Making human rights due diligence frameworks work for small farmers and workers

8 June 2020

To make responsible business practices the norm, we need regulatory and binding frameworks on human rights and environmental due diligence (HRDD) applying to all companies. We need an HRDD framework that addresses the root causes of human rights violations, leads to a real shift in companies’ practices and brings about positive change on the ground, for small farmers and workers. So how might we achieve this?

To answer this question, the Fair Trade Advocacy Office (FTAO), along with Brot für die Welt, commissioned the University of Greenwich (UK) to look into how HRDD can have a positive impact on small farmers and workers and on how fair purchasing practices, living wages and living incomes can be addressed by HRDD frameworks and instruments.

This report ‘Making human rights due diligence frameworks work for small farmers and workers in global supply chains’, by Professor Valerie Nelson, Professor Olga Martin-Ortega and Michael Flint, presents the current evidence on the impact of human rights due diligence on the ground in two sectors: agriculture and textiles. It also provides a series of recommendations on how policymakers can develop effective mandatory human rights due diligence frameworks.