Distant water fishing is a lesser-known, lesser-scrutinised area by brands, investors, and consumers, and yet it engenders human rights risks across major global supply chains.

International brands, and the investors who finance them, have a responsibility and significant role to play in helping to prevent exploitation of workers and environmental degradation in international supply chains. In fact, they may suffer reputational, financial, legal, and operational risk should they fail to do so. Increased scrutiny by governments - including transparency clauses in modern slavery legislation covering brands and investors - further makes action to prevent forced labour an imperative.

Hosted by IHRB’s Leadership Group for Responsible Recruitment and the Investor Alliance for Human Rights, this online discussion, featuring findings from investigations by Greenpeace Southeast Asia and Greenpeace East Asia, will examine how investors, international brands, suppliers, and civil society groups can work together to prevent exploitation and ensure best practice.

Monday 1st June 2020,  9am New York; 2pm London; 9pm Taipei (90 mins virtual discussion)

Speakers

Opening remarks: 

Discussion:

Opening remarks:

• Kevin Hyland – Former UK Anti Slavery Commissioner and Chair of the IHRB Leadership Group for Responsible Recruitment

Discussion:

• Andy Shen – Senior Oceans Advisor, Greenpeace USA
• Lisa Tsai – Project Lead, Greenpeace East Asia
• Matthew Owens - Director of Sustainability, Tri Marine
• Darian McBain - Executive Advisor, Sustainability, Supply Chains, Corporate Affairs, Thai Union
• David Schilling – ICCR and Investor Alliance for Human Rights
• Neill Wilkins – Head of Migrant Workers Programme, Institute for Human Rights and Business (moderator)

Background

The IHRB Leadership Group for Responsible Recruitment and the Investor Alliance for Human Rights have been engaging with Greenpeace to help raise awareness of research findings and a programme concerning the flawed recruitment practices and other exploitations of migrant workers on vessels of the Taiwanese distant water fishing fleet.

Commonly, workers recruited from Indonesia and the Philippines as fishers are being charged large recruitment fees and deposits to secure their jobs. Such payments can create situations of debt bondage and leave low-wage workers vulnerable to human trafficking and further exploitation. Once at sea, migrant fishers are subject to a range of further exploitations including poor living conditions and hazardous working environments. In particular, the wages of migrant fishers on vessels operating predominantly in international waters are not subject to the national minimum wage, and these migrant fishers are also afforded lesser rights and benefits than their Taiwanese counterparts. The fish, mostly tuna, is landed at ports in Thailand, where (after processing by companies also employing migrant workers), it is sold to international buyers – many of them well known supermarket retailers, including members of the IHRB Leadership Group for Responsible Recruitment, operating in the USA and Europe.

Further details can be found in recent Greenpeace reports and related materials:

• Event Preview: Blog by Andy Shen of Greenpeace USA
• East Asia Report
• Press Release
• Southeast Asia Report
• Video on Taiwanese Fishing
• Corporate Asks

Image: Jurnasyanto Sukarno / Greenpeace