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ILO Washington > Areas of Work > Elimination of Forced Labor
Elimination of Forced Labor
The Special Action Program to Combat Forced Labor (SAP-FL) was created in 2002 pursuant to ILO’s 1998 Declaration on Principles and Fundamental Rights at Work to intensify the effort of eradicating forced labor in its different forms. The ILO is promoting a Global Alliance to achieve this goal, with partner agencies pooling their efforts to eliminate all forced labor worldwide by 2015.
The Washington Office is raising awareness in the US on the ILO’s engagement with partners on the elimination of forced labor. In many sectors, enterprises outsource a range of production and service-related activities which results in complex international supply chains. The growth of supply chains and outsourcing has increased the importance of due diligence surrounding the application of international labor standards on suppliers.
The SAP-FL Program has successfully:
The Washington Office is raising awareness in the US on the ILO’s engagement with partners on the elimination of forced labor. In many sectors, enterprises outsource a range of production and service-related activities which results in complex international supply chains. The growth of supply chains and outsourcing has increased the importance of due diligence surrounding the application of international labor standards on suppliers.
The SAP-FL Program has successfully:
- Raised global awareness and understanding of modern forced labor.
- Assisted governments to develop and implement new laws, policies and action plans.
- Developed and disseminated guidance and training materials on key aspects of forced labor and trafficking.
- Implemented innovative programs which combine policy development, capacity building of law enforcement and labor market institutions, and targeted, field-based projects of direct support for both prevention of forced labor and identification and rehabilitation of its victims.
Highlight
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Launch of the ILO Survey Guidelines to Measure Forced Labor of Adults and Children
On 15 December 2011, the ILO launched the first guidelines on how to measure forced labor of adults and children.
Legislation in the US
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A landmark law passed in 2010 is the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act (SB 657) which links business to forced labor. The law requires retail sellers and manufacturers doing business in the state with more than $100 million in annual worldwide gross receipts to disclose their efforts to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from their direct supply chains for goods offered for sale. Companies are required to make these disclosures on their websites.