U.S. Bans Imports from Malaysian Palm Oil Company FGV | 187 UN Member States Ratify Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor | Seafood Working Group Relaunches with New Advisory Body | Union Busting and Unfair Dismissals: Garment Workers During COVID-19 | Brazil Court Rules in Favor of Anti-Slavery “Dirty List”
UN Special Rapporteur Report on Trafficking in Persons | Investor Snapshot: Forced Labor in the Construction Sector | Engineering and Construction Companies Release Guidance Notes for Worker Welfare | Better Labor Inspections in Thai Fishing Sector
During the last week of November, more than 2,000 people met in Geneva for the largest annual gathering on business and human rights. For years, Verité has actively participated in this busy week of learning and sharing, along with participants from government, business, civil society, law firms, investor organizations, trade unions, academia and the media, among others. Shawn MacDonald, CEO of Verité, and Elizabeth Garland, Senior Director of Verité’s Raw Materials Program, attended the forum this year and shared Verité’s work in a range of meetings and venues.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) launched World Day Against Child Labor in 2002. Every year on June 12th and throughout the month, we take the opportunity to highlight this important issue and to share best practices towards achieving the goal of eliminating child labor by 2025. On Thursday, June 8, 2017, Verité participated in a Twitter chat to commemorate this year’s World Day Against Child Labor. Facilitated by Winrock International, the Twitter chat also included Alyson Eynon from Plan International, Jen Marlay Global from the Global Fairness Initiative, and Jessica Ryckman from Lawyers Without Borders. Program Director, Quinn Kepes, represented Verité to address the focus for this year: the impact of conflicts and disasters on child labor.
Important steps have been taken recently to put responsible recruitment firmly on the agenda of businesses around the world. In November at the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, several panels discussed solutions to recruitment abuses. The issues were also featured prominently at the annual Trust Women Conference in London while recruitment and labor migration were key features of discussions at this year’s Global Forum on Migration and Development in Turkey. These are encouraging times for advocates of responsible recruitment in supply chains.