Human Rights Day, celebrated on December 10, is a powerful reminder of people’s shared responsibility to uphold dignity, equality, and justice for all. We highlight why this topic remains as relevant as ever and how IntegrityNext can support the protection of human rights in global supply chains.
On Human Rights Day, we commemorate the anniversary of one of humanity's most groundbreaking commitments: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). This historic document enshrines the inalienable rights of every individual - regardless of race, color, religion, gender, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or any other status. Proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on December 10, 1948, the UDHR was the first global declaration to articulate fundamental human rights that must be universally protected.
The UDHR serves as a foundational framework for numerous international, national, and local laws and policies. Its principles remain as relevant today as they were over seven decades ago, continuing to guide efforts toward achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Available in 577 languages, the UDHR holds the distinction of being the most translated document in the world.
Human rights have become an integral component of companies' sustainability strategies, as evidenced by a study from the Global Benchmarking Alliance. The report reveals that 44 percent of surveyed companies are committed to upholding global human rights standards, and 30 percent have pledged to address and mitigate their negative impacts on human rights.
“Laws and regulations provide the framework, but true change happens when companies take ownership of human rights to ensure fairness, dignity, and equality at every tier of the supply chain – from raw materials to finished products.”
Katharina Lang, Due Diligence Expert and Human Rights Officer at IntegrityNext
Despite these commitments, significant gaps remain in translating promises into concrete actions for workers and communities. For instance, only 12 percent of companies have implemented sustainable procurement strategies, while a mere 17 percent actively collaborate with suppliers on critical issues like forced labor and living wages. These figures underscore the urgent need for companies to fully integrate social sustainability into every level of their supply chains.
Forced labor, a widespread human rights violation, remains a persistent challenge for companies, particularly at the lower tiers of their upstream supply chains. As of 2022, an estimated 28 million people worldwide were trapped in forced labor - a figure that continues to grow. At the same time, forced labor generates approximately 236 billion US dollars in illegal profits each year, with the largest contributions coming from industries such as agriculture, construction, textiles and apparel, manufacturing, mining, and hospitality and tourism.
To address this pervasive issue, the International Labor Organization (ILO) has identified eleven key indicators that can help detect forced labor.
Figure 1: ILO forced labor indicators
Global supply chain sustainability legislation is also increasingly targeting the protection of human rights, compelling companies to report on their practices and conduct thorough due diligence.
In July 2024, the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) came into force. It mandates that companies carry out rigorous due diligence across their value chains and take decisive action to tackle harmful business impacts. This includes upstream suppliers, internal operations, and downstream activities such as transport, distribution, and storage. The regulation adopts a risk-based approach, requiring in-scope companies to prioritize the most severe and likely adverse impacts, focusing particularly on critical suppliers.
The EU Forced Labor Regulation, officially adopted in November 2024, aims to eliminate forced labor from global supply chains. The EU Commission and national authorities must assess the risk of forced labor in goods and prevent non-compliant products from entering the EU market. While the new law does not impose direct obligations on companies, it implicitly requires them to screen their supply chains and set up robust due diligence systems.
In the United States, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) is a key legislative measure designed to combat forced labor associated with goods originating from the Xinjiang region in northwestern China. Enacted in December 2021, this law prohibits the importation of products made wholly or in part with forced labor from Xinjiang.
Similarly, Canada has introduced its own legislative effort to address forced and child labor through the Fighting Against Forced Labor and Child Labor in Supply Chains Act, often referred to as the “Modern Slavery Act” or “Bill S-211”. The act primarily focuses on promoting transparency within global supply chains. It mandates government institutions and certain private-sector entities operating in Canada to submit annual reports detailing the steps they have taken to prevent and mitigate the risks of forced and child labor in their operations and supply chains.
IntegrityNext helps companies promote transparency and accountability within their global supply chains. Our platform enables you to identify, assess, and mitigate human rights risks – including forced labor, child labor, and other unethical practices – with minimal effort.
The IntegrityNext five-step due diligence process (see figure 2) can be applied across various regulatory frameworks, making it a highly effective solution for tackling human and labor rights violations in global supply chains. The process is closely aligned with international standards, such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct, and the ILO Core Conventions, which underpin many due diligence regimes and reporting initiatives around the world.
Figure 2: The IntegrityNext five-step due diligence process
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