Introduction

The term ‘modern slavery’ describes situations where coercion, threats or deception are used to deprive workers of their fundamental rights. Forced labor, as defined in the International Labour Organization (ILO) Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No.29), refers to “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”. Modern slavery may take the form of forced labor, human trafficking, the worst forms of child labor or other slavery-like practices. UN Sustainable Development Goal 8 (decent work and economic growth) Target 8.7 calls for member States to “Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking”. Further, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) recognize that business enterprises have a responsibility to respect human rights throughout their operations and in their business relationships. The ILO’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work calls for the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labor.

The latest Global Estimates of Modern Slavery by the ILO, civil society organization Walk Free and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), found that 27.6 million people were working in forced labor on any given day in 2021. This represents an increase of 2.7 million people between 2016 and 2021, driven entirely by forced labor in the private sector, including forced commercial sexual exploitation.

Against this backdrop, regulatory efforts and investor expectations are combining with a growing awareness among companies themselves of the compliance and operational risk presented by modern slavery and related labor exploitation risks across value chains. The result is that listed companies increasingly regard modern slavery as a material risk to disclose in sustainability reporting and regulatory filings.

This Market Monitor provides the findings of a keyword analysis of the 70 exchange ESG guidances currently available to determine the extent to which exchanges make reference to modern slavery related topics (Annex). forced labor in the private sector, including forced commercial sexual exploitation. slavery as a material risk to disclose in sustainability reporting and regulatory filings. and processes in their ESG disclosure guidance documents.

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