30 JUNE - 1 JULY 2026
KUALA LUMPUR & ONLINE
The Global Forum for
RESPONSIBLE
RECRUITMENT
ABOUT
Join the leading forum for accelerating fair, ethical, and responsible recruitment of migrant workers.
The Global Forum for Responsible Recruitment (GFRR) is a two-day event that brings together businesses, civil society, trade unions, government, and academia to discuss the global agenda on responsible recruitment.
The theme of this year's Forum is: Building Resilience in an Era of Global Disruption
Global supply chains and labour markets are being reshaped by a convergence of crises and transitions.
Geopolitical shifts, economic uncertainty, new technology, and conflicts are reshaping trade routes and production hubs. Simultaneously, decarbonisation efforts, the growing impacts of climate change on operations and demographic shifts are transforming sectors, disrupting livelihoods, and driving more people to cross borders in search of work and stability. These forces are reshaping migration pathways and creating new pressure points for migrant workers.
In this fragmented landscape, labour migration governance is under strain. Regulatory gaps and uneven enforcement create predictable conditions for exploitation. GFRR 2026 will focus on how responsible recruitment in particular can adapt to this era of disruption, ensuring that labour market transformation strengthens, rather than undermines, migration with dignity. While many companies and recruiters have committed to the Employer Pays Principle, the goal remains to achieve more consistent application across regions and sectors worldwide.
REGISTRATION
WHY ATTEND
AGENDA
The Global Forum 2026 will explore how to build resilience in an era of global disruptions, with Day 1 examining the nature and scale of disruptions on migrant workers’ rights and responsible recruitment, and Day 2 focusing on resilience-building in response.
DAY 1
30.06.26
DAY 2
01.07.25
DAY 1
30.06.26
9:00 – 9:20|Kuala Lumpur (GMT+8)
Welcome & Opening Remarks
–
9:20 – 10:20 | Kuala Lumpur (GMT+8)
When the World Shifts — How Conflict & Geopolitical Uncertainty is Reshaping Responsible Recruitment
Geopolitical disruption is not a background condition for recruitment; it is an active force reshaping labour markets. Drawing on two regions: the Gulf, where geopolitical tensions and surging labour demand are stress-testing recruitment systems, and Southeast Asia, where Myanmar’s crisis has transformed how workers arrive in Malaysia, this session examines what happens to responsible recruitment when conflict breaks out, trade routes close, and production shifts at speed.
The discussion will address a direct question: if disruption hits migration corridors today, what in business operations would hold responsible recruitment, and what risks would companies face if recruitment practices need to be built from scratch?
10:20 – 11:00 | Kuala Lumpur (GMT+8)
Implementing the Employer Pays Principle in Malaysia’s National Action Plan on B+HR
Malaysian National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (2025–2030) marks a key moment to move responsible recruitment from principle to practice, the question now is what comes next.
This session will focus on translating that policy commitment into enforcement and business practice. Grounded in the realities of Malaysia’s labour migration system, where recruitment often involves multiple actors and fees can persist through less visible channels, the discussion will examine the roles of government and business in shaping wider market practice.
11:30 – 12:15 |Kuala Lumpur (GMT+8)
Seafarer Recruitment Fees: Persistent Challenges and Practical Solutions
Despite international standards prohibiting recruitment fees for seafarers, costs continue to be pushed onto workers through complex and often hidden chains of agents, sub-agents, brokers, and other service providers across countries of origin and transit. This session will examine why recruitment fees remain a persistent problem in the maritime industry and what can be done to address them, drawing on the work of the Action Group on Seafarer Recruitment Costs.
The discussion will bring in individual worker experiences, alongside the wider structural challenges that enable this practice to persist. The session will also mark the launch of a practical toolkit to help companies better identify, prevent, and address recruitment fee risks.
12:15 – 13:00 | Kuala Lumpur (GMT+8)
Looking into the Global Data Partnership Against Forced Labour
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Lunch: 13:00 – 14:00 | Kuala Lumpur (GMT+8)
14:00 – 14:45 | Kuala Lumpur (GMT+8)
The Ethical Recruitment Marketplace: Building Resilience in an Era of Disruptions
Global crises and accelerated migration amplify forced labour risks across supply chains. This session showcases actionable progress on the Ethical Recruitment Marketplace, an end-to-end initiative designed to systematically embed human rights practices into recruitment. It will explore how market-driven approaches can serve as vital preparedness strategies that tackle the economic drivers of irresponsible and unethical recruitment.
14:45 – 15:45 | Kuala Lumpur (GMT+8)
Climate as a Labour Market Shock: What Responsible Recruitment Must Anticipate
Climate disruption is no longer a background condition for labour mobility; it is an active force reshaping why people leave their homes, where they set off from, and what kind of work conditions they are heading towards. Drawing on the realities of corridors stressed by extreme heat, flooding, and agricultural collapse, this session examines what responsible recruitment must anticipate when origin conditions, destination conditions, and contract assumptions are all shifting at once.
