Conducting Human Rights Due Diligence In Relation To State Imposed Forced Labour: Implications For The Upcoming EU Regulation On Forced Labour
Briefing: Conducting Human Rights Due Diligence in Relation to State Imposed Forced Labour
The Cotton Campaign has co-authored this new briefing with Anti-Slavery International, Global Labor Justice, Turkmen News, The Coalition to End Uyghur Forced Labor, The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, Environmental Justice Foundation, and La Strada International.
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Increasingly, countries have, or are legislating, instruments to ban the import of products made by forced labour. These include the US, Canada and Mexico. The EU Forced Labour Regulation, which bans the sale, import and export of goods made using forced labour, is the most recent piece of such statute. Given that the EU single market is currently the world’s largest consumer market, the Regulation has the potential to influence business practices globally, to prevent, end or mitigate forced labour, and to stop companies profiting from forced labour in their supply chains. The Regulation could also drive progress in legislative efforts related to forced labour in other countries, whose companies may be impacted by robust enforcement of the Regulation. Importantly, the Regulation will address a significant gap in the EU legislative framework, as there has previously been no instrument in the EU that prohibits the market flow of products made with forced labour.
The Regulation provides that the Union seeks to eradicate the use of forced labour and promote decent work and labour rights worldwide. Article 11(f) states the European Commission shall make available guidance for economic operators on due diligence in relation to forced labour imposed by state authorities. The purpose of this briefing is to inform the due diligence guidance that the Commission will publish in relation to state-imposed forced labour. It provides what due diligence efforts are expected of companies to identify risks of state-imposed forced labour in operations and supply chains, when disengagement is necessary, and what steps should be taken to swiftly disengage. The draft due diligence provided herein aligns with international guidelines and established principles by international organisations including the ILO, the OECD and the United Nations.
The briefing also provides a comprehensive explanation of how state-imposed forced labour is distinct from forced labour carried out by private actors. In the former, it is the State – which has obligations under core human rights treaties and ILO Conventions to protect its population, including from forced labour – that is the perpetrator. This type of forced labour, therefore, requires a different response by companies as the abuse is carried out in pursuit of government policy and is maintained by the state apparatus itself. This briefing also includes examples of how state-imposed forced labour is currently carried out in various geographic locations and across sectors.
