OSCE completes pilot training course on prevention of human trafficking and labour exploitation in supply chains

No activities of the OSCE executive structures, including contracts for goods and services, should ever contribute to any form of trafficking in human beings - was the base of the OSCE Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Being pilot training course. Focused on the prevention of human trafficking and labour exploitation in supply chains, including OSCE’s, the course was held from 3 to17 December 2020.

The OSCE procurement and project staff attended the course. The content was based on the draft Guidance for OSCE Procurement on CTHBCTHB
Combating trafficking in human beings/LE in supply chains, allowing staff better to understand risks in the OSCE supply chains, review their own practices to address such risks and to be part of a wider effort to CTHB/LE in-supply chains.

The course provided a conceptual overview for understanding countering trafficking for labour exploitations and organizational commitments that are relevant for the OSCE’s procurement procedures and allowed participants to analyse and reflect on how it would affect their department.

A pilot round was conducted over three online sessions to test the developed material and receive input from OSCE procurement and programmatic staff from the Secretariat, field operations and all executive structures, on what other information is needed and what aspects should be added.

The course consisted of:

• Key concepts and laws on CTHB/LE and the risks of CTHB/LE in OSCE supply chains;
• Using procurement processes and contracting to prevent risks of CTHB/LE;
• Supply chain mapping and addressing risks through each stage of the procurement process, from drafting to terminating a contract;

The course also had two modules which addressed procurement staff only: human rights risks assessment and contract management; engaging with suppliers and monitoring the procurement progress, as well as understanding the value of partnerships and collaboration in managing risks in procurement.

The final version of the training course, for a broader audience of OSCE staff members, will start in 2021. This activity supports the goals and commitments the OSCE set in the 2013 Addendum to the OSCE Action Plan, and the OSCE MC Decision 6/17 from 2017.