Modern Slavery Statement

1. Policy statement

1.1. This statement is made with reference to Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. It applies to our financial year ended 31st December 2023 and sets out the steps that Aga Khan Foundation (United Kingdom) (AKF (UK)) has taken and is continuing to take to ensure that modern slavery or human trafficking is not taking place within our organisation or supply chain.

1.2. Modern slavery encompasses slavery, servitude, human trafficking and forced labour. AKF (UK) has a zero tolerance approach to any form of modern slavery. We are committed to putting effective systems and controls in place to safeguard against any form of modern slavery taking place within our organisation or our supply chain.

2. Our organisation

2.1. AKF (UK) is a non-denominational, non-profit, charitable organisation (registered charity number 266518). It is a unit within the international Aga Khan Foundation (AKF).

2.2. AKF seeks to improve the quality of life, promote pluralism, and enhance self-reliance in poor and marginalised communities in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. AKF strives to enhance agriculture and food security, promote early childhood development and access to quality education, improve health and nutrition, advance economic inclusion, and strengthen civil society.

2.3. Working in partnership with communities, governments and others, for over 50 years, AKF’s long-term, community-based approach has addressed and benefited people of all faiths and backgrounds, especially women and girls, using an approach that is locally rooted but globally informed.

3. Our supply chain

3.1. AKF (UK) works with a number of suppliers, ranging from those providing building services to implementing programmatic partners.

3.2. Our programme work is implemented through local partner organisations, to ensure that we invest and empower the local communities as far as possible. We follow a robust due diligence process when evaluating a future working relationship. As part of this we ensure all our partners are aware of our policies on safeguarding and anti-slavery.

3.3. AKF (UK) takes the selection of its suppliers very seriously. When we seek tenders from suppliers for contracts,

as part of our due diligence process, we require the suppliers to confirm to us that:

a. They have an anti-slavery policy (and if not, they will abide by AKF (UK)’s policy).

b. (For UK based suppliers) They pay their employees at least the national minimum wage.

c. (For international suppliers) They pay their employees any prevailing minimum wage applicable within their country of operations.

We will terminate our contract with that supplier at any time should any instances of modern slavery for which the supplier is responsible come to light.

4. Policies

4.1. We operate a number of internal policies to ensure that we are conducting business in an ethical manner. These include:

Anti-slavery Policy: This policy sets out the organisation’s stance on modern slavery and explains where employees can go for help or raise concerns.
Safeguarding Policy: This is a global framework document providing a common frame of reference for all Aga Khan Foundation units in order to ensure we are safeguarding beneficiaries, staff and volunteers and the organisation.
Recruitment Policy: We operate a robust recruitment policy, including background employment checks.
Whistleblowing policy: We operate a whistleblowing policy so that all employees know that they can raise concerns about how they or colleagues are being treated, or practices within our organisation or supply chain, without fear of reprisals.
Code of Business Conduct: This Code explains the manner in which we behave as an organisation and how we expect our employees, volunteers and suppliers to act.

5. Our continued commitment

5.1. We are committed to continuing our work to review and monitor our policies, procedures, agreements and training, and in doing all that we can to make sure that contributing to modern slavery has no place in AKF (UK).

5.2. We will continue to review, update and invest in policies, training and procedures that will promote knowledge as to the dangers of human trafficking and modern slavery.

5.3. We will continue to review and enhance our due diligence process for our suppliers and partners.

5.4. We will continue to review our existing supply chains to identify risks of human trafficking or slavery.

5.5. We will continue to invest in our reporting systems and improve our reporting process and ensure that employees, volunteers and partners are able to report suspicions anonymously.

5.6. We are committed to continuing our work in implementing our safeguarding standards at AKF (UK).