ABA Report Details Corporate Policies on Trafficking

By Sophie Kasakove

Last week the American Bar Association released a report  on the efforts of Fortune 100 corporations to address human rights violations, including human trafficking and forced labor. It had promising findings.

For example, the study found that more than half of Fortune 100 companies have publicly available policies addressing human trafficking and that nearly two-thirds have publicly available policies on forced labor. More than half of these policies make explicit reference to international laws such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or to domestic laws such as the California Transparency in Supply Chain Act.

And virtually all Fortune 100 companies monitor their supply chains for forced labor. Some use their own monitoring team, others contract a third party auditing firm, and some do both Many companies also provide a hotline or internet reporting mechanism.

While the report generally commends actions taken by Fortune 100 corporations, it highlights key areas for improvement. For example, the report notes that only 2 percent of corporations provide for remediation for victims of forced labor and human trafficking. It also recommends improved training for supply chain vendors and agents and expanded data collection and analysis.