Partnerships For Change: Corporate Social Responsibility

Forced labor is any work or service that a worker performs involuntarily or under threat of penalty. Forced labor takes a variety of forms, including prison labor, in which imprisoned persons are forced to work as a requirement of sentence and without compensation; indentured labor, whereby an employer forbids a worker to leave employment at the worker's discretion; and bonded labor, in which a person, often a child, works not for compensation, but to pay off a debt incurred by another in exchange for the worker's labor.

Certain forms of forced labor found in the production of export products arise more frequently in different parts of the world. Forced prison labor is a concern chiefly in China, while bonded child labor occurs most frequently in South Asia. Indentured labor has arisen as an issue in Burma, where villagers are allegedly conscripted to construct gas pipelines; in Saipan, where migrant workers are reportedly forced to sign labor contracts prohibiting them from resigning from their jobs for a certain length of time; and in numerous countries in the form of forced - and often unpaid - overtime. Recent reports have focused on a growing prison labor industry in the United States as well. While most forms of forced labor are not typically a concern in prime contracting relationships, they more often appear at the subcontracting level, making them more difficult for companies to detect and address.

Business Importance

Developing policies and practices to help address the issue of forced labor can have the following business benefits:

Strengthened legal compliance: A number of stakeholder groups have taken legal actions against companies that allegedly employ forced labor in their business operations (see "Recent Developments" below). Ensuring that business operations are in line with international standards and local laws on forced labor can help businesses avoid costly legal challenges.

Enhanced corporate reputation/brand image: Companies that take a strong stand on the issue of forced labor and engage in efforts to eliminate forced labor from the manufacture of their products may gain favorable attention from stakeholders, thereby enhancing the reputation of the company and its brands.

Reduced risk of negative publicity, campaigns and boycotts: In recent years, several companies have found themselves the focus of media stories alleging the use of forced labor in corporate sourcing operations, stories that have sometimes triggered NGO campaigns and consumer boycotts. Developing an effective policy to combat the use of forced labor can help companies avoid the high costs associated with such adverse publicity.

Increased quality and productivity: Work performed under duress or in debilitating or demeaning conditions can negatively impact a worker's productivity. Workers who are present voluntarily and who work in healthy, safe, and respectful conditions are more likely to be productive, and to produce high quality products.

Improved business relationships: Establishing, communicating and enforcing a corporate policy on forced labor not only can help build relationships based on shared values, but can give rise to systems and practices that are the framework for sustaining ongoing relationships with business partners.

Recent Developments

Several developments in recent years have converged to compel companies to better understand and address the issue of forced labor in global manufacturing operations. These have ranged from lawsuits levied against companies accused of profiting from forced labor to the development of new guidelines on forced labor to innovative corporate and NGO efforts to eliminate the use of forced labor in business operations. Examples of these initiatives follow:

Legal actions against companies: Several lawsuits have been filed against companies in recent years alleging, among other charges, the use of forced labor in the production or sourcing of their products. Examples include:

Lawsuit against adidas-Salomon: Chinese political dissidents filed at $1.2-billion lawsuit in 1998 accusing adidas-Salomon AG of using slave labor in China in making World Cup soccer balls. The complaint on behalf of current and former prisoners of a work camp in Shanghai charged that dissidents were coerced into making adidas soccer balls for World Cup 1998 14 to 18 hours a day under "inhumane conditions." After an investigation, adidas officials conceded that unauthorized subcontracting of the company's soccer ball production may have taken place. The company temporarily suspended soccer ball orders from China, sped up creation of a full-time human rights department, and announced plans to centralize all Chinese production in one location to avoid any possible diversion of production to prison labor camps. Though adidas filed a motion to dismiss, the suit was still pending as of January 2000.

Saipan lawsuits: On behalf of garment workers on the U.S. territory of Saipan, Northern Marianas Islands, U.S. advocacy groups filed a $1 billion series of class-action lawsuits in January, 1999 against several American companies with operations in Saipan. The suits, which allege in part that the accused companies profited from indentured labor, prompted several companies to cancel or reduce their contracts on the island, and encouraged the Saipan Garment Manufacturers Association to adopt a code of conduct and monitoring system to help prevent worker abuses, including forced labor. Several of the companies named in the lawsuit have settled claims against them.

