Desafios jurídicos na responsabilização por trabalho escravo em cadeias de produção

Abstract

The world is demanding more social responsibility from companies, with greater respect for human rights, and this involves decent work. Globalization is transforming commercial relations, leading to the fragmentation of markets and the expansion of production chains, making the guarantee of decent work a global concern. The results of this concern are the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the OECD Guidelines, the UN Global Compact and the 2030 Agenda, for example. However, companies' concerns need to go beyond their direct employees, reaching their entire production chain, which makes the issue more complex. Against the backdrop of decent work, slave labor is a reality in Brazil and the accountability of the Economic Power, the leaders of the production chain, can help to eradicate it. The problem is whether national and international regulations have been able to influence the fight against contemporary slave labor in Brazil, and what the main challenges are in this process. The general aim of this research is to understand the impact of international regulations on domestic policies, national regulations and the accountability of the production chain in the fight against contemporary slave labor in Brazil. To this end, the study is divided into three parts. Using qualitative methodology and bibliographic and documentary research techniques, with a focus on international and national regulations on human rights and companies, the first part analyzes the international regulatory frameworks on Companies and Human Rights, with a focus on slave labor in the global production chain. The second part looks at the concept of contemporary slave labor in Brazil and the structure of labor relations in the Brazilian production chain. In the third part, we analyze how international regulations and legal theory can support holding leading companies in the production chain accountable, both in the judicial and administrative spheres, contributing to the fight against contemporary slave labor in the production chain. The conclusion is that despite global efforts to hold the economic power of global production chains accountable, the scenario in the Brazilian judicial context is one of impunity.