8% of MRW survey participants stated they witnessed possible cases of labour exploitation in the last year
New statistics report that over a third of rescued modern slavery victims in the UK have, at some point over the course of their exploitation, been used for labour at waste or recycling processing plants. This work involves long strenuous hours in harsh, dirty environments, ‘picking’ and sorting materials that come into the depot. These cases highlight the recycling industry as one of the increasing target points for human traffickers, where the victims maybe moved between known industries such as car washes and factory work.
The NCA has recorded 1,631 referrals of modern slavery in the first 3 months of 2018. There is growing awareness around the waste industry as a key sector for the skills and labour sets of human trafficking victims. These findings point to the need for tightening of regulation around waste and recycling supply chains, particularly those attached to local government. As a government utility, it is critical that waste collection and treatment systems do not facilitate modern slavery. The private sector waste companies need assessment around the UK’s Modern Slavery legalisation.
The UNHCR, OECD and other international agencies are working on an ‘Action Plan’ to overcome the issue of refugee employment. This plan aims to integrate refugees into the labour market by overcoming the issues and creating a strategy to identify the skills that can actively contribute to the economy of the host nation.
Through research and interviews, having secure and safe employment is the top contributor to integration in a new society, which protects them from the potential for labour exploitation. Although each host destination has subjective conditions and labour requirements, the action plan is a holistic and broad framework composed of 10 steps:
Action 1 – Navigate the administrative framework
Action 2 – Provide employers with sufficient legal certainty
Action 3 – Identify and verify refugees’ skills
Action 4 – Developing skills for job-readiness
Action 5 – Match refugee talent with employers’ needs
Action 6 – Provide equal opportunities in recruitment and combat stereotypes
Action 7 – Prepare the working environment
Action 8 – Enable long-term employability
Action 9 – Make the business case for hiring refugees
Action 10 – Coordinate actions between all stakeholders
Whether in refuge from conflict, environmental or economic hardship, 65 million people globally have been forcibly displaced from their homes, of which refugees make up 25.5 million. Due to the nature of globalisation, these rates are increasing, along with the frequency and types of labour exploitation of refugees and vulnerable populations.
In the development CSR, rights observers have understood that corporate interests generally outweigh the voluntary demand for an ethical and socially responsible supply chain. There are various examples of CSR that have developed, which compels corporations to comply with legal standards. For example the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 that that dictates national legal standards, which requires corporations to publish the steps they are taking to ensure their supply chains and free of modern slavery, child labour, human trafficking. This regulation applies both domestically and for international sourcing, in which certain export standards of mandatory social compliance are placed onto developing countries with cheap labour. The California Transparency in Supply Chain Act (CTSCA) 2010 operates similar obligations but working at state level. The Indian Companies Act (2013) compels Indian corporations to spend 2% of their pre-tax profit on CSR.
How Child Rights fit into CSR
Although such legislation is aimed more broadly at achieving supply chain transparency, upholding child rights is a key element of this. Specifically, there is a set of 10 Child Rights and Business Principles as outlined by Save the Children, the UN Global Compact and UNICEF, which give a comprehensive yet non-exhaustive list of CSR requirements in relation to child rights. Corporations must:
Meet their responsibility to respect children’s rights and commit to supporting the human rights of children
Contribute to the elimination of child labour, including in all business activities and business relationships
Provide decent work for young workers, parents and caregivers
Ensure the protection and safety of children in all business activities and facilities
Ensure that products and services are safe, and seek to support children’s rights through them
Use marketing and advertising that respect and support children’s rights
Respect and support children’s rights in relation to the environment and to land acquisition and use
Respect and support children’s rights in security arrangements
Help protect children affected by emergencies
Reinforce community and government efforts to protect and fulfil children’s rights
The focus of CSR towards children aims to eliminate child labour from supply chains, but also must take the nuanced approach which includes protecting the rights of children in their core business strategy, covering all operations, employee rights, marketing, and delivery of products and services.
The aim is for states to be responsible by implementing such CSR legislation to level out the injustices and inequalities of the world’s wealthiest corporations taking advantage of the worlds most poor and vulnerable. Although this works ideologically, the problem comes with implementation. Limitations with CSR studies show that even passive state regulation does not necessarily lead to thorough commitment to supply chains free of human rights abuses and environmental degradation by corporations. Trends show most corporations only apply resource to CSR when receiving pressure from external organisations. Hence, it takes active pressure by rights groups, NGOs and governments to achieve this, indicating the critical role of UNICEF and organisations to lobby against corporate interests. For CSR to be achieved, strict legal requirements and binding commitments must be met with appropriate sanctions as means of compulsion to achieve child rights.
