Bali Process Government and Business Forum
The Bali Declaration recognised the need to engage constructively with the private sector to expand legal and legitimate opportunities for labour migration and to combat human trafficking and related exploitation, including by promoting and implementing humane, non-abusive labour practices throughout their supply chains. To this end, Minister for Foreign Affairs for Australia, the Hon Julie Bishop MP, and Minister for Foreign Affairs for the Republic of Indonesia, Retno L.P. Marsudi, co-chaired the inaugural Bali Process Government and Business Forum (the “Perth Forum”) on 24-25 August 2017. Andrew Forrest, founder and chairman of Fortescue Metals Group and founder of the Walk Free Foundation, and Eddy Sariaatmadja, founder of media group Emtek, were business co-chairs for Australia and Indonesia respectively.This new initiative brought together influential business leaders and ministers from the Indo-Pacific region to consider ways to prevent and combat human trafficking, forced labour, and modern slavery. The Perth Forum, the first of its kind in the Indo-Pacific region, is a positive step towards the kind of collaboration between government and business that is needed to end these crimes; it will become a permanent track of the Bali Process.
The Bali Process covers 4.5 billion of the world’s population; the combined force of both business and government in this Forum is one of the most powerful weapons to combat human trafficking. The Perth Forum was driven by the private sector, with participants presenting a plan of action (the “Work Plan”) for addressing their most urgent priorities. This Work Plan – the key outcome from the Forum – was developed following consultations with a broad range of stakeholders and comprises areas of work for business leaders to focus on over the next 12 months. The list of priorities for work includes the following themes: ethical employment; transparency in supply chains; and, safeguards and grievance/redress mechanisms. The Second Bali Process Government and Business Forum held in Bali, Indonesia from the 6 - 7 August 2018 put forward a comprehensive array of Recommendations to enhance collaboration on tackling modern slavery. The Acknowledge, Act and Advance Recommendations (AAA Recommendations) set out a pathway for both business and government to contribute to the eradication of these transnational crimes.
Bali Process (private sector engagement)