Unocal in Burma: Lawyers representing several Burmese citizens, and two human rights advocate organizations, filed a lawsuit in a Los Angeles Federal Court in 1996 accusing Unocal Corporation of using forced labor and contributing to other human rights violations in Burma. The suit, still unsettled, charges that Unocal's and its partners' participation in a $1.2 billion gas pipeline project through Burma to Thailand has involved slave labor, the forced relocation of entire villages, and other human rights abuses. In a related move, a coalition of 30 environmental and human rights groups petitioned the attorney general of California in 1999 to revoke Unocal's corporate charter for its activities in Burma, including allegations of the use of forced labor.

University contractor lawsuit: The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center filed a lawsuit in October 1999 alleging that Los Angeles garment workers producing clothing for the University of Southern California were routinely forced to work overtime and periodically forced to bring work home for completion, in contravention of USC's code of conduct. No court action had been taken on the suit as of January 2000.

Final settlement in El Monte Factory lawsuit: Thai workers freed from the El Monte garment factory in 1995 were awarded $1.2 million in 1999 to settle the final lawsuit against a clothing retailer that hired the factory. The lawsuit accused factory owners of holding the workers in indentured servitude. The settlement with Tomato Inc, the company for which they did the most work, brings their total judgment to more than $4 million. In 1997, BUM International, LF Sportswear, Mervyn's and Montgomery Ward & Co. - all named in the workers' 1995 lawsuit - agreed to pay $2 million and Hub Distributing/Miller's Outpost settled for an undisclosed amount.

Corporate Efforts to Eliminate Forced Labor

SGMA in Pakistan - The world's leading sporting goods companies have partnered with several international organizations, including the International Labor Organization and Save the Children, to eliminate the use of child labor, including bonded child labor, from the manufacture of soccer balls in Pakistan (see "Leadership Examples" for details).

Reebok and Nike - Both Reebok and Nike have established centralized stitching centers in Pakistan dedicated solely to the production of soccer balls for each company. This centralization system helps ensure that no soccer balls are outsourced for production to facilities or homes employing bonded child labor. (See Child Labor White Paper for more details.)

Levis, Mattel and Reebok sign China Business Principles - Levi Strauss and Co., Mattel, and Reebok have all signed on to a set of business principles designed to help companies do business responsibly in China, including avoidance of the use of prison and forced labor. See section immediately below for more details.

NGO efforts to eliminate forced labor/free bonded laborers

China Business Principles: San Francisco-based Global Exchange and Washington, D.C.'s International Labor Rights Fund developed the Chinese Business Principles in 1999, a set of provisions on labor rights designed to help companies do business responsibly in China. According to Global Exchange, one of the key concerns that prompted the drafting of the principles was the practice many Chinese employers allegedly engage in of requiring workers to pay deposits upon being hired that are not returned until after two years of work, putting the workers in a situation of forced labor.

Rugmark: Rugmark is a private, voluntary certification program founded in 1994 to provide market-driven incentives for Indian carpet manufacturers to produce without bonded child labor. In order to earn a label, Rugmark licensees must submit to a monitoring system that includes surprise inspections and cross-checking of export records and looms, and agree to pay 0.025 percent of the value of their carpets to help finance inspections. Rugmark has programs in India, Pakistan, and Nepal.

Foul Ball Campaign: Initiated in 1996 by the International Labor Rights Fund, this campaign, which focuses on the use of bonded child labor in the manufacture of soccer balls in Pakistan, helped bring about a collaborative program to eliminate child labor from this industry (described below). An ILRF follow-up report issued in 1999 casts doubt on the effectiveness of the program, and encourages consumers to write to soccer retailers insisting that they take further measures to eliminate child labor.

Free the Children, a youth action group based in Canada with chapters in schools throughout North America, has initiated many projects all over the world, including the opening of schools and rehabilitation centers for former bonded child workers and the creation of alternative sources of revenue for poor families to free children from hazardous work.

Bonded Labor Liberation Front (BLLF) - Founded by a Pakistani journalist, this Pakistani NGO helps bonded laborers win their freedom. The BLLF came to international attention in 1995 when one of the former bonded child laborers it helped free, Iqbal Masih, became an international celebrity when he traveled to the United States to speak about his experiences as a bonded worker in the carpet industry, and was subsequently killed in Pakistan several months later. Unsubstantiated reports say that Masih was killed by Pakistan's "carpet mafia."

