ISSARA INSTITUTE INC
555 BRYANT STREET NO 871, PALO ALTO, CA 94301 www.issarainstitute.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: ISSARA INSTITUTE IS AN INDEPENDENT NGO TACKLING ISSUES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND FORCED LABOR THROUGH DATA, TECHNOLOGY, PARTNERSHIP AND INNOVATION.

SEE PART III, LINE 1.

ISSARA LABS:AT ISSARA LABS WE CONDUCT A WIDE RANGE OF RESEARCH AND ANALYTICS, RELATED TO PARTNER SUPPLY CHAINS AS WELL AS MIGRATION AND TRAFFICKING MORE BROADLY. PEOPLE ARE AT THE CENTER OF ALL ISSARA'S DATA AND INTELLIGENCE WORK. USING HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN, WE CONDUCT IN-DEPTH RESEARCH INTO PARTNER SUPPLY CHAINS, AND DEVELOP TAILOR-MADE TECHNOLOGIES WHICH TAP INTO ONE OF THE MOST POTENT AND UNDER-UTILIZED RESOURCES OF ALL: WORKER VOICE. TO ADVANCE FREEDOM, CHOICES AND OPPORTUNITIES TO THOSE WHO NEED IT MOST, FROM DISENFRANCHISED FACTORY WORKERS TO STRANDED ABUSED FISHERMAN TO MIGRANT CHILDREN. WE BELIEVE THAT BUSINESS AND SOCIETY BENEFIT FROM FREEDOM AND OPPORTUNITY BEING ENJOYED BY ALL. WITH EYES AND EARS ON THE GROUND, WORKERS HAVE INVALUABLE INFORMATION ON WHAT HAPPENS IN SUPPLIER FACILITIES EVERY DAY. THROUGH WORKER VOICE CHANNELS SUCH AS THE ISSARA HOTLINE, FACEBOOK, SOCIAL MEDIA, GOLDEN DREAMS SMARTPHONE APP, AND ESTABLISHED CONNECTIONS WITH MIGRANT COMMUNITIES, ISSARA HAS A CONSTANT PULSE ON THE VOICES OF THOUSANDS OF WORKERS, WHO HAVE THE CAPACITY TO UNCOVER RISKS IN COMPLEX GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS AND DRIVE STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN THE WAY BUSINESS IS DONE, FROM SMALL CHANGES AT THE INDIVIDUAL SUPPLIER LEVEL TO LARGE-SCALE CHANGES AT THE NATIONAL INDUSTRY LEVEL AND HOW RESPONSIBLE SOURCING IS DONE GLOBALLY.THE PURPOSE OF HAVING ROBUST WORKER VOICE CHANNELS FOR MIGRANT WORKERS IS THREEFOLD: 1) TO PROVIDE MIGRANT WORKERS WITH PLATFORMS TO EXCHANGE CRITICAL INFORMATION TO FIND DECENT WORK AND AVOID RISKY RECRUITMENT AND EMPLOYMENT; 2) TO EXPAND CHANNELS FOR REMEDIATION TO MORE MIGRANT WORKERS; AND 3) TO SUPPORT CORPORATE DUE DILIGENCE AND RESPONSIBLE SOURCING EFFORTS.

BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS:ISSARA MONITORS WORKING CONDITIONS ACROSS SUPPLY CHAINS, GIVING WORKERS LINKAGES TO REMEDIATION AND RESPONSES FROM MANAGEMENT ON GRIEVANCES AND ABUSES FACED BY WORKERS. THIS INFORMATION ABOUT LABOR-RELATED RISKS AND ABUSES IS ALSO USED TO HELP SUPPLIERS STRENGTHEN THEIR LABOR RECRUITMENT AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF CORRECTIVE ACTION PLANS, TRAINING, WORKERS SATISFACTION SURVEYS AND THE PROVISION OF ITERATIVE FEEDBACK FROM WORKERS REGARDING WHETHER MANAGEMENT ACTIONS AND RESPONSES ARE MAKING OBSERVABLE IMPROVEMENTS IN THE EYES OF WORKERS. ISSARA INSTITUTE ALSO HELD ITS THIRD ISSARA GLOBAL FORUM, A GROUNDBREAKING 3-DAY CONFERENCE IN NOVEMBER 2019 THAT CONVENED ALL THE KEY STAKEHOLDERS RELEVANT TO STRENGTHENING RESPONSIBLE SOURCING AND THE ELIMINATION OF LABOR ABUSES IN SUPPLY CHAINS, INCLUDING FORCED LABOR AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING. GLOBAL BRANDS, RETAILERS, AND BUYERS EXCHANGED WITH RECRUITMENT AGENCIES, SUPPLIERS, CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS, WORKER REPRESENTATIVES, AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING SURVIVORS ABOUT KEY CHALLENGES FACED IN RESPONSIBLE SOURCING, AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS.

OUTREACH AND EMPOWERMENT:ISSARA INSTITUTE ADVANCED ITS WORKER VOICE-DRIVEN ETHICAL RECRUITMENT PROGRAM IN 2019, WHICH PARTNERS WITH GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS IN MYANMAR, SUCH AS CSO-NET, AS WELL AS RECRUITMENT AGENCIES, TO REDUCE FIRST-MILE RISKS, FEES, AND DEBTS FOR WORKERS GOING TO THAILAND, AND ALSO BRINGS TOGETHER RECRUITMENT AGENCIES AND EMPLOYERS TO ASSESS THE RISKS IN THEIR LABOR RECRUITMENT PROCESSES. ISSARA'S WORKER VOICE CHANNELS CONTINUED THEIR EXPANSION THROUGH 2018 AS WELL - A 24-HOUR MULTI-LINGUAL HELPLINE, PLUS FACEBOOK, LINE, VIBER, AND THE ISSARA GOLDEN DREAMS SMARTPHONE APP, ALL REACHING OVER 85,000 JOBSEEKERS AND WORKERS IN 2019, INCLUDING UP 8,000 - 9,000 CALLS AND MESSAGES IN SOME MONTHS - SIGNIFICANTLY MORE TRAFFIC THAN THE US AND UK NATIONAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING HOTLINES COMBINED. ISSARA CONTINUES TO BUILD ON ITS 2018 IMPACT FIGURES WHERE 45,336 WORKERS IN THE SUPPLY CHAINS OF ISSARA STRATEGIC PARTNERS HAD BENEFITED FROM IMPROVEMENTS IN THEIR WORKING CONDITIONS THROUGH ISSARA-SUPPORTED REMEDIATION, WITH COLLABORATION FROM THEIR EMPLOYERS (THE SUPPLIERS OF OUR STRATEGIC PARTNERS). OF THESE 45,336 WORKERS, 8,448 WERE IN FORCED LABOUR SITUATIONS.

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