As some of the largest buyers of goods and services in the world, governments wield significant influence on labor practices in global supply chains.
Transparentem traced connections between Taiwanese suppliers — where we uncovered evidence of forced labor indicators and other labor abuses — to the public procurement supply chains of five national governments: Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, and the United States. Most of these governments have laws, regulations, or agreements in place to prevent forced labor in their procurement, including prohibitions against the use of public funds to purchase products made with forced labor.
Transparentem developed tailored recommendations for each government, setting out improvements to national procurement regulations, policy and guidance documents, and procurement activities, necessary to strengthen supply chain due diligence across the public procurement lifecycle.
Transparentem is grateful to the following experts for their contributions or co-signatures:
Contributor:
- Above Ground
- Human Rights Law Centre
- World Vision New Zealand
- Dr. Johanne Ward-Grosvold (University of Bath)
- Dr. Mike Rogerson (University of Sussex)
- Dr. Miriam Mbah-Amanze (The Open University)
- Dr. Natalia Szablewska (The Open University)
- Dr. Stuart Milligan (Thompson Rivers University)
Co-signer:
- Australian Lawyers for Human Rights
- Be Slavery Free
Our core public procurement recommendations are applicable to all five countries — Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, and the United States. The links listed below are tailored, country-specific recommendations, which are elaborated from the core recommendations.