Civil society input on the proposed REGULATION ON PROHIBITING PRODUCTS MADE WITH FORCED LABOUR ON THE UNION MARKET
- Document number
- 3480
- Date
- February 2023
- Title
- Civil society input on the proposed REGULATION ON PROHIBITING PRODUCTS MADE WITH FORCED LABOUR ON THE UNION MARKET
- Author/publisher
- ASI
- Availability
- View/save PDF version of this document
- Document type(s)
- Guidelines/Recommendations,
- Keywords
- DEVE ban forced labour products
- Summary
- Ccivil society organisations welcome the opportunity provided by the DEVE committee to provide input on the European Commission’s (Commission) legislative proposal for a Regulation on prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market and exporting products made with forced labour within the EU. The NGOs believe that the Commission proposal is an essential step toward building a smart mix of tools to help eliminate forced labour, including forced child labour, across the world, as per EU commitments. They welcome in particular the wide scope of the proposal, in that it covers all products from all regions and all company sizes, big and small. The proposal falls significantly short of its potential, in particular as it fails to put workers at its heart. We therefore call upon the DEVE committee to improve the proposal where it is missing its purpose, whilst building on its key positive elements. Below are our key concerns and initial recommendations on how to effectively address them. Additionally, we would also recommend the DEVE committee to proactively reach out to a variety of affected stakeholders in forced labour such as children, women, migrant workers, etc., both from within the EU and beyond, to seek their perspectives on the file.