European Parliament proposes to ban products made by forced labour
13 Jun 2022 05:55pm
European flags at the European Parliament in Brussels. Photo from 123RF
KUALA LUMPUR - The European Parliament has recommended that products made or transported by people forced to work be excluded from its internal market through a World Trade Organisation-compatible import and export ban.
It said this in a press release, stating a new resolution be made to feed into the ongoing drafting of new European Union (EU) rules on products created or transported by forced labour.
In practice, public authorities should detain and seize the goods at the EU borders in case there is "sufficient evidence” that the goods were made or transported by forced labour, Member of the European Parliaments (MEPs) said.
The MEPs underlined that for the determination of what counts as a product of forced labour, the items should be measured against International Labour Organisation indicators which include abuse of vulnerability, restriction of movement, withholding identity documents and debt bondage.
Meanwhile, the European Parliament called for cooperation with like-minded partners to ensure that goods banned on the EU market do not simply get re-routed to other markets.
It underlined that a ban on forced labour products would in itself not eradicate forced labour.
"Tackling this global issue requires a collective solution involving dialogue with third countries, technical assistance and capacity building as well as awareness-raising,” it said.
EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen affirmed in her 2021 State of the Union speech that the commission would be proposing a ban on forced labour products, and the new legislative instrument is planned for September 2022.
According to the commission, 25 million people are in a situation of forced labour worldwide. - Bernama