South Asia Coalition on Child Servitude - This India-based NGO has helped free thousands of bonded child laborers. SACCS also coordinates boycotts and protests against companies and industries that exploit child labor.

Regulatory Efforts:

New ILO Convention on Child Labor: The 174 members of the International Labor Organization unanimously adopted a new convention banning the worst forms of child labor at the ILO's annual conference in June 1999. The new convention applies to all persons under 18 and calls for "immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour," including slavery and debt bondage. An accompanying recommendation urges ratifying states to declare the worst forms of child labor criminal offences and impose penal sanctions on violators.

Bonded Child Labor Elimination Act: In October 1997, the U.S. Congress passed the Bonded Child Labor Elimination Act, banning the import of goods made with bonded child labor, defined as work done by persons under the age of 15 against his or her will. The U.S. Customs Service is charged with enforcing the law, with help from a consortium of human rights groups, importers and congressional staff to help enforce the law. In November 1999, handrolled beedi cigarettes from India were banned from importation to the U.S. based on this law.

California/Massachusetts laws banning imports made from slave labor: Legislators in California and Massachusetts are considering bills to prohibit their state governments from buying slave-labor goods. Legislation proposed in California requires that all state contracts "shall contain a statement in which the contractor attests that no foreign-made equipment, materials, or supplies furnished to the state pursuant to the contract have been produced in whole or in part by forced labor, convict labor, or indentured labor under penal sanction." Legislation proposed in Massachusetts would likewise require state contractors to "swear under penalty of perjury" that their goods have not been produced by forced labor.

External Standards

Internationally-Accepted Standards: There are several sources of internationally-established standards on forced labor. These include:

United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), a document adopted by most of the world's nations in the wake of World War II. Article 4 of the UDHR states: " No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms."

International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention No. 29: Calls on all countries ratifying the convention to suppress the use of forced or compulsory labor within the shortest possible period; Defines forced and compulsory labor as "all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily."

ILO Convention No. 105: Calls for the complete abolition of debt bondage and serfdom; Stipulates that wages shall be paid regularly and prohibits methods of payment "which deprive the worker of a genuine possibility of terminating his employment."

ILO Convention No. 182: Worst Forms of Child Labor: This new Convention calls on ratifying countries to eliminate the worst forms of child labor, including: "All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict."

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Article 6. 1. Calls on ratifying countries to: "recognize the right to work, which includes the right of everyone to the opportunity to gain his living by work which he freely chooses or accepts."

United Nations Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, 1956: Calls on State Parties to this Convention to help bring about the complete abolition of slave-like practices including: "Debt bondage, that is to say, the status or condition arising from a pledge by a debtor of his personal services or of those of a person under his control as security for a debt, if the value of those services as reasonably assessed is not applied towards the liquidation of the debt or the length and nature of those services are not respectively limited and defined."

Fair Labor Association (FLA): This organization, originally convened by President Clinton and comprised of apparel manufacturers and retailers, and human rights and labor rights, consumers' and religious organizations, has agreed on a code of conduct defining standards for humane working conditions in the apparel industry in the US and abroad. The FLA's standard on forced labor is: "There shall not be any use of forced labor, whether in the form of prison labor, indentured labor, bonded labor or otherwise."

Social Accountability 8000: Social Accountability International's (SAI) - formally known as the Council on Economic Priorities Accreditation Agency (CEPAA) - Social Accountability 8000 (SA 8000) factory certification system, modeled on International Standards Organization (ISO) systems for certifying assurance, includes a code of conduct for labor rights. SA 8000's standard on forced labor is: "The company shall not engage in or support the use of forced labour, nor shall personnel be required to lodge 'deposits' or identity papers upon commencing employment with the company."

American Apparel Manufacturers Association (AAMA) Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production (WRAP) Program: The AAMA has developed the Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production (WRAP) Program, a code and monitoring system designed to certify individual apparel manufacturing facilities. The code's standard on forced labor reads: "Apparel manufacturers will not use involuntary or forced labor -- indentured, bonded or otherwise."

