Labor and Corporate Social Responsibility

Strengthening respect for worker rights and promoting corporate social responsibility around the world are critical to achieving U.S. foreign policy goals of promoting democracy, human rights, free trade, and international development.

The Office of International Labor and Corporate Social Responsibility (DRL/ILCSR), part of the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor), promotes these issues in partnership with the Bureau of Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs, the private sector, organized labor, NGOs, intergovernmental organizations, international organizations, and other U.S. federal agencies, including the Department of Labor.

Within the State Department, DRL/ILCSR is the lead office on the following issues:

• Promoting the role of organized labor in developing countries;
• Partnering with the private sector to promote respect for human rights and workers’ rights, and to promote good governance, transparency, and the rule of law;
• Promoting labor rights through free trade agreements and other international negotiations; and
• Combating child labor, forced labor, and sweatshop and exploitative working conditions

DRL/ILCSR employs a number of tools to realize progress in these areas throughout the world. For example, through labor diplomacy, we work with other governments to adopt and enforce regulations and laws that protect fundamental worker rights We also bring companies, non-governmental organizations, and other governments together in multi-stakeholder efforts to promote respect for human rights and combat child labor, forced labor, and sweatshop and exploitative working conditions. Additionally, the funding we provide for technical assistance projects builds the capacity of worker organizations, employers, and governments to address all of these issues.