UK to Oblige Manufacturing Transparency to Counter Slavery - Cameron

The UK government will require large companies to prove that they do not use slave labor at any point in their manufacturing or supply chain, Prime Minister David Cameron said Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The United Kingdom is expected to be the first country in the world to introduce an anti-slavery measure to cover large companies doing business in the country but using global manufacturing and supply chains, including South East Asia.

"From October, we will… require all businesses with a £36 million [some $56 million] turnover or above to disclose what they are doing to ensure their business and supply chains are slavery free," Cameron stated in a press release.

The announcement comes in light of Cameron's Vietnam visit to strengthen cooperation with the Vietnamese government during his four-day trip to Southeast Asia.

According to the press release, Vietnam, Albania, Nigeria, and Romania are the most-reported sources for corporate slavery in the present day.

According to the UK Home Office, there were between 10,000 and 13,000 reported victims of modern slavery in the United Kingdom in 2013.

The UK National Crime Agency and Vietnamese law enforcement authorities have been engaged in disrupting human trafficking networks.

According to the press release, children account for 42 percent of those enslaved in Vietnam.