New technology could protect workers from unfair practices in Thailand’s seafood supply chain
Winrock International leads a pilot project to improve conditions for Thai fishermen, ILO launches a year of action to eliminate child labour, and Amnesty International offers open source skills courses for researchers and activists.
Led by Winrock International, and supported by the corporate sustainability and global development consultancy Resonance, the USAID Asia Counter Trafficking in Persons (USAID Asia CTIP) and the USAID Thailand Counter Trafficking in Persons (USAID Thailand CTIP) programs are driving positive change in the oft-maligned Thai seafood and fishing industry by partnering with Mars Petcare to support sustainable and ethical practices.
The team is piloting a form of communication technology designed to improve connectivity and safety for fishermen at sea, while establishing an effective response protocol for the industry and promoting the industry-wide adoption of ethical recruitment practices.
During a panel discussion last Friday, experts involved in the project discussed the topic of ‘Emerging Trends in Private Sector Partnerships’ to counter trafficking, and their experiences and lessons learned in relationship building and compliance with new Thai laws and regulations.
One of the points raised during the discussion focused on the potential for using technology to protect workers at sea. The speakers highlighted the need to user-test any new tools and ensure appropriate training, but also described the benefits that had emerged from data collected during the pilot project. For this first exercise, which began in November in the Andaman Sea, off the southern coast of Thailand, Winrock recruited 20 ‘early adopter’ fishing vessels to test-run the technology, with an estimated 45 users in total (two to three users per vessel). According to feedback, vessel owners recognized that this new tool enhanced their business communications as well as workers’ safety and well-being by keeping them connected with others.
The panelists also emphasized the need for engaging local CSOs working in the human rights and anti-trafficking spheres, as they have the best knowledge of the situation on the ground as well as valuable expertise to bring to projects. In order to establish an effective response mechanism to act on worker needs and reports, Winrock set up a Migrant Development Center in Phuket in early 2020 with the Diocesan Social Action Centre as its grantee. This fishermens’ center supports the connectivity-at-sea pilot by responding to incoming communications from workers on vessels, providing information about workers’ rights to vessel labourers and owners remotely and in the port, and serving as a resource on fair labour for relevant stakeholders.
The discussion also touched upon the struggle to ensure that corporate entities have oversight and meet compliance requirements throughout their extensive supply chains. A representative from Mars Petcare explained that they had come to realize that ensuring better oversight would require a reduction in the complexity of their supply chain, and this has led them to re-working their responsible sourcing guidelines. They are also implementing a shift in their social compliance approach, away from audits that do not address or analyze the root causes of issues, towards partnering and training suppliers – there is a need to understand the issues that vessel owners are concerned about and to help them work out how to comply with new laws and regulations for worker welfare and protection.
You can read more about the project here, and watch the event recording here.
As a reminder, we are also hosting a discussion tonight on a new data model to detect forced labour risk on fishing vessels. Please sign up if you haven’t registered yet but would like to join.
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy news and initiatives:
Last week, the ILO held a virtual event to launch the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour, at which they presented the 2021 Action Pledges and their three stages of acting, inspiring and scaling up. The event recording is available in English, French and Spanish.
On Monday, The Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom to the United Nations and the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research launched Developing Freedom: The Sustainable Development Case for Ending Modern Slavery, Forced Labour and Human Trafficking, a new report that considers the question how fighting slavery can contribute to sustainable development. The research also includes deep dives into anti-slavery efforts in six global value chains: apparel, cattle, construction, cotton, fisheries and palm oil.
Cameroon police have opened an investigation into a network of baby traffickers who allegedly bought babies with the intention of selling them in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Some members were arrested on Saturday, along with a woman who wanted to sell her unborn child because she was poor.
A recent article in America’s Quarterly discusses how transnational crime in Latin America is mutating in the age of COVID-19, and how widespread joblessness and underemployment will increase the extent of legal and illegal migration, thus feeding human trafficking chains.
In a new blog post, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime analyzes trends and gaps in the current anti-trafficking corporate partnership landscape and concludes with recommendations for anti-trafficking stakeholders.
Amnesty International and Advocacy Assembly have launched new online courses on open source human rights investigations for researchers, activists, and journalists. Among the skills taught are digital verification and more advanced open-source methods, including analysis of satellite imagery and other remote sensing data. The courses are free and available in English and Spanish.
Traded Children (Handelsware Kind), a new documentary from Germany’s public broadcaster ARD/RBB, investigates the story behind the trafficking of minors and young adults who are regularly traded like goods from Vietnam to Europe. [Available in German only]
International Justice Mission (IJM) Australia is currently recruiting for a Chief Operating Officer (COO) to join its Sydney office to support its next stage of growth and enable it to deepen its impact.
USAID Asia CTIP is currently seeking recommendations and nominations from the Freedom Collaborative community for a presenter to host a new podcast miniseries focusing on stories of human trafficking in the Asia region.
We are currently supporting community members in finding organizations working on forced labour in Colombia, as well as organizations working in Togo. Please reach out with any recommendations for contacts!
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