Modern Slavery: A pending challenge
“No one shall be held in slavery or servitures; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibiten in all their forms”
Article 4, Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948.
You might think that slavery is a thing of the past. But right now, almost 50 million people are trapped in slavery worldwide.
Modern Slavery is an umbrella term that refers to the exploitation of human beings for criminal gain. It is when an individual is exploited by others, for personal or commercial gain.
It refers to situations of exploitation that a person cannot refuse or leave because of threats, violence, coercion, deception, and/or abuse of power
Today's slavery
Reds flags to look for:
How to detect signs of modern slavery?
Modern slavery laws are designed to prevent and combat various forms of exploitation by establishing legal frameworks that hold perpetrators accountable and protect vulnerable individuals.
At national level:
- United Kingdom’s Modern Slavery Act (2015) requires large companies, with significant revenue or extensive supply chains, to publish annual statements detailing the steps they are taking to ensure that slavery and human trafficking do not occur within their operations or among their suppliers.
- United States, various federal and state laws address human trafficking and related abuses, imposing severe penalties on both individual traffickers and companies that benefit from or facilitate exploitation.
- Large corporations and global supply chains: Companies that exceed certain revenue thresholds or operate internationally must perform due diligence, audit their supply chains, and report transparently about their efforts to eradicate exploitation.
- Contractors and suppliers:
Businesses in the supply chain are also subject to these regulations, as their practices can directly affect the overall integrity of a company’s operations.
- Individuals:
Perpetrators of modern slavery practices face criminal penalties. Laws hold not only those who directly exploit individuals accountable but also those who knowingly benefit from or enable such exploitation.
To whom do they apply?
Key legal aspects
At international level:
- United Nations Protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons: set common standards for member states, encouraging them to adopt comprehensive measures against these practices
Our commitment as a company
At HBX Group, we operate and conduct our business with integrity and respect, while also supporting human rights in our value chain. The Group is committed to ethical working practices and maintaining integrity and transparency in all dealings with employees, clients, business partners, suppliers and authorities.
As a part of HBX Group’s commitment to working to eradicate modern slavery, there are three objectives within its ESG strategy that directly impacact this topic:
All of this is set out in our policy!
Understanding the scale of modern slavery
Modern slavery represents a significant and distressing challenge that impacts millions globally.
More than half of the cases involve forced labour. Currently more than 28 million people are in this situation. Of these 86% are in the private sector, covering various industries, while the remaining 14% are subjected to state-imposed labour. Within this high percentage, 23% represents commercial sexual exploitation, predominantly affecting women and girls.
Another major form of slavery is forced marriages, accounting for 22 million people. Often driven by family pressures and entrenched cultural practices, it disproportionately affects women and girls.
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Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.
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Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.
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Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.
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Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.
Section Title
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Heading 2
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.
Heading 2
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.
Heading 2
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.
Section Title
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Heading 2
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.
Heading 2
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.