Conclusion of the STREAMS Project
As of March 26, 2025, the Supply Chain Tracing and Engagement Methodologies (STREAMS) project has concluded due to the termination of all grant funding from the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs.
Publication of the STREAMS Traceability & Labor Due Diligence Resource Suite
We have just published a suite of resources focused on the intersection of traceability and labor due diligence.
Recruitment Cost Calculator’ bolsters ethical recruitment practices among employers
What does it really cost to recruit migrant workers? The recruitment process for migrant workers might seem straightforward—processing fees, travel costs, or training. But hidden beneath these are often overlooked costs that can potentially exploit workers’ rights,...
Why Traditional Audits are not Sufficient for Human Rights Due Diligence
In today’s complex global marketplace, many companies operate without a clear understanding of the human rights risks lurking within their supply chains. To better grasp the risks, companies often make use of traditional compliance audits – a process that is too often a simple checkbox (or tick-box) exercise. True risk management requires moving beyond traditional models to develop a concrete, nuanced understanding of how labor violations can emerge at every tier of production—from raw material extraction to final assembly.
Coalition Corner – The Latest on Advocacy Advancements
Working through coalitions is an indispensable part of Verité’s advocacy efforts to influence policy changes that uplift and safeguard the rights and well-being of workers worldwide. Today, Verité’s coalition work involves bringing expertise and knowledge on supply chains and labor rights to the policy arena so that public policy is informed and ultimately enforceable. The following resources and news highlight the latest advancements with our coalition partners.
Message from Our CEO, Shawn MacDonald: Standing Firm in Challenging Times
We find ourselves in increasingly volatile and challenging times for human rights and labor rights globally, with hard-won protections facing new challenges every day. Now, we face a critical and systematic dismantling of worker protections: the elimination of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) programs through deliberate, far-reaching cuts. This devastating action destroys decades of progress by gutting 69 essential programs—representing more than $500 million—that fought child labor, forced labor, and other labor abuses across 40 countries.
Mexico: LOCAL Initiative Promotes Collaborative Impact Approach among Municipal Stakeholders
This year, Verité launched the four-year Liderazgo, Organización y Colaboración para la Acción Colectiva en Temas Laborales (LOCAL) program, an initiative designed to foster locally-led collaborative strategies to address child and forced labor risks in Mexico’s agricultural sector.
India and Bangladesh: Evidence-Driven Ethical Recruitment to Combat Debt Bondage
Leveraging innovative digital tools, the project promotes worker-centric data that grassroots CSOs can use to drive evidence-based advocacy efforts. Local partner organizations in India and Bangladesh received specialized training in digital data collection, allowing them to systematically document recruitment costs that workers should not have to pay. The project’s impact was significant, with 95% of participants reporting increased confidence in using data to engage with key decision-makers and advocates on debt bondage issues.
Asia: Mapping Migrant Worker Finances and Uncovering Hidden Burdens
In the complex landscape of global labor rights, meaningful change requires looking deeper than surface-level compliance. Verité’s workplace assessments are grounded in a worker-centered approach, enabling us to uncover systemic labor challenges and expose their root causes.
Throughout Asia, Verité’s comprehensive Foreign Migrant Worker Assessments employ rigorous, triangulated methodologies that translate into tangible worker protections. By employing forensic, investigative techniques our team uncovers complex, financial exploitation associated with migrant workers’ recruitment experiences.
Engaging Driver Unions through Cross-Border Collaboration in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire
Building on the 2016 joint declaration between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire to combat human trafficking and child labor, Verité’s Forced Labor Indicators Project (FLIP) is strengthening collaboration between these two West African nations.
Since 2018 in Ghana, and 2021 in Côte d’Ivoire, Verité has fostered coalition-building through Technical Working Groups (TWGs), uniting diverse stakeholders to raise awareness of forced labor and human trafficking, influence policies, and drive national-level change through collaborative expertise.
