GENEVA (ILO News) – The International Labour Organization (ILO) has responded to corporate calls for help to prevent forced labour and human trafficking.

The ILO will set up a Global Business Network on Forced Labour and Human Trafficking to help business address the challenges of forced labour and human trafficking in an increasingly complex global setting. 

 “The ILO has worked with representative business groups for nearly a century and has longstanding experience in the fight against forced labour,” said ILO Director-General Guy Ryder. “This experience has highlighted the value of peer-to-peer exchanges that create a conducive environment for sharing information and resolving problems.”

The Global Business Network will offer members unique opportunities and solutions bringing together the ILO’s lead and expertise, and a global network spanning 187 member States. It will provide members with hard-to-find data and information on emerging trends, and allow businesses to anticipate and to adapt to rapid change across the world.

The Network also provides the opportunity to draw on the ILO’s unique tripartite structure bringing together governments, worker and employer organizations. Engagement with these groups is essential for effective human rights’ due diligence, heading off problems before they materialize.

The Global Business Network has already been greatly welcomed and has received seed funding for its creation from Mars, Incorporated and the US Department of Labor.

To kick start the Global Business Network and ensure it meets business demands, the ILO will hold two regional and two national consultations with businesses and employers’ organizations. 

Companies interested in joining the Global Business Network or participating in the consultations can contact: Wade Bromley bromley@ilo.org.

Note
The Global Business Network on Forced Labour and Human Trafficking will create a conducive environment for the sharing of information on how companies can prevent and mitigate the risk of forced labour and human trafficking in their own operations and in supply chains to which they are directly linked. The Network will also develop tools and pilot test interventions. Initial areas of focus will include:

• Review of existing policies, identification of risk areas, and due diligence.
• Adapting existing relevant ILO tools (e.g. Combating Forced Labour: A Handbook for Employers & Business), and developing other practical tools on the prevention of forced labour and human trafficking in company operations in various languages.
• The development and implementation of training modules and training facilitation for company personnel and suppliers.
• Understanding existing and emerging legal and regulatory regimes and reporting obligations.
• Ensuring fair recruitment, building on the “fair recruitment corridors” pioneered by the ILO and partner organizations in South Asia and the Middle East.
• Pilot testing intervention models on forced labour and human trafficking, and “scaling-up” already proven interventions.

Membership is open to globally oriented businesses interested in preventing forced labour and human trafficking in their operations and supply chains. Meetings are targeted at senior executives with direct responsibility for these issues.