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"Modern Slavery and the Governance of Global Value Chains provides an interdisciplinary analysis of the links between Global Value Chains (GVCs) governance, regulation, and vulnerability to severe forms of labour market exploitation by focusing on governance initiatives that seek to induce corporate action to end or mitigate modern slavery. The book brings together chapters by scholars from developed, developing, and emerging economies and from various disciplines to explore the complex relationship between global and local patterns of production and consumption, and severe forms of labour market exploitation. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core."

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"The campaign to address severe forms of labour market exploitation in markets around the world has led activists, unionists, policymakers, and legislators to explore the role of corporations in driving human trafficking and modern slavery (LeBaron, 2020). Based on the understanding that lead firms are not merely complicit actors but active contributors – through their purchasing and sourcing practices – to violations of workers' human rights and labour standards, the focus on corporations seeks to expand corporate responsibility to working conditions throughout global value chains (GVCs) (Anner, 2015). In this chapter, we compare two labour governance models that have developed in the quest to combat modern slavery.
To better comprehend the structural aspects of efforts to eradicate modern slavery within GVCs and the dynamics created around them, as well as the measures pursued and their implications, we further develop and employ our analytical concept of ‘anti-trafficking chains'. This term refers to the provision of anti-trafficking services by both non-profit and for-profit entities to multinational corporations (MNCs), mirroring the logic and structure of supply chains (Barkay et al., 2024). The comparative analysis presented here focuses on two types of anti-trafficking chains: one that has proliferated following the enactment of State Anti-Trafficking laws in various countries and another that emerged from the deployment of the Worker Social Responsibility (WSR) model. This analysis seeks to discern the extent to which State Anti-Trafficking laws provide the expected hardening of soft-law anti-trafficking tools and to identify the conditions under which anti-trafficking chains may transform corporate behaviour and serve as drivers of change in human trafficking in GVCs. To this end, this chapter offers a structural analysis of the governance models behind State Anti-Trafficking laws and WSR and of the power dynamics created by each."

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"Issues of justice, freedom and equality have preoccupied humanity since the emergence of the earliest social communities.
The paths and steps towards achieving these general goals have been as varied as the places, people and organisations involved. Put simply, there is no single blueprint for social progress.
Movements in Europe resulting in improved social conditions have arisen from a multitude of factors and trends. Humanism, the Enlightenment, workers', women's and civil rights movements, the international peace movement and countless small- and large-scale currents and initiatives have contributed to social progress and emancipation in European countries. The pathways may have differed, but the goals have been the same.
Featuring examples from 13 nations across Europe, this publication aims to give readers a better understanding of how the situation has developed in these countries, to foster mutual learning and to encourage further engagement with the specific histories of social progress in Europe. This is a desire shared by all those who participated in this project. After all, recognising and accepting similarities and differences is one of the key prerequisites for developing viable ideas and programmes for a social, just and peaceful Europe."

"Les questions de justice, de liberté et d'égalité des droits occupent les hommes depuis la naissance des premières communautés sociales. Les chemins et les étapes dans la poursuite de ces grands objectifs sont aussi divers que les lieux où elle s'est développée et les acteurs qui y ont contribué. En un mot : il n'existe pas de panacée ni de modèle unique pour le progrès social. Les mouvements qui, en Europe, ont conduit à de meilleures conditions sociales, s'articulent sur de nombreux moments forts et s'inspirent d'un grand nombre d'orientations. Humanisme, Lumières, mouvement ouvrier, des femmes ou pour les droits des citoyens, mouvement international pour la paix, sans compter d'innombrables initiatives et courants, les uns limités ou éphémères, d'autres majeurs : tous ont contribué au progrès social et à l'émancipation dans les pays européens. Les objectifs sont communs, mais à chacun sa route ! À l'aide d'exemples tirés de l'expérience de treize pays d'Europe, ce recueil de textes veut ouvrir à une meilleure compréhension de l'évolution sociale dans ces pays, favoriser l'apprentissage mutuel et inciter à une plus grande attention portée aux aspects variés de l'histoire des progrès sociaux en Europe. C'est le vœu de tous ceux qui ont participé à ce projet; car la reconnaissance et l'acceptation de ce que nous avons en commun et de différent est l'une des conditions nécessaires pour formuler des idées et des programmes pertinents pour une Europe sociale, juste et pacifique."

