All publications: responsible business conduct + multinational enterprises + trade + export processing zones + fair trade + free trade + trade liberalization + value chains + supply chains

Agriculture and Minerals

Sectoral Transformation through National Roadmaps on Responsible Business Conduct

Through targeted engagement, sector-specific roadmaps are being co-developed by the RBC-LAC Project with leading industry associations to align practices with international labour standards and due diligence processes.

Costa Rica

Addressing Forced Labour and the Labour Dimension of Responsible Business Conduct

In Costa Rica, the ILO developed the Fair Recruitment Toolbox for the sugar industry that included guidelines for preventing and addressing forced labour risks hence ensuring alignment with the local context related to labour recruitment practices...

Ex-post study

What remains after exit? Evidence of lasting change in northern Afghanistan’s carpet sector

Findings from a low-cost ex-post review

Research brief

The potential of import bans to address forced labour

This research brief examines the growing use of forced labour import bans as a policy tool to address labour rights abuses in the global economy. It provides an evidence-based overview of how such bans operate in practice, their potential impacts on...

World of Work series

Employment and Social Trends 2026

The Employment and Social Trends 2026 report examines the state of global labour markets, highlighting stable headline employment alongside stalled progress in job quality and widening inequalities. The report analyses productivity, demographic and...

Understanding rights at work

A guide to key terms related to fundamental principles and rights at work, trade and supply chains

Supply chains

Decent work in renewable energy and critical mineral supply chains: Trends, challenges and innovations in Asia and the Pacific

Based on research on nickel supply chains in Indonesia and the Philippines and on the copper supply chain in Mongolia, this new ILO brief highlights that although decent work gaps persist in Asia and the Pacific’s booming renewable energy and...

ILO Brief

Jobs in trade and global supply chains in Viet Nam: Labour market trends amid recent trade uncertainty

This brief examines Viet Nam’s expanding role in global supply chains and identifies key policy actions to strengthen their resilience and inclusiveness, while promoting decent work and enabling just transitions for workers and enterprises amid...

Key research findings

Assessment of the drivers and constraints for occupational safety and health improvement and social protection of workers in the castor...

This publication summarizes the findings of the ILO’s 2024 assessment conducted under the project “Improving Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) and Access to Social Protection for Workers in the Agri-business Sectors.” It examines the...

Social protection

ILO Brief: Building an inclusive future: Social protection as a catalyst for disability empowerment in Viet Nam

ILO Brief

Integrating Gender Equality into Agri-SME Competitiveness: Advancing Gender-Transformative Practices in Lebanon’s Agri-Food Sector

This brief showcases how the ILO BOUZOUR project worked with the QOOT Agri-Food Cluster to strengthen competitiveness and gender inclusion in Lebanon’s agri-food SMEs. Through a combination of gender-sensitive training, participatory assessments,...

Road map to a green cocoa value chain in Timor-Leste: Business and skills development along with environmental sustainability, amid...

Conducted in mid-2025 through primary and secondary research, the study was undertaken as part of the ILO’s Preparing Timor-Leste’s Workers and Policymakers for a Just Transition and the Formal Economy Project and is intended to facilitate...

Summary report

Results from the Driving Industry Dialogue (DID) toolkit rollout in the Thai automotive sector

Gender equality in supply chains: How ILO interventions foster gender equality in outcomes in supply chains

This brief outlines policy interventions such as fostering equal pay, expanding women’s career and leadership opportunities, preventing violence and harassment, redistributing unpaid care work and strengthening women’s economic participation in...

Supply chains

Decent work in food and agricultural supply chains: Trends, challenges and innovations in Asia and the Pacific

Supply chains

Decent work in manufacturing supply chains: Trends, challenges and innovations in Asia and the Pacific

ILO Brief

Embracing innovation and inclusion: Strengthening Kenya’s beauty sector for host communities and urban refugees

As refugee populations are dispersed within cities and often reluctant to come forward out of fear of legal repercussions, data on their profiles and opportunities is relatively scarce. To address this challenge, the ILO carried out a market systems...

From root causes to real change: Using a systems approach to foster decent work deep in supply chains

Improving micro, small and medium enterprises’ (MSMEs) access to supply chains and their benefits is critical for fostering economic development and decent work. A systems approach can help identify key barriers that hinder MSME performance and...

Note

Trade in Renewable Energies Goods International trade flows and employment impacts for Australia, China, Japan, South Asia, and East Asia...

This note examines international trade and employment patterns in goods associated with these types of renewable energies (REG) from 2012 to 2023, with a particular focus on Australia, China, Japan, and the regions of South Asia and East Asia and...

Advancing Green Trade and Employment under Global Uncertainty. Are jobs at risk?

This paper examines global trade patterns in green goods towards 2030 amid the current global tension on trade. Overall, this study contributes to the literature by jointly analyzing green trade flows and employment generation dynamics using a...