On the 19th of November, the ILO Global Business Network on Forced Labour hosted its second annual meeting to bring together members of the network and interested stakeholders. The meeting focussed on the impact of COVID-19 on forced labour as well as engaging small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The meeting was opened by Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General, in a coversation moderated by Laura Chapman Rubbo, Executive Director, Global Public Policy, The Walt Disney Company and ILO GBNFL Steering Committee Chair. This was followed by two panel discussions with companies, business networks, and small- and medium-sized enterprises. Please see the agenda below for more details. We would like to thank our expert speakers for their contributions and invite you to view the recordings of the event.
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| Time (CET) | Agenda item |
| 15:00 – 15:20 | Opening Guy Ryder, Director-General, International Labour Organization Moderator: Laura Chapman Rubbo, Executive Director, Global Public Policy, The Walt Disney Company and ILO GBNFL Steering Committee Chair |
| 15:20 – 15:30 | Updates from the ILO Global Business Network on Forced Labour Laura Greene, Programme Technical Officer, ILO Global Business Network on Forced Labour |
| 15:30 – 16:10 | Panel 1: The impact of Covid-19 on doing business and resulting forced labour challenges Moderator: Heidi Koester Oliveira, Global Human Rights Lead at Mars, Incorporated Speakers: – Veronika Pountcheva, Global Director, Corporate Responsibility and Senior Vice President, METRO AG and co-chair of The Consumer Goods Forum’s Sustainability Initiative – Matthias Thorns, Deputy Secretary-General, International Organisation of Employers – Samuel Lee, Senior Group HR Manager, WenKen Group |
| 16:10-16:15 | Short break |
| 16:15 – 16:55 | Panel 2: Engaging SMEs in preventing forced labour and promoting fair recruitment Moderator: Douglas Opio, Executive Director, Federation of Ugandan Employers Speakers: – Tanvi Kafi, Program Manager, HP Incorporated – Jantine Werdmüller von Elgg, Managing Director, Stronger Together – Kohinoor Yeasmin, Chief Executive Officer, Tarango |
| 16:55 – 17:00 | Closing Laura Chapman Rubbo, Executive Director, Global Public Policy, The Walt Disney Company and ILO GBNFL Steering Committee Chair |
Funding is provided by the United States Department of Labor under cooperative agreement number IL‐30147‐16‐75‐K‐11. One hundred per cent of the total costs of the MAP16 project are financed with federal funds, for a total of USD 22,400,000.
This material does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the United States Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the United States Government.