Launch and discussion of report on impacts on rightsholders of human rights and environmental due diligence and forced labour trade ban laws

Event Details

This event is the launch and discussion of the research report on the impacts on rightsholders of mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence and forced labour trade ban laws. The report aims to inform a more effective design, implementation, and evaluation of these laws by responding to critical evidence gaps on the impacts of these laws on rightsholders.

The report analyses and synthesises the evidence collected through desk-based research, interviews, and roundtables with multiple stakeholders across jurisdictions, including CSOs, trade unions, businesses, people with lived experience, and workers.

This event is convened by Dr Sofia Gonzalez De Aguinaga, BIICL's Research Leader on Business, ESG and Modern Slavery and Principal Investigator (PI) of this project.

Background

Forced Labour and less extreme forms of labour exploitation are some of the adverse human rights impacts connected to business operations in global value chains. Forced labour alone affects an estimated 28 million people worldwide and generates approximately $236 billion in illegal proceeds annually. To address this, a range of different supply chain measures have been developed across the world. Notably, mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence (mHREDD) laws and forced labour trade ban (FLTB) laws have received overwhelming support from multiple stakeholders worldwide, including in the Global South.

mHREDD laws and FLTB laws differ in many ways including on their design, scope, and enforcement. Nonetheless, they are expected to complement each other and work in tandem to deliver positive impacts on rightsholders—including workers, Indigenous Peoples, and people with lived experience—whose human rights have been or could potentially be negatively impacted by business operations in global value chains.

The evidence on the impacts of these regulatory measures on rightsholders is nascent and concerns remain about the actual positive impacts these regulatory measures can have on rightsholders. This report sheds light on the actual and potential impacts of these laws on rightsholders, the role of trade unions and CSOs in using these laws as levers for delivering positive impacts for rightsholders, the role of businesses at measuring and reporting outcomes for rightsholders, and the expectations and experiences of people with lived experience. It also includes a case study on the impacts of forced labour import bans on workers in Southeast Asia.

Agenda

Section 1: Keynote speaker on human rights and environmental due diligence
Section 2: Presentation of key findings
Section 3: Discussion of key findings
Section 4: Conclusion

Registration

This event is free of charge and open to all. For any questions on the event, please email Dr Sofia Gonzalez De Aguinaga at s.deaguinaga@binghamcentre.biicl.org.

REGISTER HERE