Human Appeal Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement
Introduction
Human Appeal’s commitment to respect in the workplace includes our full support for international efforts to promote ethical principles and practices related to the prevention of exploitation and abuse associated with modern slavery and human trafficking. Human Appeal also expects commitment to these principles from all organisations with which we do business and will not support or work with others knowingly involved in slavery or human trafficking.
Under section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act, commercial organisations with a UK presence and a global turnover of £36 million or above are required to publish an annual statement of the steps it has taken to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in any of its supply chains or in any part of its business. The definition of slavery in the Act makes it clear that it extends, among other things, to forced or compulsory labour. Irrespective of legal obligations, Human Appeal are firmly committed to tackling slavery and human trafficking.
Organisation's structure
Human Appeal is registered at Companies House under company number 08553893 and with the Charity Commission for England and Wales under charity number 1154288.
Human Appeal’s objectives are: -
a. the prevention or relief of poverty anywhere in the world by providing grants, items and services to individuals in need and/or charities or other organisations working to prevent or relieve poverty;
b. the prevention or relief of poverty or financial hardship anywhere in the world by providing or assisting in the provision of education, training, healthcare objects and all the necessary support designed to enable individuals to generate a sustainable income and be self-sufficient;
c. the relief of financial need and suffering amongst victims of natural or other kind of disasters in the form of money or other means deemed suitable for persons, bodies, organisations and/or countries affected, including the provision of medical aid.
From its origins in the UK, Human Appeal has established operations in a number of countries across the globe and currently has over 500 employees worldwide. Human Appeal operates in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe.
Human Appeal had a global annual turnover of £43,044,070 for year ending 31st December 2022.
Our supply chains
Our supply chains include: Products, services, facilities and distribution.
Our policies on slavery and human trafficking
We are committed to ensuring that there is no modern slavery or human trafficking in our supply chains or in any part of our business. Our Anti-slavery and Human Trafficking Policy reflects our commitment to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure slavery and human trafficking are not taking place anywhere in our supply chains. Supplementing the policy and to protect staff who report incidents, we have a whistleblowing policy which ensures confidentiality and a commitment to support staff.
Due diligence processes for slavery and human trafficking
As part of our initiative to identify and mitigate risk we have in place systems to:
Human Appeal has contacted each of our suppliers to ensure that they are informed and are fully aware of the requirements of the Modern Slavery Act and requested that they confirm that they understand that Human Appeal will not tolerate slavery anywhere in the entirety of our operations. In addition, all members of Human Appeal’s staff have been made aware of Human Appeal’s commitment to the prevention of exploitation and abuse associated with modern slavery and human trafficking. Some resources are being developed and reviewed consistently to sensitize both staff and external stakeholders on the risks of Modern Slavery.
Statements of compliance from our suppliers are available upon request. In addition, it is a condition of all purchase orders to Human Appeal’s suppliers that they comply with Anti-Slavery Legislation, specifically section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act. Human Appeal, our customers and regulatory authorities reserve the right of access to inspect all applicable facilities and records associated with these orders.
Human Appeal’s CEO sets the tone for our ethical culture and holds managers accountable for communication of ethics and compliance expectations. Human Appeal is committed to compliance with the prevention of exploitation and abuse associated with modern slavery and human trafficking.
Supplier adherence to our values and ethics
We have zero tolerance to slavery and human trafficking. To ensure all those in our supply chain and contractors comply with our values and ethics we have in place a supply chain compliance programme. We have a dedicated compliance team, which consists of involvement from the following departments:
Training
To ensure a high level of understanding of the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking in our supply chains and our business, we provide awareness and training to our staff. We may also require our business partners to provide training to their staff and suppliers and providers.
Our effectiveness in combating slavery and human trafficking
We effectively utilise the following resources to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in any part of our business or supply chains:
• We require every potential supplier to complete a detailed due diligence questionnaire.
• Human Appeal is engaged in various inter agency initiatives to share best practices and lessons learnt to ensure supply chain adheres to best standards and principle. Human Appeal is also an active member of the Inter Agency Procurement Group (IAPG).
• All suppliers must adhere to the Supplier Sustainability and Ethical Code of Conduct as set up in the IAPG website.
• In our selection process, Human Appeal will not use a supplier where there is any question or doubt over their full compliance with this Anti-slavery statement.
Further steps
Following a review of the effectiveness of the steps we have taken to ensure that there is no slavery or human trafficking in our supply chains we intend to take the following further steps to combat slavery and human trafficking:
• Post-tender supplier visits are carried out, where possible and following a risk-based approach, to ensure health and safety, view the premises, assess storage concerns and ensure our supply chain is free from modern slavery and human trafficking.
