Peru – Forced labour and modern slavery

CHAPTER III DIAGNOSIS AND BASELINE: ACTION AREAS

Child labor

Progress was found in the reduction of child labor rates, as part of the expected results, but the evaluation and monitoring of the National Strategy for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labor 2011-2021, in charge of the MTPE, the governing body in this area, is required. However, being in the last year of its implementation, its evaluation is relevant, which will allow the formulation, based on evidence, of the new national policy for the prevention and eradication of child labor, aligned with the country’s international commitments in relation to the fulfillment of Target 8.7:

Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end contemporary forms of slavery and trafficking in persons and ensure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor, including the recruitment and use of child soldiers, and, by 2025, to end child labor in all its forms […]. – page 44

On the other hand, it is necessary to strengthen the dissemination of the problem and the scope of the prevention and eradication of forced labor, as well as the implementation of the national policy that contributes to address this public problem (III National Plan to Combat Forced Labor 2019-2022), in charge of the MTPE. Likewise, the importance of having statistical information that allows dimensioning the public problem is also noted, so it is necessary to deepen the efforts of the MTPE in the application of the Survey on the Prevalence of Forced Labor, in order to characterize this problem. In this regard, the dissemination of whistleblower channels, and the protection of whistle- blowers and witnesses, as well as the identification of the institutions in charge of the reinsertion of the victims of this scourge should be strengthened. – page 45

Table 8: NAP strategic guidelines and objectives, and alignment with the axes of the Peru Vision 2050

Strategic guideline No. 2: Design of public protection policies to prevent human rights violations in the business environment. Objective No. 1: Promote regulatory actions to prevent human rights violations in the corporate sphere

23.

Action: Evaluate, based on the status assessment report, the incorporation of appropriate measures to contribute to formalization through the public procurement system; as well as to prevent the State from contracting with companies that commit serious human rights violations, specifically those related to forced labor and the worst forms of child labor, directly or through their supply chain; and promote and guarantee respect for human rights by companies in their supply chains.

Background: Peru should also continue to make progress in ensuring that public procurement excludes companies that directly or through their supply chains engage in forced labor, the worst forms of child labor, and other serious human rights violations. Likewise, the State should promote measures so that through public procurement, companies and their supply chains are encouraged to respect human rights.

Indicator: Report that, based on the assessment of the situation, identifies appropriate measures to contribute to formalization, prevent the State from contracting with companies that incur serious human rights violations, directly or through their supply chain; and promote that companies and their supply chains respect human rights. – page 71

82.

Action: Provide information and raise awareness on the importance of not contracting with the State in the case of companies sanctioned for forced labor and the worst forms of child labor, making visible the harmfulness of this practice.

Background: Despite the international instruments on business and human rights, our country has not yet issued any specific regulation that includes mechanisms to require companies to ensure that their supply chains do not contract with companies that have been sanctioned for forced labor and/or worse forms of child labor. These mechanisms should also consider micro and small companies.

Indicator: Information booklet on the importance of not contracting with the State in the case of companies sanctioned for forced labor and the worst forms of child labor, making visible the harmfulness of this practice. – page 116