In March of 2012, President Obama asked federal agencies to strengthen initiatives to combat human trafficking. And today there is a new online tool to detect slavery in corporate supply chains…
The United States is the largest single purchaser of goods and services in the world. So it is important to lead by example, says Susan Coppedge, Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons and Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State.
This is why the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons joined forces with Verité, Made in a Free World, and The Aspen Institute to develop ResponsibleSourcingTool.org, a new online resource to help federal contractors and business professionals better understand and visualize the risks that may exist in their supply chains. Based on research conducted by Verité, a leading labor rights organization, this site offers an in-depth examination of 11 key sectors and 43 commodities at high risk for human trafficking or trafficking-related activities, such as charging workers recruitment fees or confiscating their identity documents. The site enables users to analyze sector-specific risk factors as well as social, economic, and political risk factors. It also offers a comprehensive set of tools and resources to assist companies in developing systems to prevent human trafficking in supply chains.
President Obama explained that governments and corporate leaders have a responsibility to examine their operations. They must also work closely with suppliers in order to take steps to prevent slavery in global supply chains.
It required a number of multi-stakeholder meetings to development these tools.
Coppedge says this about this new online tool: “I am pleased that ResponsibleSourcingTool.org has been launched, but I also know that the real work is just beginning. This site will only succeed if federal contractors, companies, procurement officials, advocates, and consumers use it. I hope you will share ResponsibleSourcingTool.org with your peers, contractors, companies, and suppliers. Please encourage them to examine their operations at every tier and incorporate best practices to reduce the risk of human trafficking and help rid their supply chains of unscrupulous labor practices. Together, we can lead by example and set the global standard for protections against human trafficking in government and corporate supply chains.”
To read the entire article about this new online tool to combat human trafficking, click on the link below.
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