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The Department of Labor's List of Goods Produced by Child Labor Or Forced Labor

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The Department of Labor's List of Goods Produced by Child Labor Or Forced Labor Cornell University ILR School DigitalCommons@ILR Federal Publications Key Workplace Documents 2009 The epD artment of Labor's List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor U.S. Department of Labor Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/key_workplace Thank you for downloading an article from DigitalCommons@ILR. Support this valuable resource today! This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Key Workplace Documents at DigitalCommons@ILR. It has been accepted for inclusion in Federal Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@ILR. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The epD artment of Labor's List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor Abstract [Excerpt] On September 10, 2009, the Department of Labor released its initial “list of goods from countries” (List), pursuant to Section 105(b)(2)(C) of the TVPRA of 2005. The List was released as part of a larger report detailing the methodology, scope, and limitations of the underlying research. Included in the List were 122 goods from 58 countries that ILAB has reason to believe are produced by forced labor, child labor or both, in violation of international standards. The ounc tries on the List span every region of the world. The most common agricultural goods listed are cotton, sugarcane, tobacco, coffee, rice, and cocoa. In the manufacturing sector, bricks, garments, carpets, and footwear appear most frequently; and in mined or quarried goods, gold and coal. The er port also includes listings of the sources used to make determinations about each good on the List. The primary purpose of the List is to raise public awareness about the incidence of child labor and forced labor in the production of goods in the countries listed, and, in turn, to promote efforts to eliminate such practices. Keywords child labor, Department of Labor, labor rights, human rights, public policy Comments Suggested Citation U.S. Department of Labor (2009). The Department of Labor's list of goods produced by child labor or forced labor. Washington, DC: Author. http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/key_workplace/650 This article is available at DigitalCommons@ILR: http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/key_workplace/650 THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR’S LIST OF GOODS PRODUCED BY CHILD LABOR OR FORCED LABOR Report Required by the Traffi cking Victims Protection Reauthorization Acts of 2005 and 2008 The United States Department of Labor Bureau of International Labor Aff airs Offi ce of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Traffi cking 2009 Photo credits: Center cover photo, Macro International. All other photos in this report credited to International Labor Organization. THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR’S LIST OF GOODS PRODUCED BY CHILD LABOR OR FORCED LABOR Report Required by the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Acts of 2005 and 2008 The United States Department of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking 2009 ii ­ iii iv ­ v vi ­ U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR FOREWORD As a nation and as members of the global community, we reject the proposition that it is acceptable to pursue economic gain through the forced labor of other human beings or the exploitation of children in the workplace. However, we are aware that these problems remain widespread in today’s global economy. Indeed, we face these problems in our own country. The International Labor Organization estimates that over 12 million persons worldwide are working in some form of forced labor or bondage and that more than 200 million children are at work, many in hazardous forms of labor. The most vulnerable persons – including women, indigenous groups, and migrants – are the most likely to fall into these exploitive situations and the current global economic crisis has only exacerbated their vulnerability. Most Americans and most consumers in the world market would not choose to purchase goods known to be produced by exploited children or forced laborers ­ at any price. Likewise, most American companies would prefer that their global suppliers respect workers’ and children’s fundamental rights and provide their employees with working conditions that meet acceptable local standards. However, to translate these values and preferences into day­to­day purchasing decisions, firms and consumers need reliable information about the labor conditions under which goods are produced. In 2005, Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, directing the Secretary of Labor and the Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) to compile “a list of goods that ILAB has reason to believe were produced using forced labor or child labor” in order to provide consumers and firms with this type of information. This report presents that list of goods. The research on which the list is based builds on fifteen years of investigation, analysis and reporting on these and related issues by ILAB. Since 1993, ILAB has published over 20 reports on exploitive labor practices worldwide, including our annual Department of Labor’s Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor. ILAB’s Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking has also provided more than $720 million in funding for projects to combat these practices in over 80 countries. By raising awareness of harmful labor practices and funding projects to prevent children and adults from engaging in the worst forms of labor exploitation, the Department has provided important tools that governments and other stakeholders can use to end these unacceptable practices. It is my strong hope that consumers, firms, governments, labor unions and other stakeholders will use this information to translate their economic power into a force for good that ultimately will eliminate exploitive child labor and forced labor. Hilda L. Solis U.S. Secretary of Labor September 10, 2009 vii ­ U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR viii U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This report was prepared under the direction of Sandra Polaski, Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs, Marcia Eugenio, Director of the Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking (OCFT), and Kevin Willcutts, Deputy Director, OCFT. Preparation of the report was coordinated by Charita Castro, Rachel Phillips Rigby and Leyla Strotkamp of OCFT. The underlying research, writing, editing, and administrative support were carried out by the following Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) staff: Ana Aslan, Kathryn Chinnock, Daniel Collier, Ina Katherine Cook, Katie Cook, Hoda El­Ghazaly, Ina Farka, Jessica Farmer, Rachel Feller, Sonia Firpi, Whitney Ford, Diantha Garms, Laura Gauer Bermudez, Alexa Gunter, Sharon Heller, Maureen Jaffe, Malaika Jeter, Scott Kohn, Chanda Leckie, Angela Lee, Kristin Lipke, Tina McCarter, Sarah Morgan, Michal Murphy, Eileen Muirragui, Lauren Nicholson, Eman Patel, Angela Peltzer, Maureen Pettis, Connie Piau, Jennifer Piorkowski, Ingris Ramos, Tanya Rasa, Charlotte Reed, Amy Ritualo, Natasha Sachs, Brandie Sasser, Samantha Schasberger, Doris Senko, Mihail Seroka, Sherry Smith, Michael Spangler, Ana Valdes, Pilar Velasquez, Cara Vileno, Jacob von Reyn, Patrick White, and Bruce Yoon. OCFT would like to note the important contributions to the report made by Nicholas Levintow and Matthew Levin in the Office of the Solicitor and Stephanie Swirsky in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy. This report was published by the U.S. Department of Labor, ILAB. Copies of this and other ILAB reports may be obtained by contacting the Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room S­5317, Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: (202) 693­4843; Fax: (202) 693­4830; e­mail: [email protected]. The reports are also available on the Internet at: http://www.dol.gov/ilab/. Comments on the report are also welcomed and may be submitted to the e­mail listed above. ix ­ U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR x U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR ABSTRACT This publication presents the Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs’ implementation report and initial List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (List) pursuant to the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Acts (TVPRA) of 2005 and 2008.1 The TVPRA called on ILAB to carry out additional activities to monitor and combat child labor and forced labor in foreign countries. This report provides an update on ILAB’s activities, including monitoring, coordination and information­sharing with various public and private stakeholders on the issues of child labor and forced labor in the production of goods. One of the TVPRA mandates was to develop and publish a list of goods from countries that ILAB “has reason to believe are produced with child labor or forced labor in violation of international standards.” Pursuant to this mandate, ILAB conducted an in­depth review of available information on exploitive working conditions in the production of goods in 77 countries, based on an initial screening of sources that showed these countries to have a higher incidence of child labor and forced labor. In evaluating the information, multiple criteria (including the nature of information, source of information, date of information, extent of corroboration, and significant incidence) were used to determine whether a good should be placed on the List. ILAB ultimately identified 122 goods produced
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