Anti-Slavery International

19/06/2026

On 18 June 2026, Labour MP Bambos Charalambous chaired the ‘Safeguarding human rights in supply chains’ backbench business debate.

MPs across 5 parties echoed Anti-Slavery International’s longstanding asks:

We need a strong law that will protect people and the environment from being harmed while the goods we use every day are being produced.

A Business, Human Rights and Environment Act could do that. Requiring companies to conduct due diligence in their supply chains can help prevent harm to people and the planet in their supply chains and remedy that harm when it does happen.

Businesses must do the right thing, and people are calling for this across the board. Yesterday, our patron, Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey, OBE, also introduced a Bill that would oblige companies to conduct this due diligence.

MPs also joined us in calling for import control laws to be passed in the UK to prevent goods that are produced with forced labour from entering the country’s market. It’s time that the Government put human rights and the core of its policymaking and put people and the planet ahead of profit.

19/06/2026

The ballot for a runner place at London Landmarks Half Marathon 2027 is now open until next Tuesday 23 June at 12 pm!

If you’re thinking about putting your name on the ballot to run London Landmarks next year, why not run for Team Anti-Slavery International?

🏃 You’ll raise donations for our movement to end modern slavery while you train for the big day. We’ll support you throughout the process, from setting up an engaging JustGiving page to hosting your own fundraising event.

🎽 On the day, you’ll wear your Anti-Slavery International runner vest with pride. Every step of your run, you’ll be raising awareness that slavery never ended, and the fight against it continues.

🎉 And of course, you’ll be cheered on by our cheer team!

One of our runners at this year’s London Landmarks said that it was the “best experience” - so don’t miss out.

Enter the ballot by next Tuesday 23 June 12 pm! 🔗 https://llhm.co.uk/enter

Missed the deadline? Register your interest in our challenge event fundraising. We’ll email you when applications open for one of our charity spaces at London Landmarks 2027: https://r1.dotdigital-pages.com/p/125-1OJO/runforfreedominterest?pfredir=1

16/06/2026

Today is International Domestic Workers’ Day. Domestic workers keep households everywhere afloat, yet they are chronically undervalued, underpaid, and underprotected by the law.

Domestic workers who migrate to the UK often do so on the Overseas Domestic Worker Visa, whose strict conditions can lead workers to experience abuse and exploitation.

A 2024 survey of 200 migrant domestic workers by the Voice of Domestic Workers and the London School of Economics found that over 80% of respondents were being denied regular meals, and experienced employer surveillance and freedom restrictions. More than 50% experienced physical abuse, and around 30% reported sexual harassment or abuse.

This is unacceptable.

The UK continuously fails domestic workers by not ratifying the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Convention 189, which ensures that they work in humane conditions and are protected from harm.

Domestic work is work. We call on the UK Government to ratify the ILO Convention 189 and ensure domestic workers have full labour rights and are protected from harm.

16/06/2026

📢 A major milestone for workers’ rights: the ILO has adopted the world’s first binding agreement setting standards for work in the platform economy.

The agreement includes important commitments to tackle forced labour in the platform economy, protect migrant and refugee platform workers, and ensure that automated systems like algorithms are used responsibly and in-line with fundamental workers’ rights.

Digital platforms have transformed how millions of people earn a living. But for many workers, this has also meant insecure work, low pay, and exclusion from labour rights protections.

As technology continues to reshape the world of work, governments and businesses must ensure that flexibility does not come at the expense of fair pay, safe working conditions and labour rights.

This global agreement is an important step forward. Governments must now ratify the treaty and ensure they turn it into real protections for the hundreds of millions of people working through digital platforms around the world.

Technology should improve people’s lives, not create new pathways to exploitation.

🔗 Read the full article: https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/un-labour-organization-adopts-convention-set-employment-standards-gig-workers-2026-06-12/

15/06/2026

We are a Communications Officer! 🚀

The Communications Officer will help to raise Anti-Slavery International’s public profile and brand trust, enhance our partnerships and help us reach our advocacy and fundraising goals. You will play a pivotal role in growing our awareness, supporting media engagement, driving brand trust, and contributing to our corporate and advocacy publications. You will have an exceptional eye for detail, strong copywriting and editorial skills, experience working with journalists, and experience in producing sharp, impactful visual communications.

Is this you? We want to hear from you!