Amnesty International has established a set of "Human Rights Principles for Companies." On the issue of forced labor, the principles read: "All companies should ensure that their policies and practices prohibit the use of chattel slaves, forced labor, bonded child laborers or coerced prison labor. This should include ensuring that suppliers, partners or contractors do not use such labour."

Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR): Principles for Global Corporate Responsibility: Benchmarks for Measuring Business Performance:

The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, a North American association of religious institutional investors, in conjunction with the U.K.'s Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility and Canada's Taskforce on the Churches and Corporate Responsibility, has developed Principles for Global Corporate Responsibility: Benchmarks for Measuring Business Performance. The Global Principles are a set of comprehensive standards by which to measure responsible corporate action in the global economy. The following represents the Global Principles' criteria on forced labor:
- The company employs workers who choose to be employed by that company. The company does not use any forced labor, whether in the forms of prison labor, indentured labor, bonded labor, slave labor or any other non-voluntary labor.
- The company has a clearly stated policy in regard to the monitoring of the employment of people under duress. If it is discovered in such monitoring that any workers have been employed under duress, immediate steps are taken to rectify the practice and to provide for the rehabilitation of the workers involved. The company does not solve the problem by the dismissal of the workers involved."
China Business Principles: The International Labor Rights Fund and Global Exchange developed a set of principles for companies doing business in China. On the issue of forced labor, the principles state: "No goods or products produced within our company-owned facilities or those of our suppliers shall be manufactured by bonded labor, forced labor, within prison camps or as part of reform-through-labor or reeducation-through-labor programs."
Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC): This Europe-based advocacy group has developed a code of conduct to serve as a model for corporate codes of conduct. The CCC's standard on forced labor states: "There shall be no use of forced, including bonded or prison, labour (ILO Conventions 29 and 105). Nor shall workers be required to lodge "deposits" or their identity papers with their employer."

Implementation Steps

The following steps can help companies implement an effective strategy to combat forced labor:

Understand the issue and how it might occur in your company's business operations - Forced labor takes a variety of forms, some of which occur with more or less frequency in different parts of the world. Identifying your company's key sourcing countries and investigating the types of forced labor that occur with relative frequency in each location can be valuable information in formulating an effective policy on forced labor.

Develop a policy on forced labor - Perhaps as part of a corporate code of conduct on workplace policies, establish a policy on forced labor that takes into account external standards (see above) and the various forms that forced labor can take in your company's business operations. For examples, see the following section on "Sample Policies."

Communicate the policy to business partners and other stakeholders - Communicating the policy is essential to clarifying its provisions, practicalities, and importance. Business partners, their employees, internal company staff whose responsibilities include interaction with business partners, interested shareholders and other stakeholder groups should all receive a copy of the policy, which should be translated into appropriate languages.

Train company and supplier staff on the policy - Provide training to business partner and internal staff on the practical meaning and application of the policy. Training can be done by company staff or external trainers, and can include explanations of laws and standards regarding forced labor, case studies of situations constituting forced labor, and management techniques to avoid the occurrence of forced labor.

Monitor compliance with the policy - This can be done in several ways, including internal audits and visits by company staff, external audits conducted by external or independent firms hired by the company, and independent monitoring by NGOs or others. (See other White Papers on monitoring.)

Conduct outreach - Consider reaching out to NGOs and other groups knowledgeable about forced labor. NGOs can be useful as sources of information on the practice and potentially as partners in initiatives to end the use of forced labor in export manufacturing operations. A list of some helpful resources can be found at the end of this document.

Leadership Examples

These "leadership" practices have been chosen as illustrative examples in the area of corporate social responsibility addressed by this White Paper. They are intended to represent innovation, higher than average commitment, unusual industry practice or a comprehensive approach to this issue. Periodically, the examples listed may be changed. If you wish to share information about your company's leadership practices or policies, please contact editor@bsr.org with the relevant information. (Many of the company examples and policies cited in this report have been verified and approved. Final approvals for others are pending and information will be modified if necessary.)

