The European Union has published what it calls ‘practical guidance’ to help European companies ‘implement effective human rights due diligence practices to address the risk of forced labour in their supply chains.’
It said, ‘The guidance explains the practical aspects of due diligence and provides an overview of international standards on responsible business conduct and due diligence that are relevant for combatting forced labour.’
Examples of forced labour, it says, include, ‘
· State-orchestrated programmes imposing forced labour of administratively detained persons, prisoners in pre-trial detention, political prisoners, persons detained for trade union activity or peaceful assembly;
· Debt bondage linked to recruitment fees and/or in the context of trafficking in human beings
· “Forced cropping”, i.e. compulsory cultivation that ties farmers to their land and forces them to sell their produce to a mandatory concession holder;
· Reliance on “labour discipline” for production, i.e. an obligation to work as a sanction for violating company rules or failing to complete production quota;
Read full article https://www.worldecr.com/news/eu-guidance-on-forced-labour-new-ofac-xinjiang-advisory/
