Remediating Child Labour Risks and Impacts Beyond Tier One in the Garment Sector

A Side Session of the 2024 OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector

Organizer: The Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE)

Date: 19 February 2024 from 9:15-10:45 am EST / 3:15-4:45 pm CET

Length: 1.5 hour

Platform: Zoom (online only)

Price: Free

Languages: English with simultaneous interpretation in French and Spanish.

Register

The Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) is pleased to host an online side event on Remediating Child Labour Risks and Impacts Beyond Tier One in the Garment Sector at the 2024 OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector.

In conversation with the International Labour Organization (ILO), The Centre for Child Rights and Business and GoodWeave International, this session will address the complex - and often overlooked - issue of how to remediate the impacts of child labour beyond Tier 1 in the garment sector. While some focus has been directed towards remediating human rights impacts in Tier 1 in garment supply chains in recent years, less emphasis has been placed on how companies can remediate impacts throughout Tiers 2-4, where most incidents of child labour occur.

The session will explore the complexities and challenges spanning all four tiers of the supply chain, aiming to provide insights into effective remediation strategies and tools for garment companies. Discussion will encompass recent developments and emerging practices, offering valuable perspectives to inform and guide stakeholders. Panelists will provide insights into present practical steps that garment companies can undertake when facing child labour issues at various tiers of their supply chain.

Moderator: The Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE)

Panelists:

• Katherine Torres, Senior Programme Officer on Supply Chains and Global Coordinator Child Labour Platform, International Labour Organisation (ILO)
• Anne Marie La Rosa, EIS Pilot Coordinator, Bangladesh, ILO
• Siti O. Malikah, Director of Services and Products, Asia, The Centre for Child Rights and Business
• Silvia Mera, Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships and Advocacy, GoodWeave International

About the CORE: Created in 2019, the office of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) is a business and human rights ombud institution. The CORE reviews complaints about possible human rights abuses involving Canadian companies working outside of Canada in the garment, mining, and oil and gas sectors. In 2023, the CORE published a study on child rights and the risk of child labour in the overseas operations and supply chains of Canadian garment companies. As of 31 December 2023, the CORE is reviewing 21 active complaints, of which 14 are in the garment sector, and has launched 9 investigations into Canadian companies’ operations and supply chains abroad, of which 8 are in the garment sector.