Pakistan Soccer Ball Program: In a pioneering initiative to end child labor, including bonded child labor, in Pakistan's soccer industry, the world's leading sporting goods companies are partnering with several international organizations, including UNICEF, Save the Children, and the ILO, in a series of actions to eliminate child labor from the production of soccer balls in Pakistan, the source for more than 75% of the world's billion-dollar soccer ball market. The partnership is overseeing a program of independent monitoring to verify efforts to eliminate child labor by participating manufacturers. It is also implementing a social protection program that provides educational and other opportunities to children removed from the industry. As of December 1999 more than 6,000 former child workers were enrolled in special education centers in Pakistan. More than 50 sporting goods brands -- including adidas, Brine, Mitre, Nike, Puma, Reebok, and Umbro -- have pledged to purchase soccer balls produced in Pakistan only from local manufacturers who participate in the monitoring program. A similar program is being adapted for implementation in India.

Sample Policies

FILA: "FILA will not do business with Vendors/Suppliers who employ forced labor. Vendors/Suppliers may not utilize imprisoned, indentured, bonded or any other form of compulsory labor in the manufacture of FILA products, including labor that is imposed as a means of political coercion or as a punishment for political or religious views." (Large Company, Footwear, United States)

Gap Inc.: "Factories shall not use any prison, indentured or forced labor.

"The factory does not use involuntary labor of any kind, including prison labor, debt bondage or forced labor by governments.
"If the factory recruits foreign contract workers, the factory pays agency recruitment commissions and does not require any worker to remain in employment for any period of time against his or her will." (Large Company, Apparel, United States)

Kmart Corporation: "Every employee must be a voluntary worker. No employees can be made to work against their will or work as forced prison labor. All employees must be treated with respect and no employee will be subject to corporal punishment or coercion of any type." (Large Company, Retailer, United States)

Awards

At this time, BSR is not aware of any awards given to companies specifically for their initiatives on forced labor.

Council on Economic Priorities' (CEP) Pioneering Awards honor bold, untested initiatives that evidence great potential for social good. In 1997, the award was given to The Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association, the Soccer Industry Council of America and the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry which joined with international child advocacy groups and leading manufacturers of sport equipment to eradicate child labor in the soccer ball industry in Pakistan. Contact CEP at http://www.cepnyc.org/.

Resources

The following list is not comprehensive. It is an illustrative group of the many nonprofit, public sector and/or academic resources working with the private sector in the area of corporate social responsibility addressed by this White Paper. The resources identified below have been included because they provide information or support that is relevant to companies, and they are national or international in scope. Periodically, the examples listed may be changed. At this time, the list does not include for-profit resources. If you would like to provide information about additional helping resources that meet our criteria, please contact editor@bsr.org.

Business for Social Responsibility, Business and Human Rights Program
www.bsr.org/

Organizational Overview: Founded in 1992, Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) helps companies of all sizes and from all sectors achieve commercial success in ways that respect ethical values, people, communities and the environment. A leading global business partner, BSR provides information, tools and advisory services to make corporate social responsibility (CSR) an integral part of business operations and strategies. BSR promotes cross sector collaborations and contributes to global efforts to advance the field of corporate social responsibility. BSR member companies have nearly $2 trillion in combined annual revenues and employ more than six million workers around the world.

Products and Services:

Membership. BSR membership provides companies with access to information resources, advisory services, and collaborative and networking opportunities.
Advisory Services. BSR helps companies to plan, implement and measure the impact of strategies, policies and practices across the full spectrum of CSR issues.
Conferences. BSR's annual conference convenes more than 1,000 business leaders from around the world. Participants stay informed of changing requirements of CSR, network with peers and thought-leaders in the field, and learn to apply innovative strategies and practices that add value to their companies and to society.
Resources. BSR provides information resources to members, clients and the general public. Members enjoy a weekly summary of CSR news from around the world in the News Monitor. In addition, BSR Magazine, a free online magazine, offers CSR-related interviews, columns and trend analyses. A range of reports, guides and training modules can be purchased online at the BSR Store.

Contact Information:

609 Mission St., 2nd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
United States
Phone: 415.537.0890
Fax: 415.537.0888

International Labor Organization (ILO)
www.ilo.org/

Organizational Overview: The ILO is a UN specialized agency that seeks the promotion of social justice and internationally recognized human and labor rights. A tripartite agency (workers, employers and governments participate as equal partners), the ILO formulates international labor standards on basic labor rights including forced labor, freedom of association, child labor, equality of opportunity and treatment, and other standards regulating working conditions.

