Labor abuses and supply chains
Published 16 July 2024
Businesses have the responsibility to ensure the human rights of all workers are upheld across their supply chains, not just for those they directly employ, says Kavita Chandran, Journalism Trainer at the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
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Eradicating modern slavery in international trade is becoming increasingly challenging due to difficulties in monitoring complex global supply chains. Although countries have enacted laws to tackle modern slavery, they are primarily enforced in developed countries. For instance, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, signed by President Biden, has prompted businesses to review their supply chains to eliminate forced labor in the Xinjiang region of China. However, emerging and low-income economies, where cheap labor is abundant, face high risk of modern slavery due to limited labor rights protection and state action. Kavita Chandran highlighted that concentrated corporate power and ownership, outsourcing, irresponsible sourcing practices, and governance gaps further contribute to labor exploitation in these countries.
About the NPF International Trade Fellowship 2024
The National Press Foundation holds an annual International Trade Fellowship workshop for journalists, sponsored by the Hinrich Foundation. This year, the Foundations welcomed 25 Asia-based journalists at the Hinrich Foundation’s office in Singapore. The sessions, held in June, focused on the impact of US presidential elections on trade, digitization of trade, Asia’s evolving role in global trade, and more.
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