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Defining the Issue

The United States recognizes two primary forms of trafficking in persons: forced labor and sex trafficking. This site focuses primarily on forced labor, a crime whereby traffickers exploit and profit at the expense of adults or children by compelling them to perform labor. Several terms are used throughout RST such as trafficking in persons, human trafficking, and forced labor.

Defining the characteristics and forms of human trafficking

By Sector

Product

What is being produced, and especially how a particular product defines the nature of the work, may contribute to trafficking risks.

Operations

How a supply chain is set up and how workers are recruited, hired, and employed are factors of whether workers are better protected from or more exposed to risks.

Workforce Characteristics

Who the workers are, where they are from, their level of skill, their level of control over their lives, and pressures they are subject to are key to their degree of vulnerability to trafficking risks.

By Geography

Country

The political, socioeconomic, and legal profiles of a sourcing country all contribute to a vulnerable workforce.

Labor

The demographics of the workforce, what jobs they are qualified for based on education and skill, how replaceable they are, and especially what pressures they are under to find and keep almost any job due to financial needs, translate to their vulnerability to being trafficked.

Resource Library

U.S. Federal Acquisition Regulation

The United States has long had a policy prohibiting government employees and contractor personnel from engaging in trafficking in persons. The efficacy of this policy was strengthened in 2015 when the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 22.17 entitled “Combating Trafficking in Persons” implemented trafficking-related prohibitions for federal contractors and subcontractors. Additionally, FAR 22.15 outlines the “Prohibition of Acquisition of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor” when issuing a solicitation for supplies.

Here, U.S. government procurement officials as well as Federal contractors and offerors, will find the laws, regulations, and resources to assist in compliance.

Laws & Regulations

Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking in Persons in Public Procurement

Federal Acquisition Regulation 22.17 Combating Trafficking in Persons

Title XVII of National Defense Authorization (NDAA) Act, Ending Trafficking in Government Contracting

Executive Order 13627 – Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking In Persons In Federal Contracts

Federal Acquisition Regulation 22.15, Prohibition of Acquisition of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor

Resources

FAR “Know Your Rights” Poster

FAR “Know Your Rights” Poster Directions

Sample FAR Compliance Plan

List of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor (DOL)

Training

Federal Acquisition Institute’s Combating Trafficking in Persons Course

Research & Case Studies

Agriculture, Food & Beverage

Food & Beverage Benchmark Findings Report (2018, Know the Chain)

Pathways to Deforestation-Free Food: Developing supply chains free of deforestation and exploitation (2017, Oxfam International)

Migrant Workers in Commercial Agriculture (2010, ILO)

Apparel & Footwear

Paying for a Bus Ticket and Expecting to Fly: How Purchasing Practices Drive Labor Abuses (2019, HRW)

Forced Labor and Child Trafficking in India’s Garment Sector (2017, Asia Foundation)

An Investor Briefing on the Apparel Industry: Moving the needle on responsible labour practices (2017, UN PRI)

Construction

A Critical Field Guide: Who Builds Your Architecture? (2017, WBYA?)

Brick by Brick: The full picture of South Asia’s brick kiln industry and building the blocks for change (2017, ILO)

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Managing Human Rights Risks During and After COVID-19: Resources for Businesses (2020, Pillar Two)

COVID-19 and California’​s Commitment to Health Equity (2024, The California Department of Public Health)

I Must Work to Eat. Covid-19, Poverty, and Child Labor in Ghana, Nepal, and Uganda (2021, Human Rights Watch)

COVID-19 Position paper: Impact and Consequences of the Pandemic on Trafficked and Exploited Persons (2020, UN Human Rights Special Procedures)

Guidelines for “Better” Purchasing Practices Amidst the Coronavirus Crisis and Recovery (2020, Better Buying)

Isolated Cases of Modern Slavery: Farmworker Protections and Labor Conditions in Brazil’s Coffee Sector (2016, Coffeelands Program)

Hospitality

Promoting Fair Recruitment and Employment: Guidance Tool for Hotels in Qatar (2020, IHRB)

Migrant workers in the international hotel industry (2012, ILO)

Logistics

Modern-Day Servitude in U.S. Port Trucking: A Call to Retail Brands (2018, GLJ – ILRF)

