SlaveFree Today Podcast SlaveFree Today

In consideration of the UN’s World Day Against Child Labour this month, our special episode welcomes Purva Gupta,  the Global Coordinator for the Global March Against Child Labour, and Victor Ochen, the Founder and Executive Director of African Youth Initiative Network (AYINET) to talk about about challenges to the work of ending child labour, about focusing on local needs, and suggestions for solutions. 

Dr. Tina Davis and Giulia Laganà discuss the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on migrant workers and forced laborers. Giulia leads the Open Society European Policy Institute’s analysis and advocacy on EU policies on migration and asylum. A migration expert with 15 years of experience, Laganà was a senior adviser on migration, human rights, EU and international affairs to the president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies in Rome from 2013 to 2016. Previously, she spent four years with the United Nations, working for UNHCR and UNDP in Italy and Brussels, respectively. While she was with the United Nations Development Programme, Laganà oversaw migration and development projects in Western and North Africa. Her work experience also includes stints with NGOs such as SOLIDAR and with the European Commission.

Dr. Tina Davis and Tomoya Obokata discuss the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on human trafficking and modern slavery. Mr. Obokata is a Japanese scholar of international law and human rights, specialising in transnational organised crime, human trafficking and modern slavery. He was appointed as the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences in March 2020.

Dr. Tina Davis and Brynn O’Brien discuss climate change, and how climate change is linked to human rights issues, such as modern forms of slavery and severe exploitation, and what shareholder activism is, and how this can influence better performance on environmental, social and governance issues. Brynn is a lawyer and strategist, and the Executive Director of the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR). ACCR promotes better performance of Australian and global companies on climate, environmental and governance issues. As an ‘activist shareholder’ organisation, ACCR engages with companies and their investors on these issues, including through filing shareholder resolutions.

Terry Collingsworth is the founder and Executive Director of the International Rights Advocates. He has been practicing law in the United States for over 35 years, and for the last 25, has specialized in international human rights litigation. He has worked all over the world, from India and West Africa to most countries in South America, addressing a wide range of human rights issues. He has recently focussed on cases preventing multinational companies from violating the human rights of children who are forced by poverty and other factors to work in global supply chains.

Cindy Berman is a freelance senior consultant. At the time of the interview she served as Head of Modern Slavery Strategy at the Ethical Trading Initiative and she speaks on their behalf. In her former role, she lead ETI’s efforts to tackle forced labour, child labour, human trafficking and modern slavery – working with companies, trade unions, civil society and governments. As she has transitioned to her new role as freelance Senior Consultant, Cindy continues to provide strategic advice and thought leadership on human rights due diligence to companies and governments, engages in policy influencing and advocacy and leads complex multi-stakeholder programmes in high risk countries and sectors.