Understanding Modern Slavery in Today’s Business Landscape

Modern slavery encompasses numerous forms of exploitation and human rights violations. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) outlines 30 rights, many of which pertain to the work environment, such as the right to equality, freedom from discrimination, and freedom from slavery. Exploitation and human rights violations include forced labour, debt bondage, human trafficking, organ trafficking, sexual exploitation, child labour, domestic servitude, modern-day servitude, and migrant exploitation. Many of these, particularly forced labour, exploitation of migrants, and child labour, often occur within a business context, either in the company’s operations or within its supply chains.