MSP in practice

In order to incorporate human rights effectively into global supply and value chains, the German government has adopted the National Action Plan (NAP) to implement the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. As part of the 5th roundtable of the NAP Helpdesk Business and Human Rights, an information package on ending child labor was published. 

The round table of the NAP Business and Human Rights Helpdesk promotes exchange between companies and non-governmental organizations. The focus is on partnerships in the implementation of human rights due diligence.


The 5th roundtable took up the issue of child labor in supply chains. Although all member states of the International Labor Organization (ILO) prohibit child labor, around 152 million children still had to contribute to their families’ income through hazardous and exploitative work in 2016, according to the NAP Helpdesk, nearly half of them in the agricultural sector. Currently, almost every tenth child worldwide is forced to work – in Africa it is even every fifth child.


During the roundtable, around 60 participants from the private sector and civil society were able to learn from each other’s experience on reducing child labor in supply chains. According to the Helpdesk, partnerships play a special role in making risks in supply chains transparent. In multi-stakeholder partnerships, for example, risks can be better identified, cross-sectoral experiences can be shared, and learning from synergies can be used to capture and effectively manage good approaches to interventions on the ground.

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