1. Introduction
1. Global Partners Governance (GPG) is an independent consultancy based in London, established in 2005 to strengthen political institutions and improve the quality of political representation. Our staff and expert associates work closely with partners in parliaments, governments and other institutions across the world including members of parliament, senior parliamentary staff and ministers to help make them more effective in their core tasks.
2. GPG is headquartered in the UK and has offices in Jordan and Sudan (currently not operational). It partners with individuals and organisations to deliver its work across the world, including Middle East, Gulf, Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
3. Most of GPG’s work involve programme delivery in fragile and conflict-affected states and we strive to maintain the highest standards of integrity, professionalism and efficiency in carrying out our work. We set out these principles in our Code of Conduct. We see it as our responsibility to support transparency, identify and address risks, regularly review our business practices, and collaborate with others to protect the rights of those who are most vulnerable to abuses such as modern slavery.
4. Beyond basic compliance with applicable employment and labour laws (i.e. Modern Slavery Act 2015), GPG is committed to working with donors and partners to apply best practice through our supply chains and to use our expertise to help end human trafficking, modern slavery (sex trafficking and compelled labour) and all human rights abuses.
5. In this statement, we describe the steps we will take until the end of this financial year 23/24 to identify and mitigate the risks of human trafficking and modern slavery in our supply chains.
2. Progress Made
1. We have developed a confidential reporting mechanism for a variety of concerns which will include any cases involving modern slavery. We have not received any concerns through this mechanism in the last financial year.
2. We have organised a staff training in relation to our Modern Slavery policy.
3. We have joined the UN Global Compact, which includes pledges to work to eliminate all forms of compulsory labour, uphold international standards on human and labour rights, and ensure we are not complicit in any human rights abuses. We report annually on our progress as an organisation within these areas, engaging in a global accountability network to improve labour practices in the UK and around the world.
3. Transparency in Our Supply Chains
1. Our supply chains consist of third-party suppliers, self-employed consultants/associates and partner organisations spread across our global operational platforms and the UK. While we are aware that modern slavery exists in the UK, our supply chain in the UK presents a much lower risk of modern slavery abuses than the potential for those in our international operations across the regions where we operate including the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia etc. We recognise that many countries in these regions are high-risk environments for modern slavery and human trafficking, with high levels of poverty, lack of awareness and weak enforcement of any legislation which may exist to prevent modern slavery and human trafficking.
2. GPG does not support or knowingly deal with any business involved in slavery or human trafficking. We will not work with any party that we suspect is connected in any way with slavery. We strive to ensure that all goods and services purchased as part of programme delivery and ongoing operations are free from modern slavery and human trafficking. We have a thorough supply chain due diligence process. As well as ensuring that GPG does not engage any third parties that appear on sanctions lists or other watchlists that are available to GPG, this due diligence process also helps us identify whether our suppliers are known to have engaged in modern slavery or human trafficking. Checks are carried out by the research programme when any new supplier is contracted, which includes assessments of our supply chain and their ability to comply with our policies as well as our Donors’ Modern Slavery policies.
4. Capacity Building
1. Where possible, we will endeavour to build the capacity of our staff, associates and supply chain partners through awareness raising sessions and/or training workshops in order to help them understand the importance of ensuring that their own workforce and supply chain is free from modern slavery. Where appropriate, we will work with suppliers to improve their own policies and processes to mitigate the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking.
5. Ongoing Developments
1. We are committed to continuous improvement and in 2023, whilst our business activities might not be high risk for modern slavery, we will review our policies, guidelines and mechanisms to detect and prevent modern slavery in order to ensure that they capture all areas where we believe our supply chain may be at the greatest risk of intersecting with modern slavery.
2. GPG is a London Living Wage employer. We are confident that our employment practices protect staff against poor working conditions.
3. We are always seeking ways to improve our approach to mitigating the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking. As part of our 2023/24 approach, we would like to make improvements, specifically by reviewing our due diligence policies and by organising awareness raising sessions for the staff members, associates and delivery partners.
We will continue to monitor the risk of modern slavery in our supply chains through our risk mitigation strategies, including through annual review of our third-party suppliers. We will be upfront with our suppliers about our expectation of adequate labour standards, including through specifying this in written and/or verbal contracts.
6. Conclusion
Our ongoing commitment means that we will progress year on year in our efforts towards transparency, prevention, identification and mitigation of human trafficking and modern slavery deeper down our supply chains.
This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes GPG’s modern slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.
Signed on behalf of the Board by
Greg Power OBE, Founder & Board Chair