The International Labour Organisation estimates human trafficking derives USD 150.2 billion per year, making it one of the most profitable criminal ventures worldwide
In parallel to the transatlantic slave trade as one of the most profitable business ventures in global history, modern slavery in the form of human trafficking follows suit. The International Labour Organisation estimates human trafficking derives USD 150.2 billion per year, making it still one of the most profitable criminal ventures worldwide. Furthermore, in an environment of globalisation it is rapidly increasing in numbers and in typologies. The rise in displacement and movement of people, whether in refuge from conflict zones, economic or environmental migration means there is increased vulnerability to trafficking, and in turn, more revenue produced by trafficking rings.
The report divides human trafficking into three categories in which revenue is produced through very unique money laundering systems. Firstly, trafficking for forced labour produces USD 51.2 billion per year, of which USD 43.40 billion is generated by hard labour exploitation, and USD 7.9 billion produced through domestic servitude. Second, trafficking for forced sexual exploitation produces USD 99 billion. Third, organ removal produces between USD 600 million – 1.2 billion, however the report refrains from providing a defined figure because the crime is rarely done in isolation, and therefore overlaps with other crimes which clouds the figures.
On analysis, the conclusions of this report put significant weight on the need for cooperation between international, state and regional authorities to work together in combatting financial flows from human trafficking. However, there are many challenges and complexities including the corruption of state actors that contribute to the global trafficking systems and obscure the financial figures recorded, including which revenue streams are being used for terror funding. The international institutions such as FATF need to work closely with governments to systematically identify and analyse this. By nature of the black market, accurate figures are impossible to find which inhibits the capacity of national authorities, financial institutions, NGOs and actors to prioritise responses to human trafficking in its various forms. Yet as we further understand the finances of the crime, we are able to respond with effective measures of prevention and resolution.
A 2014 study reported 88/100 of sex trafficking victims came into contact with a healthcare department during their exploitation
There is growing awareness of the key role that the healthcare sector plays in identifying and supporting victims of human trafficking. Due to the vast forms of exploitation, many dangerous scenarios lead to numerous physical injuries from STD’s of sex workers, to injury operating heavy machinery on mine sites, and exposure to hazardous chemicals, malnourishment and osteoporosis. Furthermore, trafficking victims often suffer from significant mental health and physical trauma as a result of their exploitation. Currently, in hospitals around the world, systems of identification exist for child abuse and domestic violence, yet limited procedures exist to identify and support trafficking and modern slavery survivors. Both the UK and the US are implementing policy to work with healthcare professionals to provide the necessary care and support for trafficking victims.
According to reports by trafficking survivors, many entered the healthcare system at some point during their process of exploitation. A survey in 2014 suggested 88/100 of the sex trafficking victims came into contact with an emergency healthcare department. These scenarios are critical opportunities that are missed if healthcare staff are not trained to identify victims of trafficking. However, this is not a simple or obvious process, as many of victims face difficult situations. They may not be open with the professionals if they have self doubt or are not yet aware they are being exploited, they are afraid of the repercussions of giving information regarding their situation, or they are accompanied by a supervisor to prevent details being communicated to authorities.
To deal with such situations, training is given to doctors, nurses but also a wider circle of healthcare providers that have come into contact with victims, including social workers, security guards and receptionists. These employees have the capacity to intercept victims, spot the important indicators, such as if the healthcare needed has been put off for several weeks, to spot inconsistencies in information or repeat injuries. They will then ask a number of leading questions to encourage victims to receive help. These questions may entail whether the patient “has ever had sex for money” or “whether they give someone else part of what they earn”.
Dignity Health has human trafficking program in over 40 hospitals in the USA, in which the core goals “are to ensure that trafficked persons are identified in the health care setting and that they are appropriately assisted with victim-centered, trauma-informed care and services”. They are “implemented first in Dignity Health emergency departments, followed by labour & delivery and postpartum departments”. In particular, there is a new diagnostic tool that can be used to identify and record umbers of trafficking against other abuse victims.
The UK are also developing systems to address the role of healthcare in trafficking survivors. The NHS Human Trafficking e-Learning Tool assists in identification and care of trafficking victims. It is aimed to train healthcare staff by outlining various scenarios of trafficking and how to appropriately cover the legal rights to medical care of trafficking victims. The aim is to inform and prepare front line staff to provide thorough support when confronted with cases of human trafficking.