"L'essere umano si è occupato delle questioni relative a giustizia, libertà e uguaglianza sin da quando sorsero le prime forme di comunità sociale. I percorsi e le fasi verso il raggiungimento di questi obiettivi generali sono tanto vari quanto la molteplicità di luoghi e soggetti. Si potrebbe riassumere affermando che non si può pianificare il progresso sociale. I movimenti europei che conducono e hanno condotto a condizioni migliori sotto il profilo sociale derivano da molte fasi e orientamenti. L'Umanesimo, l'Illuminismo, i movimenti per i diritti civili in generale e nella specie a favore dei lavoratori e della popolazione femminile, i movimenti pacifisti internazionali nonché le innumerevoli correnti ed iniziative di maggiore o minore portata hanno contribuito tutti al progresso sociale e all'emancipazione nei paesi europei: stessi obiettivi, percorsi propri! Il presente libro di lettura, grazie ad esempi raccolti in tredici nazioni europee, si prefigge di contribuire ad una migliore comprensione degli sviluppi verificatisi in tali paesi. Esso deve stimolare l'apprendimento reciproco e indurre a continuare ad occuparsi di vicende specifiche del progresso sociale in Europa. Questo era e rimane l'auspicio di tutti coloro che hanno partecipato al progetto, poiché il riconoscimento e l'accettazione delle analogie e delle differenze costituiscono presupposti necessari per lo sviluppo di idee e programmi finalizzati ad un'esistenza socialmente equa e pacifica, in Europa e per l'Europa."

"LOS TEMAS relacionados con la justicia, la libertad y la igualdad vienen interesando a la humanidad desde la aparición de las primeras comunidades sociales. Los caminos y los pasos hacia la realización de estos objetivos generales han sido tan variados como los lugares y los actores implicados. O sea: no existe un modelo único para el progreso social.
Los movimientos en Europa que han dado lugar a una mejora de las condiciones sociales han surgido de una multitud de factores y tendencias. El humanismo, la Iluminación, los movimientos de trabajadores, mujeres y derechos civiles, el movimiento internacional por la paz e innumerables corrientes e iniciativas a pequeña y gran escala han contribuido al progreso social y a la emancipación en los países europeos. Los caminos pueden haber sido diferentes pero los objetivos eran los mismos.
Esta publicación, que incluye ejemplos de 13 países de toda Europa, pretende ofrecer a los lectores una mejor comprensión de cómo ha ido evolucionando la situación en estos países, fomentar el aprendizaje mutuo y potenciar un compromiso continuado con las historias específicas del progreso social en Europa. Éste es un deseo compartido por todos los que participaron en este proyecto. Al fin y al cabo, reconocer y aceptar similitudes y diferencias es uno de los requisitos previos clave para desarrollar ideas y programas viables para una Europa social, justa y pacífica."

"Pytania dotyczace sprawiedliwosci, wolnosci i równosci zajmuja ludzkosc od momentu powstania najwczesniejszych formacji społecznych. Działania podejmowane w celu zapewnienia tych ogólnych wartosci maja rózne formy i zaleza od miejsca oraz zaangazowanych podmiotów. Mozna rzec, ze postep społeczny nie przebiega wszedzie w oparciu o jeden uniwersalny plan.
Europejskie ruchy, które doprowadziły i nadal daza do zapewnienia lepszych warunków socjalnych, napedzane sa wieloma bodźcami i rozwijaja sie w róznych kierunkach. Do postepu społecznego i emancypacji w krajach europejskich przyczyniły sie takie idee i prady jak humanizm, oswiecenie, ruch robotniczy i kobiecy czy ogólny ruch na rzecz praw obywatelskich, miedzynarodowy ruch na rzecz pokoju oraz wiele innych, mniejszych i wiekszych nurtów i inicjatyw. Wspólne cele – rózne sposoby na ich osiagniecie!
Celem zbioru jest zilustrowanie procesu rozwoju idei społecznych na przykładzie trzynastu krajów europejskich. Ma to słuzyc promowaniu wzajemnego uczenia sie od siebie i zachecic do dalszego poznawania historii postepu społecznego w poszczególnych krajach kontynentu. Taki był i jest zamysł wszystkich osób zaangazowanych w projekt. Dostrzezenie i akceptacja podobieństw i róznic jest jednym z warunków niezbednych dla rozwoju zrównowazonych idei i programów na rzecz swiadomego społecznie, sprawiedliwego i pokojowego zycia w Europie i dla Europy."

