News Archives » human trafficking
Engaging Corporations to Stop Human Trafficking October 17th, 2012
Human trafficking – the recruiting, transport, harboring or receiving of persons through force, coercion or fraud – targets vulnerable people who are then exploited through forced labor, bonded (debt) labor, prostitution or other sexual exploitation, or as child soldiers. It is a crime without borders; every country in the world has been touched by human trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit, or destination for victims.
Thus begins an article on human trafficking describing the work of members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR). “Leveraging Corporate Power in the Fight Against Human Trafficking,” explains how ICCR work on conflict minerals, the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, and investor work around the London Olympics has helped to reduce the incidence of human trafficking, and to raise awareness of this heartbreaking issue.
Interested in more information on how corporations can address the issue? Read Corporate Strategies to Address Human trafficking, a joint publication of Christian Brothers Investment Services, ICCR and ECCR.
Ask Congress to Help Stop Human Trafficking September 7th, 2012
Many things we use routinely – like our food and clothes – are too often tainted by slavery’s footprint. A new bill in Congress wants to change this.
The “Business Transparency on Trafficking and Slavery Act” (H.R. 2759) would require companies with at least $100 million in income to publicize the measures they are taking to combat this kind of slavery in their supply chains. Although the bill doesn’t require organizations to take action against slavery, it opens the door for competition to improve standards and practices by making the public aware of which companies are taking action to combat slavery – and which ones are not. Rather than subject businesses to confusing and often conflicting state laws, H.R. 2759 would establish clear requirements that would apply equally to companies across the country.
Supply Chain legislation was passed last year in California, and is having an effect as companies comply with the law. Supply chains are important; this is where most of the labor used to create a product is to be found.
Three other important bills to reduce human trafficking are also in need of support:
- Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act
- Strengthening the Child Welfare Response to Human Trafficking Act
- End Human Trafficking in Government Contracting
United Nations Fights Human Trafficking September 7th, 2012
In New York, the NGOs (non-governmental organizations) through their Stop Trafficking in Persons Committee is focusing on world sports events where sponsoring businesses can make a big difference in stopping human trafficking. In particular, task force members wrote letters to the London Olympics Organizing Committee and all Olympic sponsors asking them to take a public stand against human trafficking. Companies can prevent human trafficking by evaluating their supply chains in order to end forced labor, child labor, and unscrupulous recruitment practices.
The United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking, UN.GIFT, has as its mission to promote a global approach to the problem of trafficking in persons. Trafficking criminal networks are so extensive that they cannot be dismantled by governments alone. Trafficking is an organized crime so it must be fought in an organized way. UN.GIFT makes an effort to involve all stakeholders — business, academia, governments, civil society and the media – in partnerships against trafficking.
For further details or to support UN.GIFT, go to www.ungift.org/knowledgehub/en/about/index.html
“Slavery in Supply Chains: The Role Businesses and Consumers Can Play in Ending Human Trafficking” August 13th, 2012
Experts from the Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST) in a webcast, addressed the role businesses here in the U.S. and abroad can play to ensure their supply chains are free from slavery. To view the webcast and live chat, please click here.
This webcast is the second in a series of webcasts on the realities of modern-day slavery. To view ATEST’s first webcast on victims of modern-day slavery please click here.
Have something to add? Join the discussion on human trafficking on ATEST’s Facebook page.
Oblates Active in ICCR AGM in Boston June 10th, 2012
Simmons College, Boston, MA
The Oblates participated in the Annual General Meeting of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) that met at Simmons College in Boston from June 4-8. The corporate engagements over the last proxy season were evaluated – with successes celebrated, and plans laid for the 2012-2013 season. Areas in which the Oblates are active include: access to finance, extractives, global access to health, water, human trafficking, toxic chemicals, corporate governance and supply chain (labor) issues. John Ruggie, Professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School and the UN Special Rapporteur behind the UN Guiding Principles on Human Rights and Business was honored at a reception Wednesday evening.
The work on the financial services sector continues to be a high priority for ICCR members and has generated significant media attention. Resolutions and statements by religious investors continue to draw attention to the extensive moral and ethical responsibilities that corporate actors in this space assume. The enduring impact of the destruction of nearly 17 trillion dollars of wealth since the near financial meltdown of September 2008 is a clear justification of the need for such vigilance. This work by ICCR members has strongly supported the efforts of numerous homeowners in places like the San Fernando Valley CA and Prince William County in VA to stay in their homes and restore their communities.
Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI and Sr. Judy Byron, OP at ICCR
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