Our Commitment to Combat Modern Slavery
We exist to tackle the global crisis in youth unemployment. Our mission is to empower young people to learn, earn and thrive. We support young people in 18 countries within the Commonwealth and beyond across Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Europe. It is vital that they and all others benefit from a safe and supportive environment in which their human rights are protected and the highest ethical standards are upheld.
More information about modern slavery may be found on the following sites:
What is modern slavery? – Anti-Slavery International (antislavery.org)
modern slavery facts and figures (unseenuk.org)
STOP THE TRAFFIK | People shouldn’t be bought and sold
Modern slavery and human trafficking – National Crime Agency
Neither Prince’s Trust International nor The Prince’s Trust Group Company, our parent charity, meet the criteria requiring publication of a statement under section 54 (Transparency in Supply Chains) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. However, we wish to play our part in global efforts to increase awareness of these issues; and to tackle all forms of human rights abuse, including modern slavery and human trafficking.
We expect both those within our organisation and those with whom we work to ensure that no form of modern slavery or exploitation has any place in our programmes and interventions. We encourage an open and transparent culture and have a whistleblowing policy which allows individuals the space to speak up if they have concerns about any wrongdoing or dangers in connection with our activities. This includes any concerns in respect of our delivery partners, contractors or other organisations with which we work.
Our Code of Conduct and other policies, including on safeguarding, procurement, risk management and ethical fundraising and donations, underpin our ethical values and principles. We seek continuously to review and improve these and how we work.
We carefully scope new countries or territories before working there. Most of our support for young people is delivered through partner organisations. We engage in detailed due diligence to get to know these potential delivery partners before we develop our programmes with them. This helps to ensure that we only work with organisations which share our values and have proper policies and safeguards in place. We always aim to achieve long-term partnerships and, throughout, work closely with our partners to satisfy ourselves that the highest standards are maintained. Our contracts in addition include clauses requiring our delivery partners to confirm their commitment to eradicate modern slavery and child exploitation, to notify us as soon as they become aware of any actual or suspected instances in a supply chain and to ensure that any contracts they enter into in connection with their delivery of the programmes contain similar provisions. In the event of any breach of these commitments, we would be entitled immediately to terminate.
In a similar way, we carry out due diligence on others with whom we work; and our template agreements with other contractors, consultants and freelancers contain similar modern slavery provisions.
We continue to be vigilant in our efforts to address these issues and improve.
To ensure a high level of understanding of the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking, we also recognise the importance of staff training and awareness. We therefore include this in our mandatory training.
Revised November 2024