The Saint Lucia Bureau of Standards (SLBS) has, for the first time, assumed the role of co-secretariat, alongside the British Standards Institute, to steer and support the development of an International Standard for organizations, on modern slavery. This initiative, which commenced in July 2023, is being conducted as part of the development work programme of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) under ISO/TC 309: Governance in Organizations.
‘Modern slavery’ is the broad term now used to describe a range of exploitative labour practices, which includes forced or compulsory labour, debt bondage and human trafficking. Such exploitation practices range from poor and unlawful labour and employment practices to severe forms of exploitation such as human trafficking. Exploitative labour often occurs in situations where a person cannot refuse or leave employment due to his/her vulnerability level combined with threats, violence, coercion, deception, or abuse of power.
‘Modern slavery’ is the broad term now used to describe a range of exploitative labour practices, which includes forced or compulsory labour, debt bondage and human trafficking. Such exploitation practices range from poor and unlawful labour and employment practices to severe forms of exploitation such as human trafficking. Exploitative labour often occurs in situations where a person cannot refuse or leave employment due to his/her vulnerability level combined with threats, violence, coercion, deception, or abuse of power.
It is estimated that there are 40.3 million victims of modern slavery worldwide. Of these, 24.9 million are said to be exploited through forced labour, with the Latin America and Caribbean region being one of the regions identified as being highest risk. Organizations of all sizes and sectors therefore need assistance in understanding how their activities and business relationships can wittingly or unwittingly be linked to modern slavery practices.
This guidance document will assist our public and private organizations, particularly our SMEs, which make up most of our businesses, to understand the risk of modern slavery on their operations, and to assist them to respond adequately to these risks. These risks have the potential to not just affect the sustainability of our businesses, but importantly, represent a serious violation of people’s fundamental human and labour rights. Through the implementation of this governance standard, other organizations along the supply chain can have demonstrable instances of human trafficking avoidance.
It is estimated that there are 40.3 million victims of modern slavery worldwide. Of these, 24.9 million are said to be exploited through forced labour, with the Latin America and Caribbean region being one of the regions identified as being highest risk. Organizations of all sizes and sectors therefore need assistance in understanding how their activities and business relationships can wittingly or unwittingly be linked to modern slavery practices.
This guidance document will assist our public and private organizations, particularly our SMEs, which make up most of our businesses, to understand the risk of modern slavery on their operations, and to assist them to respond adequately to these risks. These risks have the potential to not just affect the sustainability of our businesses, but importantly, represent a serious violation of people’s fundamental human and labour rights. Through the implementation of this governance standard, other organizations along the supply chain can have demonstrable instances of human trafficking avoidance.
The standard will be used to assist organizations to reduce their vulnerability and respond to the risks of modern slavery, by, among other things, ensuring ethical practices are employed in the execution of their activities, and along supply chains.
SLBS’s Governance in Organizations technical subcommittee will follow the development of this international standard as the National Mirror Committee and will provide support to the SLBS during this process. This national subcommittee is responsible for the adoption and development of good governance standards such as the Anti-Bribery Standard, the Whistleblowing Standard and Fraud Control Standard, which are used by organizations in efforts to foster effective and ethical organizational management. The National Mirror Committee is comprised of technical experts who represent both state and non-state stakeholders.
The Governance in Organizations committee is a subcommittee of the Saint Lucia Bureau of Standards’ – Management Services Technical Committee, which retains the role of development and adoption of standards, related to good management practices such as Business Continuity Management Systems, Asset Management and Supply Chain Security Management.
An awareness building seminar will be held on the 29th November 2023 at the Harbor Club hotel starting from 10:00 am. This event will include local, regional and international technical experts presenting with their knowledge and experiences from supply chain and Human Trafficking challenges. The discussion will include the importance of developing a standard for organizations to ensure their operations do not encourage or unknowingly participate in instances of Human Trafficking, Modern Slavery and Forced Labour activities. We invite the media to attend and be part of the discussion.