The International Organisation for Migration and UN Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking also provide guidance on recommendations for victim care within all jurisdictions. They provide the report Caring for Trafficked Persons: A Guide for Health Providers in which they suggest careful treatment from healthcare providers can be fundamental in the recovery of abused and traumatised victims. It aims to provide guidance in recognising the common health problems and diagnosis associated with trafficking and the most safe and appropriate way to undergo treatments.
It is clear that the healthcare system plays a fundamental role in both human trafficking identification, as well as on going survivor support. The issue is unfortunately, if victims are not willing to give up information then there’s little support healthcare providers can give, hence, the way in which victims are spoken to and dealt with must be in careful and diligent manor after going through specialist training.
Behind drug trafficking, human trafficking is one of the most profitable criminal networks where millions of vulnerable people are forced, manipulated or coerced into moving to a foreign destination, whereby they will endure exploitation at some point along their path. This may take the form of hard labour, sexual exploitation, forced begging, forced criminality, organ removal or ever developing forms of exploitation, for example skin removal, online pornography, and exploitation in the sports industry.
The International Labour Organisation reports that 21 million people are subject to forced labour globally, of which a large proportion have been trafficked. Women and girls make up around 70%, and children or minors make up 30% of all trafficking victims. Hence, the focus for World Day against Trafficking in Persons 2018 is on ‘responding to the trafficking of children and young people’ as announced by the UNODC. The aim is on prevention, education, support and justice for the child victims of trafficking.
In order for this movement to be most effective, professionals within the fields of human trafficking and modern slavery need to work together, pool resources, expertise and specialism. The HTMSE directory is a global platform that lists professionals in the fields of law, trafficking and country experts, medical experts, counsellors and therapists, specialist organisations and researchers who are working towards the same goal of eradicating exploitation, trafficking and slavery. On this World Day against Trafficking in Persons 2018, we welcome you to join our initiative or use the resource in your fight against human trafficking alongside our professional network, to achieve support and justice for victims of trafficking.
In an exponentially expanding era of cyber activity, new channels for criminal activity are being facilitated. A particular area of concern is within the use of the Internet for human trafficking and in particular sexual exploitation, in which the US case of Backpage.com has received much international attention.
Backpage has concealed evidence of criminality by systematically editing its ‘adult’ ads. Over the last 10 years and as recently as 2014, Backpage executives have had several methods of formalised ‘deletion of incriminating words and phrases, primarily through a feature called the “Strip Term From Ad Filter.”’ Words removed by both manual and automatic systems included “lolita,” “teenage,” “rape,” “young,” “amber alert,” “little girl,” “teen,” “fresh,” “innocent,” and “school girl.” Through rewording advertisements, the client could submit the ad with the same criminal intention and usage, yet presented with ‘legal’ content.
Backpage is fully aware of the fact that it facilitates illegal prostitution and child sex trafficking. It has refused to respond to complaints and manipulated information sent to NCMEC.
Despite the sale of the website to an anonymous foreign company in 2014, the real owners are James Larkin, Michael Lacey, and Carl Ferrer.
This response relates to previous attempts to shutdown Backpage.com. For example in 2016, the CEO, Carl Ferrer and fellow executives were arrested on ‘pimping related charges’. However, this attempt at prosecution was unsuccessful, protected under the US Constitution and legislation that deemed Backpage.com having no liability for the speech of third parties who posted the ads on their site. The US Communications Decency Act (CDA) 1996 was implemented as an attempt to regulate internet pornography, but under Section 230 has been interpreted to shield operators of Internet services, and thus they are not legally or criminally liable for the content of third parties who use their services. This defence has been used several times to leave Backpage.com operating, despite the obvious facilitation of sex trafficking. To overcome this on going loophole, the Trump administration has amended this legislation through their Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act of 2017 to put the onus of responsibility onto the website host for information relating to sex trafficking.
In analysis, the core of the issue is transferring the onus of responsibility onto the owner/s of websites that may be used for illegal activity, as they are ultimately benefitting from the exploitation facilitated by their website (whether within or out of their knowledge). Although the issue is complex and there are no tangible supply chains in an online system, the legislation ruling cyber security must mimic the template of recent Modern Slavery Legislation (e.g. in the UK), where the benefiters (i.e. corporations) must be responsible for human rights abuses in their supply chain in the same way that website facilitators must be held accountable for abuses that are associated with their website’s network.
