for women also perpetuate conditions leading to their exploitation. For example, women are overrepresented in the care economy, and in accommodation and food services, while men and boys working in construction, fishing and manufacturing are especially vulnerable.

Because most forms of slavery occur in the private sector, she said it is imperative that businesses comply with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. More research on the specific experiences of men and women is needed, efforts which ensure that legislation recognizes the gendered impacts of slavery. Further, tailored laws can highlight the fact that women are not a homogeneous group.

Issues of gender also pervade the agricultural sector, said Hilal Elver, Special Rapporteur on the right to food. Most countries are experiencing a “feminization of agriculture”, withwomen increasingly left to carry the full burden of such work in addition to their unpaid care responsibilities at home. Their heightened risk of exploitation threatens to undermine their rights and well-being of their children.

She said States bear the primary duty to respect the rights of agricultural workers, adopting corrective measures when laws adversely impact those fundamental freedoms. Companies participating in global supply chains also have a direct responsibility to respect the rights of their workers, and uphold global labour standards. However, corporate social responsibility is voluntary and no substitute for the enforcement of protective regulatory standards by the State.

Also today, the Committee continued its general debate on the promotion and protection of human rights, with delegates outlining national programmes, legal reforms and steps on the international level