potentially magnify the impact and publicity of company programmes to address human trafficking.

A key example of multilateral collaboration can be found in the January 2006 Athens Ethical Principles, an initiative to get a wide range of businesses to commit to helping eradicate human trafficking.

The Seven Ethical Principles of the Athens Action Plan include the following:

• Explicitly demonstrate the position of zero tolerance towards trafficking in human beings, especially women and children for sexual exploitation
• Contribute to the prevention of trafficking in human beings including awareness-raising campaigns and education
• Develop a corporate strategy for anti-trafficking policy which will permeate all our activities
• Ensure that personnel fully comply with anti-trafficking policy
• Encourage business partners, including suppliers, to apply ethical principles against human trafficking
• Increase enforcement, by calling on governments to initiate a process of revision of laws and regulations that are directly or indirectly related to enhancing anti-trafficking policies
• Report and share information on best practices

See human trafficking case studies

Back to top

The scale of the challenge

The ILO estimates that there are approximately 21 million adults and children in forced labour globally, trafficked for labour and sexual exploitation or held in slave-like conditions. Of this number, 18.7 million (90%) are exploited in the private sector, by individuals or enterprises. Of those working in the private sector, 4.5 million (22%) are victims of forced sexual exploitation and 14.2 million (68%) are victims of forced labour in agriculture, construction, domestic service, manufacturing and mining.

There are concerns that the current economic situation may be exacerbating the practice of forced labour due to an increase in economically vulnerable people and tighter cost margins. Forced labour is closely linked to trafficking, which has raised concerns that this too will intensify due to the global economic downturn.

Trafficking linked to forced labour is more prevalent in the Asia-Pacific region, accounting for 11.7 million (56% of the global total). Human trafficking and forced labour is also prevalent in Africa (accounting for 18%), Latin America (9%), developed economies and the European Union (7%) and the Middle East (3%). According to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), four in every ten victims of trafficking detected between 2012 and 2014 were trafficked for forced labour. Domestic trafficking, or trafficking carried out within a country's borders, has also increased significantly in the same period. 42% of victims detected between 2012 and 2014 were trafficked domestically. These shifts indicate that the understanding of trafficking has evolved, with law enforcement and criminal justice practitioners more aware of the nuances of the crime and the diversity of victims. Robust legislative changes in many countries have also given law enforcement increased power to prosecute offenders.

According to Verisk Maplecroft's Trafficking in Person's Index 2017, 15 countries rank extreme risk for businesses through the possible association with, and exposure to human trafficking violations. These countries include South Sudan, North Korea, Somalia, Iran, Sudan, Syria, Democratic Republic of Congo and Libya.

The legal situation

The Trafficking in Persons Protocol requires that trafficking is criminalised in domestic legislation. It also requires the criminalisation of:

• Attempts to traffic
• Participation as an accomplice in trafficking
• Organising or directing others to traffic

Despite the scale of the challenge, prosecutions by national authorities are relatively rare. According to global figures provided to the US government, in 2012 there were 7,705 recorded prosecutions for human trafficking, and 4,746 convictions. Of these, 1,153 prosecutions were for labour trafficking, as were 518 convictions.

According to the UNODC Global Report on the Trafficking in Persons 2016, 158 countries and territories have criminalised trafficking by establishing specific offences – in line with the Trafficking in Persons Protocol. Nonetheless, conviction rates remain low. Of 136 countries assessed, 15% had not recorded a single trafficking conviction between 2012and 2014.

The US Department of State ranks countries according to the meeting of minimum standards under the Trafficking Victims Reauthorization Act 2003. In 2017, there were 23 countries that are classified as not fully complying with these standards and which are not considered to be making significant efforts to do so ("Tier 3" countries). These include Belarus, Belize, Burundi, Central African Republic, China, Comoros, DR Congo, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, North Korea, Mali, Mauritania, Russia, South Sudan, Uzbekistan, Syria, Turkmenistan, Venezuela and Sudan.

Vulnerable groups

According to UNODC (based on national data) the demographic makeup of victims is as follows:

• Women (51%)
• Girls (20%)
• Men (21%)
• Boys (8%)

Human rights at risk

Human rights that are typically subject to violation as a result of human trafficking include:

Rights to liberty and security of person (ICCPR, Article 9): Trafficked persons are likely to experience physical coercion and/or wrongful imprisonment during the trafficking process. While, for example, lower-level physical coercion or containment may fall short of violating ICCPR Article 7, it would nonetheless infringe on a person's liberty of person.

Right to freedom of movement (ICCPR, Article 12): Trafficked persons are likely to face restrictions on their movement in order to ensure their efficient exploitation by their abusers. Traffickers may use direct physical restriction, threats of violence, or psycho-emotional abuse in order to prevent victims leaving their control. Alternatively, they may use financial or administrative restrictions (such as the withholding of pay or passports) in order to effectively prevent movement.

Right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay (UDHR, Article 24): Trafficked persons are likely to have little or no say with respect to their terms of employment. Traffickers are likely to extract the maximum value from them - whether in terms of time, labour or selling price - without any legal restriction. In many cases this will necessarily involve a denial of this right.

Right not to be subjected to torture, cruel, inhuman and/or degrading treatment or punishment (ICCPR, Article 7): The nature of human trafficking means it is very likely to involve the use of force, threats or other forms of coercion - including psychological and emotional. By its very nature, human trafficking involves an abuse of power in which this right is likely to be violated.

Right to freedom of association (ICCPR, Article 22): Employers who knowingly use trafficked persons are very unlikely to allow them freedom of association, as their employment is fundamentally based on exploitation, coercion and a denial of their basic working rights. This right will not necessarily be violated where an employer has unknowingly engaged a trafficked person.

Rights of protection for the child (including protection from sexual and economic exploitation) (ICCPR, Article 24): Children form a significant proportion of trafficking victims, and many are subject to sexual or commercial exploitation. Trafficking still takes place if a child's parents have given their permission for their transfer.

Right not to be subjected to slavery, servitude or forced labour (including sexual and economic exploitation and trafficking) (ICCPR, Article 8): The exploitative nature of trafficking mean that victims are particularly vulnerable to slavery, servitude or forced labour - whilst sexual and/or economic exploitation is integral to the practice.

Right to an adequate standard of living (including access to adequate food, clothing, housing and water) (ICESCR, Article 11): Many different aspects of trafficked person's lives remain under the control of traffickers - including their working and non-working lives. Because of the exploitative nature of such relationships, the disempowerment of trafficking victims and the motivations of traffickers, victims' standards of living are likely to be severely compromised.

See human trafficking case studies

Back to top