No worker should pay for a job, the costs of recruitment should be borne by the employer. The Global Forum for Responsible Recruitment (GFRR) is a leadership forum for accelerating the responsible recruitment of migrant workers around the world, in line with the Employer Pays Principle.
In 2023, Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB), in partnership with Aim-Progress, will deliver the 6th Global Forum for Responsible Recruitment #GFRR2023 in New York City.
The Forum will run over two days, exploring existing approaches and practices. This multi-stakeholder event brings together businesses, civil society, trade unions, government, and academia to discuss the global agenda on responsible recruitment. It will examine the unique challenges and innovative approaches business faces in implementing responsible recruitment.
The GFRR is free to attend, but pre-registration is essential. Registration for the Global Forum will open soon, along with the Agenda and key resources.
Get updates straight to your inbox about #GFRR2023 themes, the agenda, speakers, and online registration.
The Global Forum for Responsible Recruitment 2024 is a two-day event bringing together businesses, civil society, trade unions, government, and academia to discuss the global agenda on responsible recruitment.
#GFRR2024 will be an in-person event in London and will also be live-streamed to an online audience around the world.
The Forum is free to attend.
Places to attend GFRR2023 in-person are now full.
Register now to join the event online.
By attending online, you will be given access to join a virtual event platform, where you will be able to watch the sessions and use the platform’s chat features to network with other participants and speakers.
You can also join the in-person waiting list, and we’ll contact you if spaces become available.
By attending online, you will be given access to join a virtual event platform, where you will be able to watch the sessions and use the platform’s chat features to network with other participants and speakers.
A PLATFORM FOR IDEAS
A GLOBAL ECOSYSTEM
A COMMUNITY OF INNOVATORS
A PATH TO IMPACT
The two days of GFRR 2024 bring together experts and practitioners to tackle the challenges and solutions for protecting migrant workers. This year’s Forum will focus on presenting concrete tools for responsible recruitment, protecting the rights of women migrant workers, and the recruitment challenges in key migration corridors.
The agenda will open soon.
DAY 1
06.13.23
DAY 2
06.14.23
DAY 1
06.13.23
09:00 – 09:20 EST
Welcome & Opening Remarks
John Morrison, IHRB: Chief Executive
Louise Herring, AIM-Progress: Executive Director
09:20 – 09:40 EST
09:40 – 10:40 EST
William Gois, Migrant Forum in Asia: Regional Coordinator
Michael Samras, USAID: International Cooperation Specialist
Heaven Crawley, UN University Centre for Policy Research: Head of Equitable Development and Migration
10:40 – 11:40 EST
Rachel Micah-Jones, Centro de los Derechos del Migrante: Founder & Executive Director
Noortje Denkers, ILO: Labour Migration and Mobility Specialist
Maritza Pérez Ovando, Migrant Worker Representative
12:00 – 13:00 EST
Mark Taylor, Issara Institute: Senior Directo Strategy and Global Partnerships
Amy Lehr, Mars Inc: Assistant General Counsel, Human Rights and Sustainability
Gerardo Reyes Chávez, Immokalee Workers: Senior Staff Member Leader, Farmworker, and Organizer
14:00 – 15:00 EST
Carmel Laurino, Honest Jobs: Managing Director
Pawel Szalus, IOM: IRIS Programme Manager
Pranay Rai, International Manpower Recruitment Pvt. Ltd.: Compliance Head
15:00 – 15:30 EST
James Mallick, Pro-Force: Compliance and Implementation Director
Rosey Hurst, Impactt: Founder and Director
15:30 – 16:30 EST
Rashyid Redza Anwarudin, Sime Darby: Chief Sustainability Officer
Anasuya Syam, Human Trafficking Legal Center: Director of Human Rights and Trade Policy Director
Agnieszka Raczynska, Fundación Avina: Regional Program Manager
16:30 – 17:00 EST
John Morrison, IHRB: Chief Executive
Mahmoud Qutub, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy: Worker’s Welfare & Labour Rights Executive Director
DAY 2
06.14.23
09:00 – 09:15 EST
Louise Herring, AIM-Progress: Chief Executive
Francesca Fairbairn, IHRB: Programme Manager, Oceans and Commodities
09:15 – 10:30 EST
Mark Dickinson, Nautilus International: General Secretary
Ben Bailey, The Mission to Seafarers: Director of Programme
Isabelle Rickmers, TURTLE: Founder and CEO
10:50 – 11:45 EST
Doug Nystrom, Impactt: Associate Director—North America
Martha Selwyn, UN Global Compact: Manager Ocean
Christopher Saunders, Rightship: Chief Product Officer
11:45 – 12:45 EST
Louise Herring, AIM-Progress: Chief Executive
Diana Fimbres, Polaris Project: Senior Program Manager
Malin Lijert, Center for Child Rights and Business: Director
Rachel Micah-Jones, Centro de los Derechos del Migrante: Founder & Executive Director
13:15 – 14:15 EST
ONLINE AUDIENCE
Hannah Newcomb, Stronger Together: Co-CEO