The report A Game of Chance? Long-term support for survivors of Modern Slavery by Dr. Carole Murphy at The Centre for the Study of Modern Slavery offers a comprehensive analysis into the UK’s current approach to support for victims of human trafficking and modern slavery. It highlights the significant gaps in survivor care, most notably in long-term support. There is little done beyond the 45 day reflection and recovery period of the National Referral Mechanism, after which financial assistance ends and survivors are vulnerable to re-trafficking and exploitation. Hence, the report suggests the “system and its processes and procedures are not fit for purpose and have the potential to cause harm to survivors through re-traumatisation, falling through gaps in service provision and potential re-exploitation.”
The key recommendations are:
Resource services to work with complexity of survivors’ needs relevant statutory and voluntary sector
A positive Conclusive Grounds (CG) decision must carry status and resources (see Lord Mc Coll’s (Victim Support) Bill)
Trafficking Survivor Care Standards (HTF) should be implemented as standard model of best practice and should consider introduction of independent advocates
Statutory guidelines should be introduced and monitored and include compulsory and embedded training for all First Responders and other statutory services
Personnel conducting CG interviews should be properly trained
Undertake consistent monitoring of the NRM drawing on evidence based research about what works
Document evidence of what works by conducting a cost benefit analysis to establish the social return on investment of longer-term support provision
Consider evidence and best practice from other jurisdictions to inform changes
There has been an upraise in media on ethical supply chains in agricultural industries such as fishing, cocoa & coffee production, yet there are significant issues to be addressed in supply chain compliance and ethical sourcing compliance for the jewellery business – here addressing labour exploitation, child labour and human trafficking.
Examples of Human Rights abuses
Specifically in relation to child labour, estimates suggest over 1 million children work in artisanal or small-scale mining operations, despite being illegal at both the domestic level and by international law. Statistics from the African Centre For Economic Transformation suggest these children between 5 -17 are working on less than $2 per day, or receiving food as payment. Child labour has been reported in Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, the Philippines, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Indonesia. However, regulation is lacking and children are continuously working in extremely dangerous and inhumane conditions, including exposure to toxic and explosive chemicals potentially causing brain damage, respiratory diseases from the dust, heavy strenuous lifting and exposure to dangerous machinery.
Concerning forced labour, it has been reported in Peru, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea and in Zimbabwe where the military physically forced workers into diamond mining between 2008-2014. In the harsh conditions of the mining industry, workers are prevented from leaving either by blackmail or violence. In other cases, workers are trafficked to mines, by deception or force, in order to be exploited for mining work.
Wider rights abuses are continually taking place in the extraction industry, including land rights violations whereby indigenous populations have been displaced, armed conflict violations including money laundering to fund civil wars and violence by arming militias. Sexual violence, including abuse and torture by occupying mine workers, security guards and soldiers controlling mines has been reported, such as in Porgera mine, Papua New Guinea. Furthermore, environmental rights have been violated by disrupting 1000s of people and defecating habitats with toxic mine runoff, as in Nigeria 400 were children killed by artisanal mine toxic lead poisoning.
What are the current standards?
Alongside prominent Modern Slavery legislation, as seen developed in the UK, USA and developing in Australia, that holds businesses accountable for their own supply chain regulation, there are several international standards for human rights compliance yet none that are prominent enough to control this issue.
The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights declares that companies are by law required to undertake “human rights due diligence” within their entire supply chain. Furthermore, they must have systems in place to identify and remediate human rights abuses immediately. However, when it comes to implementation this only document offers only ‘guidance’.
Furthermore the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is a significant international standard relating specifically to diamond extraction, to eradicate “blood diamonds” or “conflict diamonds”. However, again this proves too narrow, as it does not cover human rights abuses outside of active conflict zones.
The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) provides a certification system for all stakeholders in the jewellery supply chain. However, as this is an industry led program, it fails to have the legal and regulatory weight to ensure due diligence is done. Instead, according to findings by HRW it has flawed governance systems in which most companies assign their whole credibility for human rights compliance.
Are jewellery companies adhering to Modern Slavery compliance regulation?
HRW released a report in February this year focusing on the policies and practices of 13 major jewellery brands that generate over $30 Billion per year. Many reporters and researchers fail to receive any comment from major bands as to their slavery and trafficking risks associated with gold mining. HRW concluded that clear majority of jewellery companies are not meeting human rights standards within their supply chains. There are little hands on investigations, and too much reliance is put on verbal ‘assurances’ from their suppliers that the gems, minerals, products are ethically and sustainably sourced.
