The Center for Business and Human Rights at the NYU Stern School of Business will start a new research project to promote human rights in the supply chain for construction labor that runs from South Asia to the Arabian Gulf. The focus of the project will be to examine business practices among recruitment agencies that make workers more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
The center‘s research will focus on relationships among recruitment companies based in South Asia and construction firms doing business in the Arabian Gulf. The goal of the project is to better understand the incentives and pressures that exist at different points in the chain that are contributing to violations of migrant workers’ rights. The Center expects to publish a report with findings and recommendations in early 2016.
The final phase of this new project will be mobilizing actors across the recruitment supply chain – companies, cultural and academic institutions, recruiting firms, governments, international organizations and civil society groups to put standards for business aimed at ensuring greater protections of migrant workers’ rights in recruitment in place. The project will begin this summer.
The NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights was launched in March 2013. It is the first ever human rights center based at a business school. The Center has worked to advance a “pro-business, high standards” model for business and human rights. The Center moves to create change in industry not only by publishing original research that creates public knowledge and debate but also helps to identify options for action to address the issues.