Public Procurement and Human Rights: With Special Reference to Human Trafficking

Human trafficking constitutes one of the most serious violations of human rights, as it involves the commodification of individuals and their exploitation for financial gain. It is a complex, transnational phenomenon that requires a comprehensive response from both international law and domestic legal systems, combining criminal enforcement measures with policies on prevention, social awareness and the effective protection of victims. Added to this is the need to establish mechanisms to prevent illicit profits derived from trafficking from infiltrating the legal economy, particularly through business practices that conceal situations of labour exploitation. In this context, the concept of sustainable corporate governance imposes a duty of care on companies to ensure respect for human rights and decent work throughout supply chains, in line with the fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and international standards of responsible business conduct. This paper focuses on the analysis of so-called ‘ethical public procurement’, which is presented as a strategic tool enabling public authorities to include social clauses in their contracts that promote decent working conditions and prevent contracting with economic operators that do not respect human rights.