Products and Services:

Selected publications (most available in English, French and Spanish)

ILOLEX: a full-text trilingual database on international labor standards with search and retrieval software available on CD-ROM.

NATLEX: a bibliographic database featuring national laws on labor, social security and related human rights.

Publications and full text working papers on child labor, labor and economic policy, labor statistics, employment, labor studies, women at work, occupational health and safety, management and sectoral activities.

International Labour Review: published quarterly, this multidisciplinary journal covers such issues as globalization, sexual harassment, new technologies and child labor.

International Occupational Safety and Health Information Centre: information about occupational safety and health (OSH) being published around the world.

Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety (4th Edition): a comprehensive reference on occupational health and safety designed for easy use by both specialists and non-specialists (in print and CD-ROM).

Selected services:

Training and advisory services for employers' and workers' associations in fields including employment policy, labor administration, labor law and industrial relations; working conditions, and occupational health and safety.

ILO Library: the repository and cataloguer of all ILO publications and basic documents, including books, periodicals, reports, journal articles, legislation and statistics. Most ILO offices throughout the world also have collections of basic ILO documents that are available for consultation by the general public. The LABORDOC database records the majority of the library's holdings and is available on-line.

Website: The ILO website is a trilingual (English, French, Spanish) site providing information on ILO conventions and recommendations on labor issues, access to key ILO databases, and information and subscription services for ILO publications. It also provides direct, up to date information on activities and outputs in the following areas: abolition of forced labor, freedom of association, the right to organize, collective bargaining, freedom of association, equality of opportunity and treatment, vocational training and rehabilitation, employment policy, labor administration, labor law and industrial relations, working conditions, management development, cooperatives, social security, labor statistics and occupational safety and health.

Awards: N/A

Contact Information:

International Labour Organization
4, route des Morrillons
CH-1211, Geneva 22
Switzerland
Phone: (41-22) 799-6525
Fax: (41-22) 799-8570

US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/index.html

Organizational Overview: The responsibilities of the US State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) include formulating US human rights policies and coordinating policy in human rights-related labor issues.

Products and Services:

"Annual Country Reports:" The DRL coordinates the publication of US Department of State annual country reports that provide information on the exercise of rights such as forced labor, freedom of association and discrimination contained in most companies' codes of conduct.

Website: Current and past "Annual Country Reports" can be found on the DRL's website.

Awards: N/A

Contact Information:

United States Department of State
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and labor
Washington, D.C.
United States
Phone: 202.647.2126

The Laogai Research Foundation
www.christusrex.org/www1/sdc/laogai.html

Organizational Overview: The Laogai Research Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to compiling factual information about life within the Laogai - China's vast network of forced labor camps.

Products and Services: The Foundation was created with several specific goals in mind:

To conduct continuing research into the Laogai and the human rights abuses perpetrated there
To serve as a clearinghouse for information about Chinese forced labor products, maintaining an extensive computer database on individual Laogai camps and their products
To educate the public about the Laogai
To provide speakers and visual materials to groups interested in learning more about the Laogai

Website: The website has newsletters from several years back, including information on locations of prison camps and profiles of prisoners-of-conscience.

Awards: N/A

Contact Information:

P.O. Box 361375

The International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF)

http://www.laborrights.org/

Organizational Overview: The International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) is a nonprofit action and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. that uses new and creative means to encourage enforcement of international labor rights. Specifically, the ILRF uses legal and administrative actions on behalf of working people, and creates innovative programs and enforcement mechanisms such as independent monitoring to protect workers' rights. The ILRF focuses on linking trade expansion to enforcement of internationally recognized worker rights so as to more broadly distribute the benefits of increased global trade and economic integration, and to strengthen democratic politics and civil societies.

Products and Services: The ILRF implements these objectives through various activities, including publications, testimony and speeches on labor rights, as well as active participation in initiatives such as the White House Apparel Industry Partnership, the Foul Ball Campaign to end the exploitation of child labor in the soccer ball industry, the Rugmark program to combat the use of child labor in carpet making in South Asia and the Liz Claiborne Independent Monitoring Pilot Project (see "Leadership Examples" section).

