Whose children are they who stitch footballs, yet have never played with one? They are our children. Whose children are they who mine stones and minerals?
They are our children. Whose children are they who harvest cocoa, yet do not know the taste of a chocolate? They are all our children.
– Kailash Satyarthi, 2014 Nobel Prize laureate

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PREVENTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS 31

THE PRIVATE SECTOR: AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEAD
Beyond the efforts of governments, companies can also take action to reduce the likelihood of trafficking in their supply chains and respect the rights of those who work to make their businesses successful.
There are many measures businesses can take to mitigate the risks of human trafficking throughout their operations. For starters, business leaders can create anti-trafficking policies that address the common risks in their operations and supply chains, ensure workers have the right to fair compensation and redress, train staff to understand the indicators of human trafficking, and put remediation plans in place before any allegations arise to allow for appropriate corrective action. Businesses should also work with government officials, NGOs, and recruiters in the countries where they source to gain a better understanding of workers’ vulnerabilities and commit to making improvements.
A company can demonstrate its commitment to responsibly source goods and services by creating a clear and comprehensive anti-trafficking policy, which includes an enforcement mechanism that is applied throughout the company’s supply chain. High- level executives should approve and promote such a policy and build it into company operations so supplier consideration goes beyond price and reliability, to include an assessment of labor practices. Among other things, an effective policy:
»  prohibits human trafficking and those activities that facilitate it—including charging workers recruitment fees, contract fraud, and document retention;
» responds to industry- or region-specific risks;
»  requires freedom of movement for workers;
»  pays all employees at least the minimum wage in all countries of operation, preferably a living wage;
»  includes a grievance mechanism and whistleblower protections; and
»  applies to direct employees, as well as subcontractors, labor recruiters, and other business partners.

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Such a policy sends a clear message to employees, business partners, investors, and consumers that human trafficking will not be tolerated. Coupled with effective risk assessments, monitoring, and serious remediation efforts, it can promote good labor practices throughout the supply chain.
Understanding how supply chains operate, where key suppliers are located, and what working conditions exist in those locations and sectors is vital to help a company gain control. By fully mapping its supply chain, down to the level of raw materials, a company can gain a better understanding of gaps in transparency. Companies can then create a plan to target those areas where high levels of spending overlap with industries or locations with high risks for human trafficking.
Once a risk assessment is completed, companies must begin to address problem areas, implement corrective measures, and monitor and enforce anti-trafficking policies. Monitoring often takes the form of social auditing, which—when done properly—can help to detect violations of company policies, including worker abuse. Yet, human trafficking is frequently difficult for auditors to detect. Companies that are serious about addressing forced labor in their supply chains should make sure that auditors are properly trained and equipped to look for known indicators of human trafficking, including
the fraudulent recruitment practices discussed in this Report. Audits should be thorough, comprehensive, and periodic.
Finally, constant pressure on cutting costs can have a destabilizing effect on the proactive measures a company may take to prevent human trafficking. By incorporating anti-trafficking measures throughout an operation, including in company budget, training, policies, and protocols, business can make efforts to ensure that the dignity of workers throughout the supply chain is not sacrificed for higher profits.

PREVENTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS 33

Let us ask ourselves, as individuals and as communities, whether we feel challenged
  when, in our daily lives, we meet or deal with persons who could be victims of human trafficking, or when we are tempted to select items which may well have been produced by exploiting others. Some of us…close our eyes to this. Others, however, decide to do
something about it ...
– Pope Francis

LOOKING FORWARD
This year’s Trafficking in Persons Report presents information intended to highlight the risks many individuals encounter while seeking employment and the ways governments and businesses can take action to protect workers.
Governments, businesses, and individuals have a real opportunity to effect change by influencing the purchases they make and by demanding accountability and transparency in supply chains, promoting and enforcing policies that prohibit trafficking and the practices that facilitate it, and punishing those who perpetuate this practice.
By leveraging the strengths of different actors, the global market can become a place where innovation and growth thrive alongside a workforce free of human trafficking; supply chains create an environment of mutual benefit for both workers and business owners; and consumers celebrate the knowledge that their purchases are contributing to a system that elevates and respects human rights.

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COALITION OF IMMOKALEE WORKERS: RECIPIENT OF THE 2015 PRESIDENTIAL AWARD FOR EXTRAORDINARY EFFORTS TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS
On January 29, 2015, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) received the Presidential Award for Extraordinary Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons from U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry. For more than 20 years, CIW has stood by Floridian tomato workers, organized communities, and pioneered a zero tolerance policy on forced labor and sexual assault through its Fair Food Program, which puts worker protections and social responsibility at the absolute center. This program ensures a price premium that buyers agree to pay and growers agree to pass on to farm workers, and provides worker-to-worker training sessions—on site and on-the-clock—at participating farms. CIW has also partnered with law enforcement to help uncover and investigate several modern slavery cases involving farm operations across the southeastern United States. Owing to its outstanding efforts, CIW has effectively eradicated human trafficking in the farms participating in the Fair Food Program.

PREVENTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS 35

These    children    manually stuff cigarettes with locally grown tobacco, which can negatively  affect  their health.
Some  Bangladeshi  children are sold into bonded labor by their  parents,  while  others are physically compelled to perform  this  dangerous work.