The primary outcome of the meeting was a set of principles aimed at all stakeholders in global supply chains for developing a balanced approach to eradicating modern slavery. The principles are intended as a resource for all working across the spectrum of business and human rights and inclusive economic development. Governments, donors, multilateral agencies, development finance institutions, academia, civil society and business are invited to consider them in policy and strategy development, advocacy, research, project implementation and commercial activity.
The principles can be applied across value chains, regardless of destination market and place of operation, and in certified and uncertified value chains. They are not intended to be rigid rules or aspirational statements. Instead, they provide a flexible framework that helps inform decisions while allowing for adaptability in different contextual situations. The principles are intended as a starting point for further work, including dissemination for wider review and refinement, as well as additional development of guidance as to their application in practice.
Guiding principles for a balanced approach to eradicating modern slavery in supply chains
Measures to address modern slavery in supply chains should be:
1. Worker-centred
- Protect fundamental labour rights of workers and promote freedom of association within economic development activities.
- Promote legal protections and enforcement: legal identity; social protection; and help make global migration more safe, orderly and regular.
- Hard-wire lived experience and peer-to-peer learning and perspective in planning, implementation, appraisal and decision making.
- Inform and empower workers within both business and human rights and inclusive economic development approaches and activities.
2. Based on Equitable Partnership
- Determine and ensure fair and effective distribution of responsibilities along supply chains.
- Ensure fair sharing of effort and costs, fair pricing and purchasing practices including through long term contracts where appropriate.
- Facilitate shared responsibility and accountability through adopting a systems approach that engages all stakeholder perspectives.
- Ensure equal partnership and respect – within and between value chains.
- Encourage civil society participation at all levels of value chain activity.
- Understand and mitigate any negative impacts on cost and access to finance and investment for upstream businesses in supply chains related to their capacity to meet market and regulatory requirements.
3. Data Driven
- Define harmonised data standards.
- Prioritise data derived nearest to an event.
- Establish effective data security and protection.
- Ensure data is transparent, accessible and actionable for those that require it.
- Integrate data across sectors and cross-reference and validate data sources.
- Build trust between supply chain stakeholders on data sharing and syndicate data to reduce burden on individual businesses, especially upstream EMDE businesses.
- Develop sustainable resourcing for a quality and interoperable data ecosystem.
4. Sustainable
- Demonstrate that action on modern slavery is a commercial imperative to long term business sustainability and resilience.
- Building on the UNGPs, sustainably build capacity of all stakeholders to identify and remedy abuses.
- Streamline multiple and duplicative standards, requirements and demands.
- Look to employ tools that maximise effectiveness while minimising administrative and resource burden especially for upstream EMDE businesses.
- Seek long term solutions at the intersection of human rights, inclusive economic development and climate change impact for the most vulnerable to exploitation.
5. Improvement-based
- Focus on outcomes and impact not compliance.
- Promote a shared understanding between governments, suppliers, buyers, investors, unions, workers and consumers of what good looks like.
- Align incentives to reward positive complementary behaviours in the hardest contexts that benefit multiple SDG targets, especially on forced and child labour, decent work and inclusive economic development.
- Increase accountability for all duty bearers.