Tom Smith, Walmart: Director, Global Government Affairs and Business Diplomacy
Ben Bostock, Impactt: Principal Consultant
14:30 – 15:30 EST
ONLINE AUDIENCE
Pablo Escribano, IOM: Migration, Environment and Climate Change Regional Thematic Specialist for the Americas
Anna Triponel, Human Level: Founder & Advisor
Nicole Munns, Justice & Care: International Systemic Change Director
Rachel Phillips, Rainforest Alliance: Global Lead Human Rights
15:45 – 16:00 EST
ONLINE AUDIENCE
Neill Wilkins, IHRB: Head of the Migrant Workers Programme
Saket Soni, Author
13:30 – 14:30 EST
IN-PERSON AUDIENCE ONLY
Workshop #1: Legislation, Business and Human Rights and Responsible Recruitment
14:45 – 16:00 EST
IN-PERSON AUDIENCE ONLY
Workshop #2: Responsible Recruitment Measurement and Metrics
Chief Executive Officer,
CIERTO Global
Executive Director,
AIM-Progress
Executive Director,
Labor Mobility Partnerships (LaMP)
Compliance Head,
International Manpower Recruitment Pvt. Ltd.
Regional Coordinator,
Migrant Forum In Asia
Assistant General Counsel, Human Rights and Sustainability,
Mars, Inc.
J.D. Global Lead,
Migration & Human Trafficking
Executive Director/Directora Ejecutiva, Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc.
The three-day #GFRR2022 agenda covered four key aspects of responsible recruitment.
The #GFRR2022 Agenda will be announced shortly. Register now to be notified as soon as it’s published.
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.
GFRR 2023: 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.
GFRR 2022: 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.
#GFRR2024 is hosted by the Institute for Human Rights and Business in partnership with Aim-Progress and Stronger Together.
The Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) is a think tank that works to make human rights part of everyday business by shaping policy, advancing practice, and strengthening accountability across all business sectors. The IHRB Migrant Workers Programme developed the Dhaka Principles for Migration with Dignity to provide a clear framework for understanding and addressing the challenges faced by migrant workers in all sectors and locations throughout the migration cycle.
Over the last few years, Responsible Recruitment of migrant workers has featured strongly on the radar of business and governments. Since 2016, the IHRB’s Leadership Group for Responsible Recruitment (LGRR) has played a significant role in highlighting the issue of responsible recruitment and is one of the leading initiatives working towards the eradication of worker-paid recruitment fees. The Group consists of 16 international brands supported by three civil society organisations, and the ILO and IOM, who use their collective leverage to promote safe and responsible recruitment practices globally. A key premise upon which the Group is founded, ‘The Employer Pays Principle’ – No worker should pay for a job, the costs of recruitment should be borne, not by the worker but by the employer – is now widely referenced by business, governments, trade unions, civil society, and international organisations.
AIM-Progress is a global forum of leading Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) manufacturers and common suppliers, assembled to enable and promote responsible sourcing practices and sustainable supply chains. Their members work together to co-create solutions and share best practices to drive positive impact quickly, efficiently, and at scale within the branded consumer goods supply chain. Their key objective is to build capacity so that member organisations and their suppliers have the knowledge, confidence, and ability to develop and execute robust responsible sourcing programmes. AIM-Progress and its individual member companies are working to promote Responsible Recruitment in global supply chains. Challenging the payment of worker recruitment fees and related costs is a key strategy and focus for 2023.
Stronger Together is an impact driven, not for profit organisation that provides organisations with practical training, resources, business services and collaborative programmes in order to achieve its vision of a world where all workers are recruited responsibly and have fair work, free from exploitation.
Stronger Together works across three continents and within multiple sectors, often in collaboration with strategic sector and in-country partners. It provides practical, innovative solutions, based on established international standards and methodologies, to drive effective human rights due diligence in global supply chains – with a particular focus on responsible recruitment, fair work and tackling labour exploitation.
Stronger Together mobilises and facilitates collaboration amongst multi-stakeholders to achieve systemic change at scale and plays an active role in mediating dialogue on issues that require a collaborative response such as progress on the Employer Pays Principle.
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