New research from Human Rights Watch reveals the failings of social auditing companies to protect workers’ basic human rights. Audit companies amfori and Sedex both audited the factory where union leader Shahidul Islam was murdered as he was leaving negotiations on behalf of workers, yet the report details both a lack of transparency and a lack of follow-through to address issues that may have been uncovered.

While both auditing companies have to-date refused to release audit reports from this case, the report also evaluates a sampling of audit reports, revealing a troubling trend. 50% of audit reports reviewed included identical language, clear evidence of a copy-and-paste approach. One auditor interviewed for the report described the availability of pre-populated audit reports, “an ‘attempt to simplify the reporting process and make the audit cheaper so it would take less time to fill out the report because you were just filling in the blanks rather than writing it up.'”

Taken together, these case studies show how inadequate these social audits are at assessing freedom of association and other fundamental rights – and how deadly the consequences can be for workers.

While the report does not explicitly cite the WSR model, the research contained within makes a compelling case for the ways in which workers are the only actors in the supply chain with a vital and abiding interest in ensuring that their rights are protected.