Microsoft’s engagement in the fight against Human Trafficking

Microsoft’s firm commitment to fighting human trafficking has been demonstrated by a number of corporate initiatives in collaboration with partners from NGOs and the public sector. Microsoft technically developed and sponsored an e-learning tool in collaboration with End Human Trafficking Now and UN.GIFT by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. It is an online training program for business leaders, managers and employees of businesses to help them understand what human trafficking is, identify where it might be a risk to their business, and point to actions they can take to address this risk. The tool can be easily retrieved at http://www.microsoft.com/middleeast/humantrafficking/. In particular, the Microsoft MEA Citizenship Team was recently approached by Nike to integrate the e-learning tool on the Nike Corporate website, in Nike’s effort to fight Human Trafficking in the company’s supply chain.

Furthermore, the Child Exploitation Tracking System (CETS) represents another successful initiative. Upon the Toronto Police’s request, Microsoft developed this unique software tool designed by investigators for investigators to share, search and collaborate on investigations relating to child exploitation. The program integrates and complements current database systems in use, basing its reporting and tracking features on a particular field (nickname, IP address, etc.) or user. To date, Microsoft invested over $10 million in CETS in Brazil, Canada, Chile, Indonesia, Italy, Romania, Spain and the UK, and an additional 13 countries are actively evaluating its adoption. A total of 1,400 investigators were trained, with 800 investigators currently using CETS worldwide. To date, 220 users were arrested in 9 Canadian provinces – multiple arrests were also attributed to CETS.

“Carlson has set the standard with its efforts to raise awareness of child sex trafficking and child sex tourism.”-Luis CdeBaca, Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons – U.S. State Department

Carlson is a global hospitality company and the world leader in business travel management. Carlson was one of the early industry leaders to combat child sex trafficking by committing to increasing awareness of this issue among its worldwide network of 170,000 people employed in more than 150 countries. For more than a decade, Carlson has served as a model to others who wish to ensure that the travel and hospitality industry is not used as an enabling environment for the trafficking of children.

Carlson began working to end child sex trafficking in 1999 by joining with Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden in the establishment of the global organization, World Childhood Foundation, which is committed to helping the world’s street children – those who are most vulnerable to human trafficking. In 2004, Carlson signed the travel industry’s universal “Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism” (The Code). The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group deploys a unique child protection training program for its employees which enables them to be watchful and appropriately report suspicious activity. . The training includes a film clip from the renowned documentary depicting the horrors of human trafficking, “Not My Life,” which was partially funded by the Carlson Family Foundation., The training is required of all Carlson Rezidor hotel and corporate employees. In this way, the company is able to enlist its extensive employee network as a “global army of eyes and ears” in the fight to protect the world’s children.

The company’s work has been recognized by several organizations including the United Nations which honored former CEO Marilyn Carlson Nelson with the UN. Gift and “End Human Trafficking Now!” Business Leader’s Award for her efforts to inspire others to join in this endeavor. Carlson continues to increase its engagement and collaboration with governments, national and international organizations as well as other hospitality and travel companies through the course of their work in the anti-trafficking movement. As one of the founding members of gBCAT, Carlson will continue to work with businesses across industries to leverage their voices to eliminate all forms of human trafficking.

ManPower Case Study-Communication and Outreach

ManpowerGroup, a world leader in innovative workforce solutions, utilizes recruitment and training models across the globe with innovative programs aimed at maximizing human potential. These programs increase opportunity through localized initiatives that empower disadvantaged workers and increase labor market participation.

In February 2012, ManpowerGroup and Verité, the award-winning human rights and labor rights NGO, released a detailed framework for combating human trafficking and forced labor. ManpowerGroup and Verité are working together to mobilize a new, pragmatic, multi-stakeholder effort to combat forced labor and human trafficking in the cross-border movement of workers. The standards are aligned with principles and recommendations developed by leading global organizations, governments, businesses, labor, civil society and other stakeholder coalitions.

The Ethical Framework for Cross Border Labor Recruitment offers a checklist of specific “Standards of Ethical Practice” for firms involved in cross-border recruitment of workers, which are designed to protect those workers against specific patterns of vulnerability and abuse. These practices are reinforced by a Verification and Certification system to document compliance and provide essential information to third parties and potential business partners. This framework is also readily adaptable by any firm undertaking recruitment activities across borders.

The Framework is the first phase of a three-phase collaboration. In the second phase, ManpowerGroup and Verité will lead a demonstration project in a real-world labor market setting to test the effectiveness of the Framework. In the third phase, ManpowerGroup and Verité will develop and disseminate results and recommendations for wider replication of the Framework.