Global supply chains and human rights: spotlight on forced labour and modern slavery practices

The problem of modern slavery in global supply chains is attracting increased attention from governments, business and the civil society. Modern slavery is not defined in international law and remains a concept in search of a clear legal definition. We focus on emerging legislative disclosure regimes as a mechanism for regulating modern slavery in supply chains and consider how regulatory frameworks could be crafted to maximise their effectiveness. We identify four essential requirements: such legislation should incorporate human rights due diligence; it must include detailed disclosure requirements; there should be regulatory consequences for failure to comply; and finally, it should utilise the leverage of individual stakeholders – including businesses, governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), unions, consumers and workers – to regulate supply chains.