Watch: Enforcing Human Rights in Government Contracts

Isabelle Glimcher, a fellow at the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, recommends six steps that government procurement officials should be taking to prevent workers’ rights abuses by suppliers.

Glimcher has authored a report that takes as its premise a current lack of sufficient monitoring of supply chains by U.S. government contractors. She sees widespread violations of rights and a lack of independent review of suppliers, then proposes a series of six reforms to correct the problem, including:

• Creating a binding code of conduct, to be included in all high-risk procurement contracts, based on international human rights and labor laws, and addressing such issues as human trafficking, workplace safety, reasonable hours, fair wages, and freedom of association.
• Performing a preliminary risk assessment for each contract to be signed, factoring compliance with human rights into the award decision.
• Relying on external monitors, to be accredited by the U.S. government, then sent to areas of highest concern. Such monitors would make unannounced factory visits and solicit input from workers on an anonymous basis.
• Imposing additional requirements on high-risk contracts, including the need to conduct due diligence on all subcontractors, create a mechanism for reporting violations, and implement corrective action plans.
• As a last resort, assessing penalties against suppliers with a record of repeated violations, or evidence of hiding such actions.
• Establishing human- and labor-rights expertise among federal procurement officers, so that they’re better able to decide whether corrective action is necessary.

The problem isn’t a lack of NGOs and monitoring organizations, Glimcher says. It’s the inability of the federal government “to funnel the wealth of information they’re creating into procurement decisions between competing bids.” In a time when speed to market is the primary goal, human rights are being violated.