No more excuses. Data can help consign forced labour to history.

Those of us working in business and human rights for many years have failed to move the needle on one of the most egregious of all issues - forced labour. 

The full eradication of forced labour by 2030 is an explicit target within the UN Sustainable Development Goals (8.7), but the number of people in forced labour - 28 million - is growing, not shrinking.

This can lead to a sense of impotence. Forced labour has existed for thousands of years, from the slaves of the Roman Empire, the serfs of medieval Europe, the Transatlantic Slave Trade (the legacy of which is still with us), and genocidal forced labour practiced in Nazi occupied Europe. Whilst the forced labour of today might not always be as lethal as in the past (although it can be), it fits well within the international definition agreed in 1930, which defines forced labour "as work or service exacted from a person under threat or penalty, which includes penal sanctions and the loss of rights and privileges, where the person has not offered him/herself voluntarily" (International Labour Organisation Convention 29).

There are perhaps four excuses for inaction:

• It is just too complex and systemic to act - pushing the problem from one supply chain means it will just reappear elsewhere.
• It is 'not in my supply chain' but someone else's - the problem lies elsewhere.
• It is just 'too political', likely to offend governments and make doing business more difficult, endanger staff, or it will be weaponised in trade disputes and tariff wars.
• The data is just too sensitive for a number of reasons: some to do with protecting the workers themselves, some commercial antitrust considerations, and the proprietorial interests of the data-gatherers and auditors.
  

A new global data partnership against forced labour 

The launch of a new Global Data Partnership Against Forced Labour at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos yesterday might, just might, be a successful attempt to dismantle some of this roadblock. IHRB is one of the initiative's insight partners.

Through the leadership of the WEF and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, a number of companies, UN agencies, trade unions and civil society organisations are starting from a place of humility - that we have all been part of the problem - we are all linked at some level to forced labour. For any international business to say that it is nowhere in the global value chain is as foolhardy as it is likely to be wrong. The question should not be 'if' it is there somewhere, the question is more 'what' are you going to do about it?

Data can create systemic change 

Key to the Global Data Partnership Against Forced Labour is a better use of data. For the first time ever, yesterday, we were able to share some basic data maps based on over 42,000 forced labour flags from aggregated audits, thanks to the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA). 

With the support of the Create Lab at Carnegie Mellon University, we are beginning to build flow maps showing the flow of forced labour based on a number of value chains. There is still a long way to go, the data is skewed towards certain business sectors, in particular electronics, but imagine its power once other sectors, such as agriculture and fishing, could be more complete.

More forthcoming and a better use of corporate data will start the ball rolling, reducing the 'not in my value chain' excuse. But it will not be enough to make a significant difference. What is needed is to triangulate corporate data with our sources -  from governments, UN agencies, trade unions, workers and community organisations. Yes, the necessary guardrails will be needed to protect whistleblowers, but aggregate data, such as that shared in my presentation in Davos yesterday, can help protect the identities of both workers and companies. 

Combined data, particularly if enabled through technologies such as Generative AI, graph technologies and earth-orbit imagery,  also start to teach us more about the root causes of forced labour and the most effective leverage points for action. Data such as this can help create an irrefutable case for action that’s much needed.

One key challenge for the Partnership over the year ahead is to deliver 'proof of concept' - to report back to Davos in a year's time showing that a better use of data and technology has moved the needle against forced labour somewhere in the world, or in a specific value chain. 

Even now at this early stage, the data shows a strong correlation between forced labour related incidents and the flows of foreign and internal migrant workers - a correlation we have always assumed but that is now backed by data. 

The RBA data can also be broken down by gender, showing some of ways that migrant worker women might be particularly affected. IHRB also hopes to contribute our own data on the issue of recruitment fees, presenting commitments of businesses and recruitment agents to a ‘Employer Pays’ ('no worker fee') model.

The Global Data Partnership Against Forced Labour is a start. I am proud that IHRB can play a part and we will do our best to keep the 'train on the tracks' over the year ahead.