Palm Oil

A Brief Guide to Ethical Recruitment for the Palm Oil Sector (2021, Verité)

Free and Fair Labor in Palm Oil Production: Principles and Implementation Guidance (2015, Humanity United)

Seafood

Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability: V1.2 Standards and Materials

Choppy Waters: Forced Labour and Illegal Fishing in Taiwan’s Distant Water Fisheries (2020, Green Peace)

Taking Stock: Labor Exploitation, Illegal Fishing, Brand Responsibility in Seafood Industry (2018, GLJ – ILRF)

Turn The Tide: Human Rights Abuses and Illegal Fishing in Thailand’s Overseas Fishing Industry (2016, Green Peace)

Assessing Government and Business Responses to the Thai Seafood Crisis (2016, Humanity United)

Pirates and Slaves: Overfishing in Thailand Fuels Human Trafficking and the Plundering of Oceans (2015, EJF)

U.S.

Labor Trafficking in the U.S.: A Closer Look at Temporary Work Visas (2015, Polaris Project)

The Typology of Modern Slavery: Defining Sex and Labor Trafficking in the United States (2017, Polaris Project)

Research & Case Studies – More

Trafficking in Persons Report

Human Trafficking Awareness Guide for Convenience Retail Employees (Blue Campaign)

Slavery Research Library: A Searchable Library of Anti-Slavery Resources (2023, The Freedom Fund)

Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage (2022, ILO)

Combating Forced and Child Labor of Refugees in Global Supply Chains: The Role of Responsible Sourcing (2021, Verité)

Trafficking in Persons, Vulnerability, and Environmental Degradation: Burma and Mozambique (2020, Verité)

Base Code Guidance: Caste in Global Supply Chains (2019, ETI)

Abuse of Tanzanian Domestic Workers in Oman and United Arab Emirates (2017, HRW)

25 Keys to Unlock the Financial Chains of Human Trafficking & Modern Slavery (2017, United Nations University)

Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking in Persons in Federal and Corporate Supply Chains. (2017, Verité)

Connecting human trafficking and conflict (2017, Global Initiative)

The Debt Trap: How business and government undermine Nepali migrants’ efforts to escape poverty (2017, Amnesty Nepal)

Trafficking Risk in Sub-Saharan African Supply Chains (2017, Verité)

Disrupting Human Trafficking: The Role of Financial Institutions (2017, RUSI)

Improving employment and working conditions in health services (2017, ILO)

Worker Exploitation in New Zealand: A Troubling Landscape (2016, The Human Trafficking Research Coalition)

The Nexus of Illegal Gold Mining and Human Trafficking in Global Supply Chains (2016, Verité)

Corporate Liability for Forced Labour and Human Trafficking (2016, IHRB)

Profits and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labour (2014, ILO)

Addressing the Retention of Identity Documents (2014, UN Global Compact)

Fees and IDs: Tackling Recruitment fees and confiscation of workers’ passports (2013, IHRB)

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Implementation Approaches

International Labour Organization (ILO)

About the ILO

General Principles and Operational Guidelines for Fair Recruitment and Definition of Recruitment Fees and Related Costs (2019)

Regulating Labour Recruitment to Prevent Human Trafficking and to Foster Fair Migration (2015)

Combating Forced Labor: A Handbook for Employers and Business (2015)

International Organization for Migration (IOM)

The Montreal Recommendations on Recruitment: A Road Map towards Better Regulation (2020)

Ethical Recruitment Standard (2019)

Employer Pays Principle

IHRB Employer Pays subsite

The Leadership Group for Responsible Recruitment (2016, IHRB)

Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility “No Fees Initiative” (2014)

Fair Food Program

Code of Conduct and Selected Guidance

Preventing Forced Labor in Supply Chains: The Fair Food Program and Worker-Driven Social Responsibility (2017)

Sector-Specific

SEAFOOD: A Human Rights Due Diligence guide for companies in the fisheries value chain (2024, The Danish Institute for Human Rights)

SEAFOOD: Decent Work for All Workers in Seafood Supply Chains (2023, Rise)

AGRICULTURE: Toolbox to Implement Fair Hiring in the Agricultural Sector (AHIFORES)

CONSTRUCTION: Guidance Tool for Construction Companies in the Middle East (2019, ILO)

