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                                    37 About Strategy and Governance Our People Our Business Our Outcome AppendixAnother way that we ensure that labor rights are upheld is by assigning responsibility for all hiring to HR. Our Supply Chain Management teams are responsible for contracting external transport providers in each of our key operating markets. These teams must also ensure that employees and contractors have the correct documentation. In accordance with local laws and labor regulations, we operate management programs to prevent child or forced labor and illegal work and to ensure decent and safe workplaces, fair and timely pay, and adequate rest periods.%u2023 GRI 2-23Enhancing our Human Rights Management ApproachIn 2023, we established a working group to develop a systematic human rights management approach and implement the lessons from the UN Global Compact Business and Human Rights Accelerator program. Our working group comprises department representatives at DKSH, namely Group Sustainability, Group Human Resources, Group Supply Chain Management, and Business Unit Healthcare. We started our work in 2023 by undertaking a self-assessment and mapping our practices against the expectations of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. At the end of 2023, we also finalized our Human Rights Policy. This Policy sets out DKSH%u2019s commitment to human rights, explains our understanding of our responsibility to protect human rights, and provides guidance for people expected to adhere to the Policy, such as our own workforce and suppliers. In 2024, we will continue our work by embedding the expectations of the Human Rights Policy in our operational policies and procedures, for example, by engaging with internal stakeholders and providing training. In addition, we will review the Integrity Line, our grievance mechanism, to ensure it meets all requirements and effectiveness criteria.In 2023, we also advanced efforts to integrate human rights due diligence processes in our own business area (please refer to the Responsible Procurement and Human Rights in the Supply Chain chapter for information about due diligence processes in the supply chain). We conducted our first human rights risk assessment in Malaysia in 2021. The risk assessment generally identified the main risks in Malaysia as forced or compulsory labor involving foreign workers, although no such practices were identified at our operations. The assessment also examined child labor without identifying any relevant findings in this regard. However, we identified certain findings in our vendor management process. The action items derived from the risk assessment and implemented in 2023 included corrective measures to ensure better-regulated working conditions, such as establishing a grievance channel, and administrative measures for managing foreign workers%u2019 employment contracts (e.g. updating employment contracts and translating contracts and consent forms into workers%u2019 first languages). In addition, we have addressed the assessment%u2019s findings by enacting an internal audit cycle, which undertakes quarterly checks of vendor management for foreign workers.In addition to Malaysia, we identified Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam as markets for further human rights assessments. We consider the risks of human rights violations, such as child labor, forced or compulsory labor, or restrictions on the freedom of association, to be generally higher in these markets. We will conduct evaluations there.In 2023, our Business Unit Healthcare operations in Cambodia and Laos were evaluated in external audits to assess alignment with the standards of the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative (PSCI). The audits looked at ethics and labor standards as well as health, safety and environmental (HSE) standards. Auditors identified nine significant findings concerning ethics and labor standards in Cambodia, alongside five major findings associated with Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE). Meanwhile, in Laos, auditors found two instances related to ethics and labor standards and one concerning HSE. We are now taking corrective action. %u2023 GRI 2-24, GRI 407-1, GRI 408-1, GRI 409-1
                                
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