There are an estimated 40.3 million people in modern slavery, despite a blanket global ban on such practices. To bring this figure close to zero by 2030 – to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals Target 8.7 – we would need to reduce the number of people affected by around 10,000 individuals per day. Finance is a lever that can move the entire global economy. The financial sector has unparalleled influence over global business and can invest in and foster business practices that help end modern slavery and human trafficking.
Unlocking Potential: A Blueprint for Mobilizing Finance Against Slavery and Trafficking is the final report of the Liechtenstein Initiative for a Financial Sector Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, which has now formed Finance Against Slavery and Trafficking (FAST).
The Blueprint provides a shared collective-action framework that different financial sector actors can implement in their own ways and at their own speeds.
The FAST Goals provides a framework for the whole financial sector and professional service providers to demonstrate their commitment to accelerating action to end modern slavery and human trafficking. The FAST Implementation Toolkit, comprising practical tools and initiatives, including workflows and diagnostic tools, will help financial sector actors in implementing the Blueprint.
Implementation will, in time, lead to a stronger connection between an enterprise’s behaviour and its costs of capital. Fully implemented, the Blueprint has the power to unlock enormous potential – not just the potential of the financial sector, but, more importantly, the incredible potential of the millions of survivors and vulnerable people whose exploitation and exclusion locks them out of full participation in global society, the economy and finance.
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