Modern Slavery and Procurement Obligations – Dr Olga Martin-Ortega at LUPC/SUPC Event
/Another of the strong sessions at the recent London Universities and Southern Universities Purchasing Consortia joint conference was “Managing Human Rights Risks in the Supply Chain: Responsibilities Under the Modern Slavery Act”. The speaker, a real expert on the topic, was Dr Olga Martin-Ortega, Reader in Public International Law at the University of Greenwich in London
She explained that human rights violations are enabled by the nature of the supply chain, and occur where there are governance and regulation gaps. Global supply chains are increasingly buyer-driven – it is often the brands at the end of the supply chain that hold power. There has been much more outsourcing over the past 20 years, so often the big brands don't make anything themselves, and rely on supply chains, often spread around may countries...