1st Meeting, (Room XIX) Forum on Business and…

Migration, Business and Human Rights: Consultation for the Working Group's 2025 Report to the UN General Assembly

Brief Session Description:

Migrant workers are especially at risk of a range of business-related human rights abuses, including forced labour, precarious employment, wage theft, discrimination, xenophobia, and social exclusion. Undocumented or irregular migrant workers are at even greater risk – often being those 'left furthest behind' in society. These risks are further compounded by systematic barriers to accessing justice and effective remedies. To better understand the experiences of transnational migrant workers in particular, this consultation aims to explore the key business and human rights challenges that they currently face in different countries and regions. It also seeks to learn about the positive practices undertaken by Governments and businesses to address these challenges, including through the conduct of human rights due diligence, and distill lessons on how access to justice and to remedy for migrant workers can be improved in the context of global value chains.

This session is a multistakeholder consultation for the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights' 2025 thematic report to the General Assembly on the theme of 'Migration, Business and Human Rights'. To inform this report, the consultation seeks insights on how States and businesses are or are not upholding their respective duty and responsibility to protect and respect the rights of migrant workers, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Given that the primary focus of the report will be on migrant workers in a cross-border context, the Working Group especially welcomes interventions from the floor on issues that arise relation to transnational labour migration.

The session will feature 'trigger speakers' who will jumpstart the consultation by sharing their insights on the current situation with respect to the protection of migrant workers at the global level and on the ground. The speakers will also reflect on how the Guiding Principles should be upheld by States and businesses alike in relation to the treatment of migrant workers, posing questions for the audience to consider.

Guiding Questions:

• What are the salient human rights challenges faced by migrant workers in the context of transnational labour migration and global supply chains?
• What are the major gaps relating to the protection of migrant workers in existing regulatory frameworks at the national, regional and global levels?
• What are some constructive examples of Governments and businesses protecting and respecting the rights of migrant workers?
• What role can investors and consumers, in particular, play in promoting ethical business practices and holding companies accountable for business-related human rights abuses in their value chains?
• How effective are current State-based and non-State-based judicial and non-judicial mechanisms in ensuring access to remedy for migrant workers?
• What are the main components of an effective operational-level grievance mechanism for migrant workers?
• How can policy and regulatory measures, including national action plans on business and human rights and mandatory human rights due diligence legislation, contribute to improved access to remedy for migrant workers?

Moderator:

• Pichamon Yeophantong

Speakers:

• Adrian Anthony Pereira
• Maximilian Pottler