Developing Freedom: The Sustainable Development Case for Ending Modern Slavery, Forced Labour and Human Trafficking
A report from the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research
After months of research, we celebrate our esteemed advisors, Rebecca Walker Chan and Dr Thomas Tang, who contributed to the Palm Oil case study in the report led by the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research on promoting the anti-slavery agenda towards SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth).
Key takeaways from our contribution
Today, 17 million people’s livelihoods depend on the palm oil industry with production grown over 500% since the 1960’s. But the growth of the industry has also brought local corruption competing for access to foreign capital by facilitating access to low-cost land and labour
Modern slavery risks vary across these contexts. Production quotas, wage penalties, isolation, debt and coercion are often used to force work. But vulnerability seems to vary on two main dimensions: political agency (i.e. reduced protection by the state) and control of land
Most sustainability efforts have focused on the sector’s environmental impact, including carbon emissions, biodiversity loss, and harmful haze. The turn to labour practices has been more recent, and efforts in this area largely focus on the physical production of palm oil without addressing its social production such as access to and control of land, labour migration governance, corruption and structural inequality
All relevant actors - businesses, the development sector, financial institutions and the government, have a stake in promoting decent work for all and inclusive economic growth