OSCE Special Representative urges governments to include human rights standards in procurement contracts to combat modern day slavery

GLION, MONTREAUX, Switzerland, 19 November 2015 – The OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Madina Jarbussynova, today urged governments to include human rights standards in their procurement regulations to combat human trafficking in the construction industry, especially in projects for mega sporting events.

“I strongly believe that one of the keys to preventing and combating labour exploitation in major sporting events is mainstreaming the human rights and labour standards in government procurement regulations to ensure ethical sourcing throughout supply chains,” the Special Representative said. She was speaking at a meeting on human rights and mega sporting events organized in partnership with the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, the Institute for Human Rights and Business and the Wilton Park forum.

Reports of labour abuse on building sites for such events as the Olympics or the World Cup are common, with migrant workers often suffering the most.

“We must work together to close policy gaps in order to protect the most vulnerable categories of victims, such as children, from being exploited,” said Jarbussynova. 

She listed a number of other challenges related to combating human trafficking at major sporting events, including compliance with international legislation, tendering procedures that do not take human rights into consideration, insufficient national legislation and a lack of appropriate inspection and grievance mechanisms.

Jarbussynova also outlined the OSCE’s framework for tackling this issue, as detailed in the mandate of her Office. It includes assisting the OSCE’s 57 participating States in implementing commitments related to trafficking in human beings for labour exploitation and forced labour, as well as co-operating with international organizations and relevant actors from civil society to ensure a coherent approach to fighting human trafficking for labour exploitation