OSCE Special Representative urges governments to fight human trafficking when purchasing goods and services

MILAN, 15 September 2015 – The OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Ambassador Madina Jarbussynova, on Tuesday called on governments to  enact measures to ensure ethical sourcing and keep modern day slavery out of supply chains.

“International standards uphold the duty of both businesses and governments to conduct due diligence and to protect against human rights abuses. Governments can – and should – leverage their purchasing power in order to introduce and observe high standards in ethical sourcing of both goods and services, throughout all tiers of the supply chain”, the Special Representative said at the start of a two-day meeting on the prevention of trafficking in human beings in supply chains, and focusing on government practices and measures, organized by the OSCE in co-operation with the UK’s Gangmaster’s Licensing Authority (GLA).

Governments are often the largest purchasers of goods and services in the world, spending up to 15 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) on public procurement contracts.

Experts representing governments, international organizations, think tanks and NGOs from across the OSCE region are attending the expert meeting in order to exchange and present existing governmental good practices in preventing trafficking in human beings in supply chains from within and beyond the OSCE region.

“We invited these experts in order to ‘learn from the best’ and explore what good practices already exist and how similar ones can be implemented by other states, in line with OSCE anti-trafficking commitments,” Ambassador Jarbussynova said.

In the coming months, the Office of the Special Representative plans to examine what policies and concrete measures can be developed to combat trafficking in human beings more effectively in both governmental and private sector supply chains.

The OSCE is at the forefront of efforts to address this critical aspect of human trafficking. In 2014, the Office issued a paper on “Ending Exploitation. Ensuring that Businesses do not contribute to Trafficking in Human Beings: Duties of States and the Private Sector”, showcasing existing practices and making concrete recommendations on ways that businesses and governments can ensure that their workplaces and purchases are not tainted by the services of, or goods produced by, trafficked persons.

The GLA is a public body that licences companies that supply labour (gangmasters) for agriculture, horticulture, shellfish gathering as well as all associated processing and packaging.