SEAFOOD: Social Responsibility in the Global Seafood Industry (2018, Fishwise)

GARMENT & FOOTWEAR: Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains in the Sector (2017, OECD)

SEAFOOD: Fishers First; Good Practices to End Labour Exploitation at Sea (2016, ILO)

CONSTRUCTION: Guidelines for a Better Construction Industry in the GCC: Code of Conduct for Construction Companies (2015, HRW)

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Worker Voice

Effective Modern Slavery Grievance Mechanisms: A Case Study Publication for Business (2021, UN Global Compact)

Implementing Effective Modern Slavery Grievance Mechanisms: A Guidance Note for Business (2021, UN Global Compact)

Worker feedback technologies and modern slavery: examining the effectiveness (2019, The British Academy)

Employing Workers’ Sense of Value as a KPI to Drive Facility Improvement in Social Responsibility (2018, Verité)

Guidance on Grievance Mechanisms (2018, Engage the Chain)

National Human Trafficking Resource Center (2018)

A Guidance Tool for Companies and Their Stakeholders (2008, Rights-Compatible Grievance Mechanism)

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General

Q&As on Business and Forced Labor (2023, ILO)

Accountability Framework Initiative

Employment and Recruitment Agencies Sector Guide on Implementing the UNGPs (2024, European Commission)

Know the Chain

Made in a Free World

SlaveryFootprint.org

Solidarity Center

Migrant Worker Management Toolkit: A Global Framework, Business for Social Responsibility (2020, BSR)

Corporate due diligence, sustainability standards and certification. Briefing Note. (2020, ISEAL Alliance)

Guidance on Implementing the UNGPs for Commodity Traders (2019, IHRB)

Addressing Forced Labor in Supply Chains (2017, FLA)

Promoting the rights of workers vulnerable to forced labor globally (2017, Responsible Labor Initiative)

Anti-Human Trafficking Business Authentication Criteria: Company-Level and Site-Level (2016, Verité)

Model Guidelines on Government Measures to Prevent Human Trafficking in Supply Chains (2012, OSCE)

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U.S. Government Agencies and Resources

The following includes a list of select U.S. Government agencies committed to preventing and addressing human trafficking, and specific resources focused on forced labor and global supply chains.

Overview

National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking

U.S. Federal Response on Human Trafficking (DOS)

U.S. Department of State

DOS Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons

Trafficking in Persons Report

Know Your Rights Video and Pamphlet

The Role of the Financial Sector in Combating Human Trafficking

U.S. Agency for International Development

USAID Countering Trafficking in Persons

USAID Counter-Trafficking in Persons Field Guide

USAID Revised Policy on Counter-Trafficking in Persons (C-TIP)

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs

DOL Bureau of International Labor Affairs

Better Trade Tool

Comply Chain

Sweat & Toil

Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor

List of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking

Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force

Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act

DHS CBP Information on WROs and Findings

Blue Campaign

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

HHS Office on Trafficking in Persons

HHS Resource Library

Federal Statutory and Regulatory Framework on Forced Labor in Healthcare and Public Health Supply Chains

Federal Cases Involving Forced Labor of Health Professionals

U.S. Department of Justice

DOJ – Human Trafficking

DoJ Resources and Reports

DOJ Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit

U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Department of Commerce

Task Force to Eradicate Human Trafficking

(Training) Human Trafficking: Forced Labor in Supply Chains

U.S. Department of Treasury

U.S. Department of Treasury – Combatting Human Trafficking

FinCEN: Supplemental Advisory on Identifying and Reporting Human Trafficking and Related Activity

FinCEN: Advisory, Guidance on Recognizing Activity that May Be Associated with Human Smuggling and Human Trafficking – Financial Red Flags

Agencies and Resources - More

U.S. Department of Education – Human Trafficking

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission – Human Trafficking

U.S. Department of Education – Human Trafficking in America’s Schools

U.S. Department of Interior – Not Invisible Act Commission

U.S. Department of Transportation Counter-Trafficking Resources

U.S. Department of Defense – Combatting Trafficking in Persons (CTIP) Resources

U.S. Department of Agriculture

USTR Announcement of Focused Trade Strategy to Combat Forced Labor

U.S. Office of the Trade Representative – Forced Labor

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