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The Modern Slavery Supplier Risk Assessment Questionnaire (MSQ) brings together Norton Rose Fulbright’s extensive global human rights knowledge and experience with Ethixbase360's Third-Party Risk Management platform to help your business identify, mitigate and manage modern slavery risk in your supply chain. 


According to recent estimates, there are more than 50 million people in slavery or forced labor globally at any time. This number is sadly growing. To address this issue, governments across the world are in the process of adopting and/or strengthening modern slavery, forced labor and human rights reporting requirements which mandate that organizations report publicly on the steps they are taking to combat issues of slavery and trafficking in their supply chains.

In 2020, Ethixbase360 collaborated with Norton Rose Fulbright's dedicated international human rights team to launch a Modern Slavery Supply Chain Risk Assessment Questionnaire for organizations seeking to comply with global modern slavery laws. The questionnaire assists organizations to identify, manage and report upon modern slavery risks in their supply chains, offering a risk rating to assist them in managing their modern slavery reporting obligations across multiple jurisdictions.

Delivered via the Ethixbase 360 Third-Party Risk Management platform, the questionnaire was developed by Norton Rose Fulbright lawyers with extensive experience in human rights and related environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. Drawing upon Norton Rose Fulbright's global reach, a version of the MSQ was developed specifically in response to the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains, and a version of the MSQ has now been developed in response to the Canadian Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act. 

Satisfy mandatory reporting requirements in multiple jurisdictions with a purpose-built solution

You cannot manage what you do not measure. Ethixbase360 helps to assess the risk of modern slavery and forced labor in your supply chain in order to help your business comply with its reporting obligations. The MSQ allows businesses to: 

  • Engage directly with third parties with a pragmatic and easy-to-complete questionnaire resulting in market-leading response rates
  • Benefit from a robust scoring methodology designed and periodically updated by Norton Rose Fulbright lawyers based on evolving human rights data
  • Understanding specific risk areas at the third-party and supply chain level, allowing you to visualize risk and gain actionable insights
  • Scale your business needs with access to an end-to-end third-party risk management platform that can be configured to your changing needs
  • Assess and report on the effectiveness of actions taken year-on-year to visualize patterns in high-risk suppliers, as well as ability to configure dashboards and set notifications
  • Apply a consistent and shared standard of human rights due dilligence, drawing upon data from the Global Slavery Index, World Bank Governance, International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs and US Department of Labor. 

Read more about Ethixbase360 and Norton Rose Fulbright's MSQ. Request a demo of MSQ.

Modern slavery and human rights advisory services

As a global leader in the area of business human rights, Norton Rose Fulbright are well placed to provide pragmatic advice on compliance and best practice in managing human rights, including modern slavery risk. Our services include:

  • Designing and implementing a customized human rights/modern slavery management framework.
  • Advising on modern slavery reporting requirements.
  • Developing human rights/modern slavery policies and procedures including procurement processes and supplier terms.
  • Analyzing the results of your risk assessment.
  • Developing strategies to address identified risks.
  • Settling your modern slavery statement to ensure compliance.

 For more information, please see our other resources below.


Norton Rose Fulbright Australia (“NRFA”) receives a licence fee for each MSQ sale. This fee is consideration for NRFA’s development and maintenance of the MSQ. Under lawyers’ ethical rules, when a client buys a licence, NRFA will need the client’s informed consent for NRFA to continue acting for the client.


Disclaimer: The modern slavery module provides an indicative risk rating only. The accuracy of the score is dependent on a number of factors, including third-party data sources and supplier inputs. None of the module and its outputs constitutes legal advice or creates a lawyer-client relationship between Norton Rose Fulbright and any user. 

Other Resources

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Contacts

Partner
Partner, Canadian Co-Head of Responsible Business and Sustainability
Head of Dispute Resolution and Litigation, EMEA
Director
Senior Partner
Partner
Partner
Partner | Global Co-Head and Team Leader of Employment & Labour
Partner