Guna Subramaniam
Independent Consultant; Research Fellow, IHRB
Guna is a business and human rights consultant focused on migrant workers and climate justice. As an IHRB research fellow Guna provides guidance to the IHRB’s Migrant Workers Programme, in addition to assisting IHRB's Oceans Programme and other work in the Asia Pacific region.
Guna helped to establish IHRB’s presence in Southeast Asia coordinating the regional Migrant Workers programme. As IHRB's former Asia Regional Manager, he developed the Southeast Asia Chapter of the Leadership Group for Responsible Recruitment, with liaison and relationship-building with businesses, national governments, civil society organisations, and their participation in regional multi-stakeholder initiatives, roundtables and the Global Forum for Responsible Recruitment.
Prior to joining IHRB, Guna was at Issara Institute where he conducted research on forced labour and human trafficking in fishing vessels. He led its Ethical Recruitment pilot programme, facilitating collaborative meetings between recruitment agencies and supply chain businesses in the apparel, seafood and agriculture sectors.
Guna has a rich and diverse professional background in the nonprofit and arts sectors. He was an audio engineer directing sound design for film, music and theatre. As a filmmaker, he produced videos for development and environmental organisations. Managing projects on wildlife conservation, he coordinated investigations on transnational wildlife crime with INGOs and law enforcement agencies across the Asia Pacific and Central Africa. In Australia, he led capacity development work with asylum seekers and refugees, and a project to gather service providers for community based and civil society led humanitarian resettlement programmes. He continues to provide advice to organisations supporting asylum seekers and refugees.
Guna has a Masters in International Community Development from Victoria University. He received an ‘Outstanding Achievement’ award for his research thesis which focused on gaps and blindspots of stakeholders involved in addressing human trafficking and forced labour in the fisheries sector.
