Save the Date: Global Forum for Responsible Recruitment 2026

IHRB is pleased to announce the date and location for the Global Forum for Responsible Recruitment 2026 - the leading forum to advance responsible recruitment of migrant workers globally.  

2026’s forum is the ninth in the series and will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, between 30 June - 1 July 2026. 

The theme for this year’s forum is: Responsible Recruitment in an Era of Global Disruption.

Global supply chains and labour markets are being reshaped by converging crises and transitions. Geopolitical shifts, economic uncertainty and conflicts are reshaping trade routes and production hubs.

In this fragmented landscape, labour migration governance is under strain, creating new pressure points for migrant workers. Regulatory gaps and uneven enforcement enable informal and opaque recruitment channels to expand. While many companies and recruiters have committed to the Employer Pays Principle, implementation remains inconsistent across regions and sectors, risking new forms of worker vulnerability.

GFRR 2026 will explore how responsible recruitment frameworks can adapt to this era of disruption, ensuring that labour market transformation strengthens, rather than undermines, migration with dignity.

The Forum is a hybrid event. In-person and online attendees will participate in two days of engaging sessions covering a range of issues related to responsible recruitment. 

The Forum provides:

• Thought leadership: Taking stock and nurturing ideas to achieve better recruitment regulation and practices and eradicate worker-paid recruitment fees.
• Convening: A global marketplace that inspires and enables uptake of improved recruitment commitments, practices, and outcomes by the diversity of actors involved.
• Networking: Connecting diverse organisations and their networks to accelerate progress around this collective mission.
• Shared learning: Amplifying expertise to scale uptake and empower all to shape a responsible, sustainable, fair, and ethical recruitment industry for migrant workers.

Attendees will include business, civil society organisations, UN bodies, trade unions, migrant workers, and their representatives. All sessions will also be recorded and available for download on IHRB’s dedicated YouTube playlist.

Malaysia is home to many migrant workers filling roles in the direct operations or supply chains of leading international brands. The Forum will be both local and global in its outlook,  as well as address country and sector specific challenges.

Registration for in-person places will open soon.

In the meantime, please join our mailing list to be notified when registrations open.