At the Ethical Supply Chains panel at the World Justice Forum IV, participants discussed the relationship between productive business and labor rights.
While international supply chains help meet global consumer demand, inexpensive goods often come at the expense of workers and their communities. Too often, inexpensive labor results in human rights violations and environmental degradation. Panelists considered the following questions: What are the best means for creating ethical and sustainable supply chains that are also profitable for business? What strategies and models exist for meeting and implementing existing international labor and environmental laws, norms, and codes of conduct? What are effective ways to monitor, measure, and rectify restrictions to justice? How do we educate consumers about their choices?
Moderator
Margaret Levi, Jere L. Bacharach Professor of International Studies, Department of Political Science, University of Washington; Chair in Politics, U.S. Studies Centre, University of Sydney (USA/Australia)
Panelists
Sheri Flies, Assistant General Merchandising Manager, Costco Wholesale Corp. (USA)
Ou Virak, President, Cambodian Center on Human Rights (Cambodia)
Katie Quan, Associate Chair, UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education, Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (USA)
Auret van Heerden, President & CEO, Fair Labor Association (South Africa)
We create a press release for every country considered in the WJP Rule of Law Index, available in different languages. To find a specific press release, go to the relevant region and select the country of interest from the drop-down menu.
The World Justice Project (WJP) is releasing microdata for the first time, drawing on data from the WJP EUROVOICES general population poll (“People’s Voices”). It features detailed, anonymized survey responses from more than 64,000 individuals living in 110 subnational regions across the 27 European Union (EU) Member States.
Mark your calendar! On October 28th, the World Justice Project will release the 2025 WJP Rule of Law Index®, our flagship measure of how the rule of law is experienced and perceived around the globe.
WASHINGTON (October 28, 2025) – The global rule of law recession has accelerated, according to the new WJP Rule of Law Index® 2025. A stark 68% of countries declined in their rule of law in 2025, compared to 57% in the previous year.