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'CSO letter to Spanish Presidency of the EU Council re: Forced Labour Regulation', 15 May 2023
"Dear State Secretary Navarro Rios,
We are writing on behalf of the undersigned civil society organisations and trade unions to share our concerns about the slow pace of engagement at the Council level, on the proposed EU Forced Labour Regulation (FLR).
With the European Parliament actively defining its own position, it is of utmost importance that, during the Spanish Presidency, the Council opens avenues for concrete discussions amongst Member States with the goal of agreeing, during your Presidency, on a General Approach that would centre the regulation around remediation of forced labour.
As described in a joint statement by 75 nongovernmental organisations, the proposed regulation could contribute to creating conditions for EU companies to meaningfully address forced labour in their value chains, both inside and outside the EU. But the draft published by the European Commission falls short of attaining this objective. It has the following serious gaps:
Forged as a product-based legislation, it does not provide remediation to workers who have experienced forced labour. As a result, it fails to put workers and their complaints about working conditions that amount to forced labour at the centre of the legislation’s architecture.
Targeting product lines only is a narrow and flawed approach to tackling forced labour. The underlying systemic causes that create working conditions that rise to the level of forced labour are not isolated to product lines within a production site. As a result, the proposed regulation 2 fails to address forced labour in full production sites and does not cover group-wide bans that could have a greater impact. In particular, it does not explicitly address State-Imposed Forced labour (SIFL) such as in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or in Turkmenistan.
While foreseeing some transparency requirements, it does not require sufficient transparency and traceability, including at raw material level. It also does not formally require a revision of the EU Custom Code that would allow civil society organisations, trade unions and companies alike to monitor trade data to identify forced labour cases in supply chains, as is the case in the US..."
ECCHR and Anti-Slavery International published an analysis of the EU Forced Labour Regulation, including an assessment and recommendations to support its implementation and enforcement.
The European Union has adopted the Forced Labor Regulation, which bans the sale of products made with forced labour. Hélène de Rengervé of Human Rights Watch argues that effective enforcement will require significantly increased capacity from the European Commission and EU member states.
The Council has adopted a regulation prohibiting products in the Union market that are made using forced labour. The text forbids the placing and making available on the Union market, or the export from the Union market, of any product made using forced labour.
The European Parliament has given its final approval to a new regulation enabling the EU to prohibit the sale, import, and export of goods made using forced labour (EP press release).
Lawmakers in the EU today voted in favour of a far-reaching law to ban products made with forced labour from the single market – a move welcomed by workers around the world (press release by Anti-Slavery International).
The preliminary endorsement by member states of the Forced Labour Regulation ramps up pressure on wavering countries to also endorse CSDDD on Friday, reducing the political room to justify continued resistance to the law.
The undersigned Civil Society Organisations and Trade Unions call on the governments of EU Member States to support the agreed text, ensuring the legislation enters into force without delay.
The Council and the European Parliament have reached a provisional deal on the regulation prohibiting in the EU market products made with forced labour.
Including remediation and other appropriate measures in the EU Forced Labour Regulation would enhance the legislation’s effectiveness in eradicating forced labour from supply chains, the statement says.
A letter, on behalf 33 civil society organisations and trade unions, to outline key issues that should be considered during the upcoming trilogues in order to make the proposed EU Forced Labour Regulation (FLR) a success.
On 26 January, the Council has adopted its position (negotiating mandate) on the regulation prohibiting products made with forced labour on the EU market.
This letter outlines four core elements that must be included: an evidentiary regime adapted to forced labour, provisions on state-imposed forced labour, one-stop shop EU-wide complaints mechanism, remediation.
This paper analyses the plans of the European Union for a forced labour ban that would prohibit the placing of products made with forced labour on the common market as well as the export of such products. It addresses concerns and provides recommendations for effective legislation following a human rights-based approach.
This week, the Internal Market and International Trade committees adopted their position on keeping products made using forced labour out of the EU market, IMCO, INTA.
As the negotiations on the content of the legislation advance, the undersigned Civil Society Organisations, Coalitions and Trade Unions, put forward key elements to make the proposed regulation efficient, implementable and impactful
Members of the European Parliament are proposing to extend the scope of a draft EU regulation prohibiting forced labour products from the EU market to key services and to introduce remediation for victims.
17 EU and international civil society organisations have written to the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council calling for swift progress towards a Forced Labour Regulation which provides remediation to workers who have experienced forced labour.
Investors shared a letter they submitted to the EU Commission and EU Parliament charged with the development of the EU’s Proposed Forced Labor Product Ban
Anti-Slavery International, the European Center for Constitutional Human Rights (ECCHR) and the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament commissioned research into a proposal on how an EU import ban should be designed to meaningfully address forced labour and keep workers at its heart
The statement calls on the European Parliament and EU Member States to improve the proposal where it is missing its purpose, whilst building on its key positive elements.
Though the proposal was broadly welcomed by both labor rights organizations and businesses, critics point to deficiencies — which might cut into its effectiveness.
EU lawmakers in the Parliament had called for such an instrument in June 2022, the Commission first announced plans for a new legislative instrument in February 2022.
On 9 June 2022, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for an import ban on products produced with forced labour from entering the EU market. The Parliament's recommendations, intended to feed into the EU Commission's ongoing drafting of new EU rules on products created or transported by forced labour, have been welcomed by civil society. However, the future instrument must put victims first and be remedy-centered, says the European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ).
The EU announces plans to promote decent work, and to prepare a new legislative instrument to ban products made by forced labour from entering the EU market
During the annual State of the EU speech, Ursula von der Leyen announced the block's intention to introduce a ban on the import of products made with forced labour
The Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) published a guidance document on due diligence to help EU companies to address the risk of forced labour in their operations
Consideration of import controls on forced labour products coincides with the forthcoming European Commission legislative proposal on Sustainable Corporate Governance. CSOs highlight key considerations relevant to the development and functioning of these two parallel policy processes.
Anti-Slavery International and European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights’ position on import controls to address forced labour in supply chains
New report commissioned by the European Parliament analyses EU options for introducing an import ban on products related to severe human rights violations
