The International Working Group for Ethical Public Procurement writes to MEPs

The International Working Group on Ethical Public Procurement (IWGEPP) has written to EU Members of Parliament in the context of the reform of the EU Public Procurement Directives, calling for the Parliament to support the strengthening of labour standards and sustainable development in this process.

The EU spends approximately €2 trillion annually (15% of GDP) on public procurement. While essential for public services, these supply chains often pose risks of human rights violations and environmental harm. A revision of procurement directives should ensure that public funds promote fair competition, strong labor standards, and sustainable procurement. They should seek to reduce supply chain risks while driving economic development within the EU and other producing countries.

To achieve this, the IWGEPP has outlined the following key priorities:

1. Alignment with international frameworks for human rights and labour standards

2. Demanding human rights and environmental due diligence

3. Moving away from the lowest price criteria

4. Enhancing SME and Social Economy Actors participation

5. Strengthening knowledge exchange and capacity building

The full letter is available here.

The International Working Group on Ethical Public Procurement (IWGEPP) is collaboration between representatives from public contracting authorities, governmental bodies, academia, multi-stakeholder initiatives, and NGOs from several countries. Our mission is to integrate socially responsible public procurement into procurement processes worldwide. It serves as a hub for public buyers, policymakers, procurement practitioners, NGOs, and scholars to share best practices, explore collaborative initiatives, and promote innovation in responsible procurement. For more information visit International Learning Lab on Procurement and Human Rights

Professor Martin-Ortega gives evidence before the UK Parliament Human Rights Joint Committee

On 5th March 2025 Professor Olga Martin-Ortega gave oral evidence to the UK Joint Committee on Human Rights' Inquiry on Forced Labour in UK Supply Chains. Her evidence focused my evidence on the need to include the public sector on the efforts to combat modern slavery in global supply chains and the support and resources public buyers need to be part of the solution rather than contributing to the problem of labour exploitation in the supply chains that they procure with public money and to provide the public services we all enjoy.

She gave evidence alongside Oliver Holland, partner at Leigh Day, and agreed with him on the on the need for a mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence obligations for business. She further provided arguments for the public sector to be included as recipient of such obligations.
The full evidence is available here Parliamentlive.tv - Human Rights (Joint Committee)

Worker-Driven Remedy Panel at United Nations Business and Human Rights Forum

The BHRE and Electronics Watch organised the Worker-Driven Remedy in Global Supply Chains: A practical perspective panel at the 12th UN Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva in Novembre 2023. The panel was moderated by Professor Olga Martin-Ortega with Bjorn Claeson, Director of Electronics Watch; Irene Aycinena Abascal, Grupo HAME, Guatemala; Ruwan Subasinghe, Legal Director, International Transport Workers Federation; Gopinath K Parakuni, Cividep, India; Joseph Paul Maliamauv, Tenaganita, Malaysia and Pauline Göthberg, Swedish Regions.

The video of the panel is available here: Worker-driven remedy in global supply chains - Forum on Business and Human Rights 2023 | UN Web TV