📅 Apply by 23:59 BST on 30 June 2026.
🔗 https://www.antislavery.org/about-us/jobs-and-volunteering/

12/06/2026

Here are 5 stories you might have missed:

🫐 Finnish court sentences 2 businessmen over forced labour of Thai berry pickers

📢 Workers’ right to strike is now protected under key ILO treaty after a landmark UN ruling

🚫 Turkeminstan’s forced labour cotton is entering global supply chains

🔄 Forced labour bans are reshaping global trade

🍟 Couple stole thousands from McDonald’s worker in Cambridgeshire, UK

Swipe to read this month’s global digest 👉

12/06/2026

Appel aux consultants basés au Niger 📢

Nous recherchons un(e) Assistant(e) d’évaluation chargé(e) d’apporter un soutien technique essentiel sur le terrain dans le cadre de l’évaluation finale du projet « Lutte contre la mendicité forcée des enfants en Afrique de l’Ouest et au Niger ». Ce poste est une mission de consultance à court terme.

📅 Postulez avant le 25 juin 2026 à 9h (heure britannique)
🔗 https://www.antislavery.org/about-us/jobs-and-volunteering/

Latest jobs and volunteering opportunities. Work with the world's oldest human rights organisation working to end all forms of modern slavery.

04/06/2026

Governments around the world are increasingly exploring and adopting laws that ban the import of goods made with forced labour.

Effective import controls and international cooperation across can make a dent in forced labour in global supply chains. If properly designed, import controls can be an effective tool to address forced labour in global value chains and provide remedies for victims and survivors.

Where in the world are we seeing moves towards import bans?

Read our latest blog to learn more: https://www.antislavery.org/latest/forced-labour-bans-are-reshaping-global-trade/

29/05/2026

📣 New Report: ‘Turkmenistan Cotton: State Imposed Forced Labor in the Annual Cotton Harvest, High Risk in Global Supply Chains’

The Cotton Campaign has published their annual report documenting state-imposed forced labour in Turkmenistan's 2025 cotton harvest, and the risk this poses to global supply chains.

Some key takeaways:
🔵 State-imposed forced labour in Turkmenistan’s cotton harvest continues to be widespread and systemic.
🔵 Concerningly, the government has reversed the preliminary steps it had taken in the 2023 and 2024 harvests to begin reducing the scale of forced labour. This raises questions about the willingness of the Turkmen Government to engage with international standards and eliminate forced labour.
🔵 Brands and retailers face the risk of cotton made with state-imposed forced labour in Turkmenistan entering their cotton supply chains at all stages of production, including suppliers in third countries, in particular Türkiye and Pakistan, but also EU member states such as Portugal and Italy.
🔵 Now is a critical time for governments to introduce and enforce import controls on products made or transported with forced labour. This would allow for the prohibition of products containing Turkmen cotton and increase pressure on the Turkmen Government to eliminate forced labour by employing both a human and labour rights framework.

👉 Read the full report here:

Leading the Fight Against State-Imposed Forced Labor in the Cotton Fields of Turkmenistan Turkmen Cotton Produced with Forced Labor2025 Cotton Harvest The Risk of Forced Labor Turkmen Cotton in Global Supply ChainsThe Turkmen Cotton Pledge NewsResources Systemic state-imposed forced labor in the ann...

19/05/2026

Last night’s Channel 4 investigation into slavery on the high street exposed widespread instances of modern slavery and exploitation hiding in plain sight across the United Kingdom, including the trafficking of people into minimarts and v**e shops.

For years, successive Governments have fuelled hostile immigration policies and rhetoric that continue to instil fear in survivors and promotes distrust in victims. The report showed how perpetrators exploit insecure or restrictive immigration status to target people who may be afraid or unable to seek help from authorities. This can leave them stuck in a cycle of exploitation and makes them harder to identify.

The UK’s Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner highlighted how people are brought to the UK on adult social care visas or student visas and then coerced into exploitation with threats of violence against themselves and their families. Eleanor Lyons went onto say that we “haven’t scratched the surface of the true scale of exploitation happening right across the UK.”

Anti-Slavery International advocates for a human rights centred approach to tackling modern slavery and human trafficking, that puts safeguarding at its core.

Survivors of modern slavery must never be criminalised for the exploitation they have endured. It is essential they receive a safeguarding-first response and must be informed and supported to enter the National Referral Mechanism, the UK’s system of identification and support for victims of modern slavery.

Watch the full report here:

As ever-more mini-marts, convenience stores and v**e shops explode across our high streets, Channel 4 News has been investigating the criminality that underp...