The discussion brings together business, government, workers, and climate migration perspectives to test an emerging just transition agenda for labour mobility against regional realities. Thinking through what decarbonisation and adaptation risks, new corridor and workforce flows, and emerging governance gaps actually mean for the responsible recruitment agenda.
16:00 – 16:45 | Kuala Lumpur (GMT+8)
Data-Driven Solutions for Responsible Recruitment
–
DAY 2
01.07.25
9:00 – 9:15 |Kuala Lumpur (GMT+8)
Opening remarks
Reflections on Day 1
9:15 – 11:15 | Kuala Lumpur (GMT+8)
South Asia Workshop on Climate Change and Migration
In-person attendees will take part in a workshop in Kuala Lumpur.
12:00 – 12:45 | Kuala Lumpur (GMT+8)
From Commitment to Practice: Tools, Pilots, and Accountability in Responsible Recruitment
–
12:45 – 13:15 | Kuala Lumpur (GMT+8)
What the IRIS Transition Means for Responsible Recruitment
Lunch: 13:00 – 14:00 | Kuala Lumpur (GMT+8)
14:15 – 15:15 | Kuala Lumpur (GMT+8)
What Responsible Recruitment Looks Like on the Ground
Responsible recruitment has gained significant traction as a framework, but how is it actually being applied, and what difference does it make to the workers it is meant to protect? This session examines responsible recruitment in practice, drawing on grounded perspectives that address what the evidence shows, where progress is being made, and where critical gaps remain.
15:15 – 15:55 |Kuala Lumpur (GMT+8)
Multinational Compliance Across Jurisdictions
As legal frameworks evolve and cross-border litigation becomes an increasingly viable avenue for remedy, multinationals face growing scrutiny over their responsibility for labour practices across their global supply chains, scrutiny that extends to how those practices affect migrant workers on the ground. This session examines what compliance looks like in practice across different international jurisdictions.
The panel brings together perspectives from litigation experience and regional advocacy for migrant workers’ rights to explore the intersection of legal accountability, corporate responsibility, and workers’ access to justice.
15:55 – 16:10 | Kuala Lumpur (GMT+8)
Closing remarks
To view the sessions for Day 2, click on the second tab at the top of the agenda.
SPEAKERS
GFRR 2026 speakers include:
CONTRIBUTING PARTNERS
Discover the organisations that collaborated to produce the Forum’s sessions.
No worker should pay for a job — the costs of recruitment should be borne not by the worker but by the employer.
FORUM REPLAYS
Hosted by IHRB, the ILO, and IOM, the 2021 Global Forum for Responsible Recruitment took place from 12-15 April 2021. The GFRR 2021 spanned four days, convening 16 discussions. To capture some key takeaways from each session, we invited colleagues from across the ecosystem to record and share their reflections on the discussion.
Hosted exclusively online by IHRB, the 2022 Global Forum for Responsible Recruitment took place from 1 – 3 November. The GFRR 2022 presented eight live sessions plus 16 recordings viewed by more than 1,600 participants. Access all sessions and materials now available on IHRB’s YouTube channel.
Hosted in person and online by IHRB in partnership with AIM-Progress, the 2023 Global Forum for Responsible Recruitment took place from 13 to 14 June in New York City. The GFRR 2023 live-streamed 15 sessions that were viewed more than 4,000 times by participants around the world. Access all sessions and materials now available on IHRB’s YouTube channel.
Hosted in person and online by IHRB in partnership with AIM-Progress and Stronger Together, the 2024 Global Forum for Responsible Recruitment took place from 25 to 26 June in London, UK. The GFRR 2024 live-streamed 17 sessions that were viewed by participants around the world. Access all sessions and materials now available on IHRB’s YouTube channel.
Hosted in person and online by IHRB, the 2025 Global Forum for Responsible Recruitment took place from 20 to 21 May in Bangkok, Thailand. The GFRR 2025 live-streamed 16
sessions that were viewed by more than 1000 participants around the world. Access all sessions and materials now available on IHRB’s YouTube channel.
HOST
GFRR is hosted by the Institute for Human Rights and Business.
About IHRB
The Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) is the global think tank working to make respect for human rights part of everyday business. IHRB’s work seeks to ensure that migrant workers everywhere are treated with dignity and respect. IHRB aims to elevate the concerns of migrant workers and highlight their vital contribution to the global economy and strengthen worker voice within economic decision-making.
IHRB developed the Dhaka Principles for Migration with Dignity to provide a clear framework for understanding and addressing the challenges faced by workers throughout the migration cycle. In 2015, we launched the Employer Pays Principle, a campaign with a simple message: No worker should pay for a job – the cost of recruitment should be borne by the employer. IHRB has leveraged change across different sectors and geographies, from the built environment, to shipping, to Gulf Cooperation Council Countries via its Gulf Sustain initiative.
The 2026 Global Forum for Responsible Recruitment is hosted and produced by the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB).
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