Two mining companies have monopoly over the global diamond industry, and account for over half of all diamond sales. De Beers, working from South Africa, Botswana, Canada, Namibia, and Russian company ALROSA. However, according to HRW, both of these fail to be transparent with the mines in which their diamonds are sourced.
Issue in difficulty for companies to trace their supply chains
With parallels to technology companies who source small parts from many locations, the jewellery industry has very complex supply chains, as oppose to fishing or agriculture where the total product (e.g. a fish) has one source of origin. For example diamond jewellery is handled by many actors, making it difficult for companies to trace their full supply chain. From the mines, diamonds are firstly sent to be cut and polished, whereby 70% of the global diamond supply is done in India and 20% in China, reflecting their low labour costs. The next stage in a generic supply chain is to jewellery manufacturers where the products are pooled and constructed. Finally they reach the end retailers, where the US has the largest market of 40% of global sales.
A crux of the issue is in the sale after the raw extraction process because as soon as the minerals go through the first process of trade or export, batches from many sites are often mixed up. This makes the sustainably and ethically sourced gems or metals untraceable from those that are product of exploitative labour. This is ultimately caused by negligence of the mine operators in dealing with and processing their products in a way in which they can be accounted for.
Some companies have CSR programs used to give back to the community and in exchange for their land use, build major infrastructure like schools, roads, and hospitals. (Harvard) However, there is speculation around using these methods as a way to be presented as human rights compliant, as these initiatives are undercut by their lack of transparency in their daily business operations and supply chain mechanisms. Analysis of the global extraction business points to the conclusions that this industry is fuelled by profit and capital gain, whereby there is a large disconnect between those that are receiving the benefits of the jewellery business and those that are suffering. This issue is on-going because perpetrators will not have interests in alleviating the abuses from their supply chains, unless legally forced to, or compelled by their customers through suspended of business.
Resolutions
Although the majority of companies are lacking in their supply chain compliance, HRW points out that some positive initiatives are blooming. For example a number of jewellers are exclusively working with artisanal mines that comply with the Fairtrade or Fairmined gold standard coming from Latin America, driven by consumers demanding ethical sourcing. In order to be most effective, successful domestic legislation such as the UK Modern Slavery Act should be used as a blueprint to regulate national supply chains. For countries that are less likely to adopt such policies, the international literature should become involuntary, binding and regulated, to cut out any internal corruption facilitating the mining industry. Furthermore, a percentage of the capital that is gained from mines should be redirected to the local communities through education and infrastructure to deal with the long term problem of child labour in the extraction sector.
Photo Credit: UNHCR/Alfredo D’Amato. An overloaded boat of refugees and migrants trying to reach Europe, as seen from the deck of an Italian Coastguard ship, in the Mediterranean Sea.
The crossing between North Africa and Southern Europe has proved to be the most dangerous refugee passage. Concern has been raised by international agencies including the IOM and UNHCR by two fatal sunken boats over three days at the beginning of July 2018.
On analysis, although this points to urgent need for action by the EU, this situation needs to be addressed carefully. Bureaucracy between Geneva and the Libyan government led to the 2018 EU backed anti-smuggling operations in Libya including tightening regulation of volunteer boats arriving on European shores, which inadvertently has impacted the increased death toll. The concern of agencies is regarding higher sanctions on boats already in transit, which will bread further desperation and in turn fatal impact if distress calls are not seen to. Hence, emphasis should be made on reinforcing search and rescue operations, assist the Libyan coast guard and a careful and collaborative approach needs to be made with the international community to curb migrant smuggling and the cause of more deaths during this crossing.
It is also important to highlight the increase of displaced and vulnerable migrants who are at risk of exploitation, given the complexities of the migrants’ journey, it is a frequent occurrence that the definitions of trafficking and smuggling become obscured. Often victims will believe they are being smuggled but become trafficked through transit or at their destination country. Factors such as political instability, economic pressures and environmental issues are often the catalysts for migrants seeking to come to Europe. Illegal migrants often rely on organised criminal networks to facilitate their passage to Europe, leading to higher risk of exploitation and further blurring of the distinction between trafficking and smuggling. The migrant crisis in Libya provides a unique yet unfortunate opportunity for clarification: the controls aimed at ending the smuggling of migrants to Europe has been the catalyst of human trafficking inland.
For Untitled Nations reporting on the migrant crisis see here:
In an exponentially expanding era of cyber activity, new channels for criminal activity are being facilitated. A particular area of concern is within the use of the Internet for 
