Labour Migration, Human Trafficking and Multinational Corporations

1    Corporate liability for violations of international human rights law

Mohamed Y. Mattar

Introduction

Reflecting the impact of the current economic crisis, the second report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, Ms Joy Ezeilo, submitted August 12, 2009 stated that:

Trafficking for purposes of labour exploitation is likely to escalate, particularly during the current economic crisis and in light of increasing poverty caused by massive unemployment and the tendencies of employers to use cheap labour in order to cut costs and maximize profits.¹

The same assessment was made by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in its annual Global Employment Trends Report 2009. The Report states the ...