"Despite international instruments on trafficking and forced labour that stipulate the importance of ensuring rightsholders can access effective remedy, instances of remediation for harms including forced, bonded, and child labour, as well as trafficking, have been rare. While remedy is also a common feature of strategies to address modern slavery adopted by nation states and multinational businesses, in practice workers who have been subject to severe forms of labour exploitation in global value chains (GVCs) continue to face significant obstacles to securing redress from those who have violated, or contributed to violation, of their rights.
Obstacles to remedy are multifarious and well-documented (OHCHR, 2016; ICAR et al., 2013). GVCs are complex, involving multiple actors and crossing multiple jurisdictions, rendering it challenging to assign accountability and secure appropriate remedial measures, and most legal systems have not adapted to the reality of service and production within GVCs. Even where powerful (‘lead') companies in the value chain shape the terms of supply and working conditions and are in the same jurisdiction in which the harm arising from their actions or omissions has occurred, remedial action is often stymied by labour law systems that only allow claims against direct employers. Where claims of joint employment or accessorial liability are possible under labour law, such claims are infrequent because of the stringency of tests of control or contribution, and the costs of such litigation (Marshall et al., 2023). In rare cases where litigants are successful in their legal claims, they often struggle to secure enforcement of any court order. Where the lead company that is influencing working conditions in the value chain is in another jurisdiction to where the harm has occurred, the chances of such claims succeeding are even lower (Fudge and Mundlak, 2023). Key principles underpinning private international law – such as those pertaining to jurisdiction and choice of law – largely operate to the benefit of businesses rather than those affected by their activities."

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"As many have warned, the expansionism or ‘exploitation creep' (Chuang, 2014) that characterizes discourses around ‘modern slavery' has only succeeded in clouding the issue, both legally and politically, rather than rendering it more visible (see also Miers, 2003; O'Connell-Davidson, 2015; Quirk, 2018). As Chuang (2014: 611) explains, this ‘exploitation creep' has entailed the consideration of an ever-broadening range of practices as falling under the ‘modern slavery' umbrella term. Chuang centres her attention on two related paradigmatic shifts that have allowed this to happen: the reframing of all forced labour as trafficking and the labelling of trafficking as, by definition, slavery (2014: 611). ‘Modern slavery' has therefore become a catch-all and highly malleable term, which can include practices as disparate as selling sexual services online, generational bonded labour in India, low-level drug distribution in the UK, and forced marriage.
This ‘exploitation creep' has produced two broad policy responses. On the one hand, we have seen the emergence of a hegemonic position referred to in the literature as ‘modern slavery abolitionism' (Chuang, 2014; O'Connell-Davidson, 2015). This locates the source of these ostensibly exploitative labour practices in deviant/criminal entities (organized crime groups and/or rogue multinational corporations). Under the abolitionism paradigm, preventative policies have included the banning or restriction of migration for ‘vulnerable' populations, often women from the Global South (Kempadoo and Doezema, 1998; Doezema, 2002; Kapur, 2005; Andrijasevic, 2007; Agustín, 2007); the ‘rescue, protection and rehabilitation' of individual victims identified in contexts of destination; and the prosecution of perpetrators. Abolitionism invests in moral crusades along an axis of evil, presenting ‘modern slavery' as an exceptional problem to be driven-out (Bunting and Quirk, 2014) and characterized by methodological individualism (LeBaron and Ayers, 2013: 874). Conceptualizing ‘modern slavery' as the result of evil criminals or rogue companies, abolitionist policies thus invisibilize the very conditions in which such exploitative and unfree relations thrive. This unnuanced, ‘one-size-fits-all' approach fails to consider historically determined systems and relations of power that underpin exploitative and unfree labour."

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"The leading textbook on international human rights law is now better than ever. The content has been fully updated and now provides more detailed coverage of substantive human rights, along with new sections on the war on terror and on the progressive realization of economic and social rights, making this the most comprehensive book in the field. It has a new, more student-friendly text design and has retained the features which made the first edition so engaging and accessible, including the concise and critical style, and questions and case studies within each chapter, as well as suggestions for further reading. Written by De Schutter, whose extensive experience working in the field and teaching the subject in both the US and EU gives him a unique perspective and valuable insight into the requirements of lecturers and students. This is an essential tool for all students of international human rights law."