Website: The ILRF website describes the various initiatives, publications and activities that it is involved in, as well as general information about labor rights and efforts to combat unsafe and inhumane working conditions.

Awards: N/A

Contact Information:

International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF)
733 15th Street, N.W., Suite 920
Washington, DC 20005
United States
Telephone: 202.347.4100
Fax: 202.347.4885

Human Rights Watch
http://www.hrw.org/

Organizational Overview: Human Rights Watch (HRW) is a nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world. HRW works with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime and to bring offenders to justice. It also investigates and exposes human rights violations and holds abusers accountable by challenging governments and those who hold power to end abusive practices and respect international human rights law. Human Rights Watch has also identified NGOs around the world that have the ability to perform independent monitoring with human rights and labor standards.

Products and Services: Human Rights Watch researches and advocates all issues relating to human rights, including the links between business and human rights, labor rights and women's human rights. Specifically, Human Rights Watch has issued several reports on issues including pregnancy testing and other discriminatory treatment of women in U.S.-owned export-processing factories along the U.S.-Mexico border, and a report documenting the enslavement of millions of child workers in India through debt bondage. Other reports that HRW has written are country reports that profile known human rights and rule-of-law violations.

Website: The HRW website describes its mission, activities, reports and active campaigns to prevent human rights violations. The site also describes its efforts to encourage corporations to address issues of human rights.

Awards: N/A

Contact Information:

350 Fifth Avenue 34th Floor
New York, NY 10118-3299
United States
Tel: 212.290.4700
Fax: 212.736.1300

Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights
www.lchr.org/

Organizational Overview: The Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights (LCHR) works to promote fundamental human rights through its focus on building legal institutions and structures that will guarantee human rights in the long term. The Committee holds governments accountable to the standards affirmed in the International Bill of Human Rights and represents asylum seekers and refugees. The Lawyers' Committee is a member of the Apparel Industry Partnership, a collaborative effort of apparel companies, unions and advocacy groups convened by President Clinton to improve working conditions in the apparel industry in the U.S. and internationally.

Products and Services:

Publications: Publishes country-specific legal reform reports, advocacy alerts to protect human rights groups, media alerts, policy papers and critiques of government reports and documents.
Lawyer-to-Lawyer Network: Mobilizes more than 1,000 lawyers, judges, law professors, bar associations and other legal groups around the world to protest human rights violations against lawyers.

Website: The LCHR website provides access to media alerts, the lawyer-to-lawyer network, the latest country-specific reports, program information, including the Fair Labor Association and publication ordering information.

Awards: Annual Human Rights Award, which is typically given to human rights activists.

Contact Information:

Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights
333 Seventh Ave. 13th Floor
New York, NY 10001
United States
Phone:212.845.5200
Fax: 212.845.5299

Amnesty International

www.amnesty.org/

Organizational Overview: Amnesty International (AI) campaigns worldwide to promote all the human rights embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international standards. AI campaigns to free all prisoners of conscience; ensure fair and prompt trials for political prisoners; abolish the death penalty, torture and other cruel treatment of prisoners; end political killings and "disappearances"; and oppose human rights abuses by opposition groups. The Amnesty International UK (AIUK) Business Group encourages companies to be aware of the human rights context of the countries where they operate, to use their legitimate influence in support of human rights in those countries, and to support the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Products and Services: Amnesty International provides the following products and services:

Publications Library: Includes thematic publications, country reports, campaign reports, A-Z index, and a search engine that searches the site.
News: Site highlights latest AI news releases.
Guidelines: The AIUK Business Group offers companies a range of guidelines on strategic planning and policy framework, personnel policies and practices, security arrangements, and implementation and monitoring. The Business Group, for example, has developed recommendations for an explicit human rights policy to include items such as incorporating support for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights into statements of business principles, integrating human rights concerns into project planning and implementation, addressing how human rights issues and safeguards will be raised with the authorities, and ensuring that managers receive adequate training to implement company policy.

Website: Includes a publication ordering form that may be downloaded, publications library, news releases, information on current campaigns, and links to other Amnesty International web pages and to other human rights related sites. Awards: N/A

Contact Information:

International Secretariat:
1 Easton St.
London WC1X 8DJ
United Kingdom
Phone: +44.171.413.5500
Fax: +44.171.956.1157

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